Breaking down Detroit Tigers picks in Rounds 11-20 of MLB draft in 2024
The Detroit Tigers made 10 selections in Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday in the 2024 MLB draft, completing all 20 rounds. Three players were drafted Sunday and eight players were drafted Monday.
The Tigers added 21 new players in the 2024 draft, including 14 pitchers. Of the seven position players, the Tigers selected four shortstops, two outfielders and one catcher.
"The process, it was an excellent process," assistant general manager Rob Metzler said, "getting viewpoints from across the organization, certainly the scouting staff leading the way with support of a strong analyst team. Our group worked really well together, so from top to bottom, process and results, we thought it was excellent."
On Sunday, the Tigers made three picks: high school shortstop Bryce Rainer in Round 1 (No. 11 overall), high school right-hander Owen Hall in Round 2 (No. 49 overall) and high school left-hander Ethan Schiefelbein in Competitive Balance Round B (No. 72 overall).
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On Monday, the Tigers picked college right-hander Josh Randall in Round 3, college right-hander Michael Massey in Round 4, college shortstop Jack Penney in Round 5, college shortstop Woody Hadeen in Round 6, college outfielder Jackson Strong in Round 7, college left-hander Ethan Sloan in Round 8, high school right-hander Zach Swanson in Round 9 and college right-hander R.J. Sales in Round 10.
Meet the newest Tigers, selected in Rounds 11-20, with evaluations from Tigers scouting director Mark Conner:
Utah LHP Micah Ashman
Age: 21.
Vitals: 6 feet 7, 195 pounds.
Bats/throws: Left/left.
Drafted: 11th round (No. 326 overall).
The buzz: Ashman, a tall southpaw, has worked exclusively as a reliever in his three-year college career at Utah, posting a 3.08 ERA with three walks and 26 strikeouts across 26? innings in 24 games in 2024. He is an elite strike-thrower, but his pitch mix is essentially one pitch. He throws his 93 mph fastball almost exclusively, even though he knows how to throw two other pitches: a slider-curveball hybrid and a below-average changeup. He should develop into a two-pitch reliever as a professional. Ashman is all but guaranteed to throw strikes with his fastball, so if he can add more velocity to his fastball and develop a nasty slider, he could factor into high-leverage situations in the big leagues.
What Conner said: "We got a big left-handed pitcher who throws a ton of strikes with a plus fastball. He is a former basketball player that we think is still developing as a pitcher. It's a pretty exciting package with left-handed strikes."
Downers Grove North (Illinois) High School SS Jude Warwick
Age: 18.
Vitals: 6-1, 170.
Bats/throws: Left/right.
Drafted: 12th round (No. 356 overall).
The buzz: Warwick, a Michigan State commit, hit .389 with five home runs, 12 walks and 14 strikeouts, spanning 143 plate appearances, across 36 games in his senior season at Downers Grove North. He also posted a 1.66 ERA with two walks and 10 strikeouts over 12? innings in seven relief appearances, but his future is as a position player. Michigan State recruited him as an infielder, but the Tigers drafted him as a shortstop. Warwick, a left-handed hitter, has been committed to Michigan State since October 2022. He plans to sign with the Tigers.
What Conner said: "We think Jude is a shortstop, for sure. It's a projection body, loose, athletic kid that has strength to come. Jude has really, really good feel for his barrel and can spread a baseball around. He's shown ability to potentially have some hit and grow into some power once he gets stronger. The other thing is, he can really play defense. We're excited to get another athletic, middle-of-the-diamond player."
Chipola College RHP Lucas Elissalt
Age: 19.
Vitals: 6-4, 190.
Bats/throws: Right/right.
Drafted: 13th round (No. 386 overall).
The buzz: Elissalt, who committed to transfer to Southern Miss, started 15 games for Chipola College as a sophomore in the National Junior College Athletic Association. He registered a 4.85 ERA with 26 walks and 78 strikeouts across 65 innings, named Panhandle All-Conference First Team. Elissalt has a four-pitch mix: fastball, curveball, changeup and cutter. His fastball sits around 90 mph. He knows how to locate his pitches, but he'll need to improve his pitches to advance as a professional. His 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings ranked 47th among 321 pitchers on the NJCAA leaderboard.
What Conner said: "We're super excited to add Lucas. He's a high-intense competitor that has the makings of four pitches. We definitely view him as a starting pitching prospect. It's going to be helping him refine his delivery and staying consistent with his stuff, and then just enhancing the pitches that he has right now. I think our player development group is going to do a tremendous job of enhancing what he has."
St. Mary's RHP Preston Howey
Age: 22.
Vitals: 5-10, 175.
Bats/throws: Right/right.
Drafted: 14th round (No. 416 overall).
The buzz: Howey, the younger brother of actress Brianne Howey, completed four seasons for St. Mary's in the West Coast Conference, working out of the bullpen for a total of 107 innings throughout his four-year college career. He posted a 4.26 ERA with 15 walks and 51 strikeouts across 38 innings in 22 games in 2024, averaging 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Howey combined for a 6.81 ERA in his four seasons as a member of the Gaels.
Miami University OF Zach MacDonald
Age: 20.
Vitals: 6-1, 195.
Bats/throws: Right/right.
Drafted: 15th round (No. 446 overall).
