Scott Harris says three top prospects will impact Tigers next season

While this was a lost season for the Tigers, Scott Harris sees a broader win for the organization: "When you take a step back and look at this roster, it’s striking how many of our youngest players, our least experienced players, have already emerged as some of the best players we have."

"It’s also striking," Harris added, "how many more of these young players are coming. There’s a couple more that are on the doorstep of joining this group."

Harris expects three, in particular, to impact the Tigers next season: outfielder Zyhir Hope, catcher/first baseman Josue Briceño and infielder Max Anderson.

"I expect them all to contribute to our team next year," he said. "When I talk about this next group of players that are on the doorstep of getting to the big leagues -- but not just getting to the big leagues, because this is all by design, but playing with the players that are already here -- that’s the group right there."

Hope, 21, is the top prospect in the Tigers' organization and one of the top outfield prospects across baseball. The centerpiece of the trade return for Tarik Skubal, Hope is a power-hitting lefty who slugged 29 homers this season and led all of Double-A with 111 RBI. He's also considered a plus defender in the corners, with good speed and a strong arm.

Hope should start next season in Triple-A, with potential for a midsummer arrival in Detroit.

Briceño, 22, is another left-handed slugger who ranks No. 4 among the Tigers' top prospects and No. 66 in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Briceño missed the first half of this season after suffering a wrist injury in March that required surgery, but dominated Double-A and made it to Triple-A by August.

With Dillon Dingler entrenched behind the plate for the Tigers, Briceño probably projects as a long-term first baseman. Per MLB Pipeline, "there's enough bat to be a middle-of-the-order thumper, and that’s what he could be in Detroit before he turns 23."

Anderson, 24, has been steadily climbing the ladder for the Tigers since they drafted him in the second round in 2023 -- the same draft in which they landed Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. He's a compact right-handed hitter who mixes strong contact skills with some developing pop. He hit .302 with an .872 OPS in Triple-A this season.

Anderson's defense isn't a strength at either second or third, which might make him redundant at this point to Hao-Yu Lee. But he has the hitting skills to make a difference. "If he continues to get to more in-game power, he should muscle his way into the MLB conversation in 2026," per MLB Pipeline.

"When I talk about the vision that we’ve been working so hard to create, it’s right there," said Harris. "We gotta do a better job of translating that talent into wins, and we will. I’m very confident we will. But I expect all three of those players to be in the big leagues next year. They gotta earn it, for sure. Just like a year ago when I sat here and said I expected Max and Kevin to impact this team in 2026, I feel similarly about those players."

The Tigers will also be counting on right-handed pitcher River Ryan, the other big piece of the Skubal trade, to boost their starting rotation next season, alongside other young arms like Troy Melton, Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson. There's a chance that the oldest starting position player in Detroit's Opening Day lineup will be Dingler, who just turned 28.

"And the reason why we are building through development is they all get to play together," said Harris. "They’re all gonna be controllable and playing together, winning together, and continuing to get better in front of our fans’ eyes. That’s really exciting for me. That’s the vision I was talking about since my first press conference here, and that I’ve been talking about to our fans over and over again. The really exciting part is they can actually see it now."