1. Nick Castellanos, 3B, A-
Castellanos is arguably the best pure hitter in the minors right now. Expected to hit for more power coming out of high school, he does still have that raw power in him, but right now is more of a doubles hitter. He’s not extraordinary with the glove, but will certainly be serviceable at third. Already in AA as a 20 year old and holding his own through a couple weeks, we could see Castellanos in the majors at some point next season.

2. Tyler Collins, OF, B 
Collins is a good hitter, with a solid approach and patience, gap power and solid speed. He is a corner guy, but doesn’t have the type of power you like to see out of one. His defense is solid and he could be a solid big leaguer in a couple years.

3. Avisail Garcia, OF, B-
Garcia has all the tools and has 20/20 potential at the plate. He has improved his contact rate this year, which is a huge plus, but he still does not have great patience. It will be interesting to see how he fares offensively once he moves to the upper levels of the minors after repeating high-A ball to start this year. His defense is not a question, as he is very good in the outfield.

4. James McCann, C, B-
McCann was a fairly polished college catcher coming out of Arkansas in 2011 when he was chosen in the second round by the Tigers. He is an excellent defensive catcher with a strong arm and quickness behind the plate. He can also hit for a little bit of average. Recently promoted to AA, McCann could certainly rise through the system quickly, even though he does not have much power or speed to speak of.

5. Eugenio Suarez, SS, C+
A relative unknown, Suarez is a good defender at short, can hit for average, has some speed and gap power, but he is still pretty raw, even though he will turn 21 in July and is still in Low-A ball.

6. Jake Thompson, RHP, C+
Thompson was the Tigers second round pick this year out of a Texas high school and has a solid combination of present stuff, size and projectability. His development as a starter hinges on the development of a changeup, but if it does not come along, he could be a solid bullpen arm.

7. Bruce Rondon, RHP, C+ 
Rondon is a reliever and throws very hard. He has always had good stuff and has been relatively unhittable. However, he has always been hampered by control problems, which have greatly improved this season and he could certainly make an impact at the big league level in a couple of years.

8. Brenny Paulino, RHP, C+
Paulino has not pitched at all this year, but showed very good stuff last season while pitching in the Gulf Coast League. He has an ideal pitcher’s frame and if he can continue to refine his stuff and command, he could be a good one. 

9. Austin Schotts, OF, C+
A third round pick this year out of high school in Texas, Schotts is very projectable with plus speed and power potential. He is transitioning to the outfield now, as he was a shortstop in high school, and certainly has potential in center.

10. Hudson Randall, RHP, C+ 

11. Kyle Ryan, LHP, C+

12. Tyler Gibson, OF, C+

13. Daniel Fields, OF, C+ 

14. Aaron Westlake, 1B, C+/C

15. Alex Burgos, LHP, C+/C

16. Josue Carreno, RHP, C+/C

17. Adelin Santa, 3B, C+/C

18. Dixon Machado, SS, C+/C

19. Drew Verhagen, RHP,C/C+

20. Joe Rogers, LHP, C/C+

Overall Draft Grade: C

          There's honestly not too much to get excited about here. Without a first round pick, the Tigers started off at a disadvantage and didn't take too many risks either. Thompson and Schotts at the top are intriguing due to their upside and projectability, and Joe Rogers looks like an interesting arm. Hudson Randall was a good value pick that late and should be a productive pitcher that has the chance to fill out the back end of a rotation thanks to excellent pitchability, command and intangibles. Otherwise, this is a fairly bland draft, but one that didn't make any glaring mistakes.

2nd Round (91): Jake Thompson, RHP, Rockwall-Heath HS (TX), 6'4", 235
Reports indicate that Thompson is easily signable away from his TCU commit, and he has a projectable arm and a durable frame. He sits in the low-90s with his fastball and his slider shows a lot of potential with some good depth and break. He wasn't on our radar before the Draft, but Thompson looks like an intriguing high school arm with the potential for two solid average or above offerings.

3rd Round (121); Austin Schotts, OF, Centennial HS (TX), 5'11", 180, R/R
There's not too much out there on Schotts, but we do know that he was a high school shortstop and definitely profiles as an athlete who could play center at the next level. He's got plus speed and some power potential in his easy swing and is an Oklahoma State commit. 

4th Round (154): Drew Verhagen, RHP, Vanderbilt University (JR), 6'6", 230
Verhagen is a big righty who throws hard, a profile that often ends up placing you straight in a bullpen. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s and he has worked both out of the pen and as a starter at Vanderbilt. He has an odd delivery that leaves him very upright throughout, but you're buying the arm strength here and hoping he develops.

5th Round (184): Joe Rogers, LHP, Central Florida University (JR), 6'0", 200
Rogers came out of the pen at Central Florida with great results in 2012. His stuff isn't overpowering as his fastball sits in the high-80s/low-90s, but his secondary stuff, especially his curve, is solid, and he can get hitters out. He made 31 appearances in 2012 with a 1.47 ERA and struck out 47 hitters in 43 innings.

6th Round (214): Jordan John, LHP, Oklahoma University (JR), 6'3", 215

7th Round (244): Hudson Randall, RHP, Florida University (JR), 6'3", 180
Randall can flat-out pitch. While he's not the biggest name on a star-studded Florida roster and he doesn't have electric stuff, he's been the Friday night starter all year and has done his job very well. He has solid command of all of his pitches, especially of his fastball that sits around 90 with good movement. His change-up is his best secondary weapon, and Randall gets good reviews for his make-up and intangibles. A good value here.

8th Round (274): Jeff McVaney, OF, Texas State University (SR), 6'2", 210, R/R

9th Round (304): Jake Stewart, OF, Stanford University (JR), 6'2", 205, R/R

10th Round (334): Charles Gillies, RHP, The Master's College (SR), 6'2", 200
Notable Late Rounders:
36th Round: Clate Schmidt, RHP, Allatoona HS (GA)
A personal favorite of ours, Schmidt is undersized, but has the stuff to be a power rotation arm one day. He will in all likelihood head to Clemson in the fall.

          One might think that the Tigers love taking high risk high reward types, after taking Nick Castellanos and Jacob Turner in 2010 and 2009 respectively. Their philosophy seems quite the opposite, however, as they did not take a high school player last year until the 15th round. After selecting Castellanos in 2010, they did not take another high schooler until the 8th round, when they took Jim Leyland’s son. In 2009, they only took 4 high schoolers through 20 rounds, including Turner. This seems to suggest that they go for the best player available at their spot with their first pick, regardless of the “safety” of the pick, and then go pretty “safe” after that. Without a pick in the first or supplemental round for the second year in a row and only $2.099 million to spend on 9 selections, it would be tough to believe that they would change their tendencies this year. Obviously, they will not be able to hand out a Nick Castellanos or Rick Porcello type of bonus to a player that falls, but they should be able to get a very solid player at their first pick, 91st overall. Besides Castellanos and James McCann, their selection in the 2nd round last year, the Tigers do not have many impact hitters in their system, but they do have quite a bit of pitching. Although teams do not generally draft for a need, I could definitely see the Tigers taking a bat or two at the top of the draft, especially an up the middle infielder, someone like Jesmuel Valentin or Tony Renda, if they fall to pick 91.

Mock Draft Selection: None