The buzz: MacDonald attended Portage Central High School in Michigan, where he set the school home-run record, before enjoying a strong three-year career at Miami University of Ohio, where he kept hitting home runs. MacDonald crushed 10 homers as a freshman, 13 homers as a sophomore and 20 homers as a junior. His 20 homers as a junior tied for second in program history for a single season, trailing the 21 homers by Mike Ferris in 2004. He also finished one homer away from tying the program record for a career, set by Michael Carlin with 44 homers from 2000-03. As a junior, MacDonald also hit .337 with 36 walks and 53 strikeouts in 54 games, stealing 15 bases in 18 attempts. He slugged his way to four two-homer games.
What Conner said: "These guys have different trends in their performance in things that they're doing. With Zach, he definitely trended in his ability to control the strike zone and to get the power this year. It's another touch point of understanding where this player is at in his journey. We looked at the fact that he has power, he's got tools, he can stay in center field. All of it played a factor into us taking him at that pick."
Blue Valley Southwest (Kansas) High School RHP Anson Seibert
Age: 18.
Vitals: 6-8, 235.
Bats/throws: Left/right.
Drafted: 16th round (No. 476 overall).
The buzz: Seibert, a Tennessee commit, is one of the best high school pitchers in the draft class based on upside, but his stock fell out of first-round range because of control issues and arm surgery. If he signs, this would be the steal of the entire draft. But Seibert has been committed to Tennessee since July 2022 and is expected to spend the next two seasons with the Volunteers. He throws a 93 mph fastball that maxes out at 98 mph, enhanced by above-average ride with elite extension. He also features a high-spin slider that should develop into a dominant secondary pitch. His changeup and curveball complete his four-pitch mix, but those offerings are below average. The hard-throwing righty — about to turn 19 years old — is committed to Tennessee and will be eligible for the draft again as a college sophomore in 2026. By then, he could be a first-round pick with top-of-the-draft potential. Seibert has unbelievable upside, but he has a long way to go in his development before he's a finished product.
What Conner said: "He is a very talented arm. You're talking about big body with projection. Big fastball, up to 98 mph this spring. He ended up having surgery this year. But it's all starter ingredients and definitely a lot of upside and projection remaining."
What Metzler said: "We're not going to comment on injuries, and also, we're not going to comment on signability."
Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy (Puerto Rico) High School C Gabriel Rosado
Age: 18.
Vitals: 6-1, 180.
Bats/throws: Left/right.
Drafted: 17th round (No. 506 overall).
The buzz: Rosado — from Ponce, Puerto Rico — is committed to San Jacinto College — located in Pasadena, Texas — in the NJCAA, but he seems likely to skip the college route by signing with the Tigers. As a catcher, he is considered above average in his throwing and arm strength. He ranks as the fourth-best high school player from Puerto Rico in his class, according to Perfect Game. He also ranks as the 385th overall high school player, as well as the 42nd-best catcher, in his class.
What Conner said: "Our scouting staff got to know this kid for a while. They really liked the kid as a person. He has extreme work ethic and has the makings of really good makeup that fits behind the plate. Good catch, raw power and arm strength. We think he has a chance to get him with our development staff that does a tremendous job, and that'll allow him to tap into his tools."
Southern Union State RHP Bryce Alewine
Age: 19.
Vitals: 6-4, 215.
Bats/throws: Right/right.
Drafted: 18th round (No. 536 overall).
The buzz: Alewine graduated from East Coweta High School in Georgia, then landed at Southern Union State — an NJCAA program in Alabama — for his freshman season in 2024, posting a 4.86 ERA with 22 walks and 48 strikeouts across 66? innings in 14 starts. His 6.48 strikes per nine innings ranked 270th among 321 pitchers on the NJCAA leaderboard. He wasn't selected in the 2023 MLB draft.
Leon (Florida) High School LHP Chase Davis
Age: 17.
Vitals: 6-2, 210.
Bats/throws: Left/left.
Drafted: 19th round (No. 566 overall).
The buzz: Davis, who doesn't turn 18 until late August, has been committed to South Alabama since September 2022, which means the Tigers will need to pry him away from the college route to sign him. He worked as a two-way player throughout his high-school career but is built to be a pitcher in the future. As a senior, Davis posted a 2.33 ERA with five walks and 25 strikeouts across 18 innings in six games (one start). He also had a 3.77 ERA in 42? innings as a sophomore and a 1.53 ERA in 59? innings as a junior. On offense, Davis hit .225 with three home runs, 13 walks and 15 strikeouts in 22 games during his senior campaign, but the Tigers drafted him to be a left-handed pitcher, not a left-handed hitter.
Eastern Oklahoma State College RHP Dawson Price
Age: 19.
Vitals: 6-5, 215.
Bats/throws: Right/right.
Drafted: 20th round (No. 596 overall).
The buzz: Price attended Bentonville West High School in Arkansas, but he wasn't selected in the 2023 MLB draft, so he went to Eastern Oklahoma State College in the NJCAA. As a freshman, he worked as a two-way player, but the Tigers selected him as a pitcher rather than an outfielder. Price posted a 1.69 ERA with two walks and seven strikeouts across 10? innings in three games (two starts). He also hit .286 with one home run, 13 walks and 29 strikeouts in 38 games.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers picks in Rounds 11-20 of MLB draft: A breakdown