The MLB Draft is right around the corner and the Detroit Tigers are sitting pretty with the fifth overall pick. It’s still very early to tell, but it appears the team struck gold last season taking Casey Mize with the first overall pick, but will they be able to repeat their success? If they take one of these five guys, the odds are pretty good.
Greene posses the best bat in this years draft pool. The 18-year-old lefty has the ability to hit for both average and power. Greene has a smooth swing that does have a tiny hitch in it, but his bat speed makes up for that. In nine games with USA Baseball, Greene had a .424 average with an .848 slugging and led the 18U tournament with 20 RBI and three homers. He also led the team in runs scored (18), doubles (5) and homeruns. The rest of his game is a bit of an issue. He lacks speed, which can be worrisome for him in the field, and his below-average arm restricts him to the corner outfield spots, maybe even strictly left field.
Bleday and Greene are very similar when it comes to their games. Bleday has a great bat that exploded for 23 homeruns in 2019, he had six in the previous two seasons. He’s incredibly disciplined at the plate, career .322 hitter, and has great vision, which is why he had more walks (105) than strikeouts (90) in his tenure at Vanderbilt. His speed is a bit concerning for scouts. It’s highly unlikely that he will play anywhere other than a corner outfield position and his lack of speed limits him on the basepath. What he lacks in speed he makes up for with instincts. Bleday never struggled tracking balls and, unlike Greene, Bleday has a great arm and will be able to fit right in right field.
The 6-foot-6 Lodolo has improved in each of his three seasons at TCU with a record of 18-9. Lodolo has consistently pitched close to 77 innings during his stint with TCU and his ERA has dropped each year (4.35, 4.33, 2.34). The long-legged lefty throws gas. His fastball has been clocked in consistently between 92 and 94 and he’s able to mix in some good offspeed junk, keeping batters off balance. He struck out 254 batters at TCU, his career high coming last year with 93. The biggest concern here is if he was a one-year-wonder, or if he can consistently pitch at this level, proving 2019 wasn’t a fluke.
Oh how one year can change the outlook of a prospect. In 2018, Stinson tore it up with the Blue Devils, giving up 15 runs in 62 innings pitched, but after a hamstring injury at the beginning of 2019, the lefty has struggled. He’s pitched 19.2 innings this year and has given up 10 runs and his ERA has jumped from 1.89 to 4.58. There seems to be an arm issue as well, his fastball was sitting in the mid-90s last year and he seems to be getting clocked in the high-to-mid-80s in his 2019 campaign. However, if he can get healthy and return to 2018 form, his future will be bright coming out of the bullpen.