Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez have something in common with Matthew Boyd and Tarik Skubal: they were drafted after the fifth round.
So two of the Tigers' top contributors in the 2010's and, ideally, two of their top contributors in the 2020's would have been passed over in this year's draft. And then they would have hit the open market, with the same offer from every interested team: $20,000.
And then those teams would have had to recruit with something other than cash.
The Tigers got Skubal to sign in 2018 largely because they offered him $350,000, well above their slot value in the ninth round. That's not to diminish their connections with his agent, Scott Boras. Or the appeal of an organization full of opportunities. But money talks, and Skubal listened.
Now place Skubal in 2020. Place in front of him a pile of identical offers. Does he still pick Detroit? How do the Tigers ensure it?
"We have a recruiting tool and obviously we have a message," Al Avila told reporters in a pre-draft conference call Tuesday. "Our message is that we’ve enhanced the infrastructure of this organization with the best technology, the best analytics, the best instructors and we have a good track record of developing players.
"And we have opportunity. It’s a model franchise in that sense, and it’s a great organization to join if your plan is to get to the big leagues. Our focus is to put back a championship caliber team ending in a World Series win. So those are the kind of players we’re looking for."
It's true the Tigers have beefed up their analytics in recent years. In that regard, they've caught up with most other clubs. It's true they've added more resources in player development, at all levels of the organization. And it's true, though not entirely overwhelming, that they've helped some overlooked players launch their careers. They can point to Martinez as a bat, Boyd as an arm.
Ultimately, Detroit's best pitch is the promise of what's to come. Any player that joins the Tigers now has the opportunity to be part of something special in the future. It's already happening for Skubal, who's fueling a rising fire with Casey Mize and Matt Manning. There are others climbing with them, and jobs abound on the big-league club.
At long last, the organization is gaining steam.
"We are a lot closer to putting a winning team back on the field," Avila said. "We feel we have some exciting players in our minor leagues right now, and we’re very excited to add some more after this draft. Gets us closer to where we want to be, for sure. So right now it’s an exciting time to be a Detroit Tiger.
"This is the right way to build an organization. We’ve built the infrastructure that we needed, from our amateur scouting, professional scouting, player development, analytics, technology. We’ve been adding players along the way, and we’re getting to the point where we have a lot of good talent. We’re hoping that out of that talent we get some homegrown stars that can take us to the promised land."