Obviously the MLB Draft get less attention, but I would not have expected such a silence here. Today the Tigers will draft first overall.
It seems to me that RHP Casey Mize is almost universally considered the BPA, so I really hope thie Tigers take him. While their prospect ranks are overcrowded with RHP, except for Burrows all these prospects are either injured (Perez, Long, Garcia, Foley and the now-released Moreno) or having a somewhat disappointing start (including Manning, Faedo and Funkhouser). Detroit's systems needs impact position players dearly and C Joey Bart looks really tempting after Rogers' terrible start for AA Erie, but I still hope they don't pass on Mize - you can never have enough pitching, they always say...
Getting a new future frontline starter (although Mize is not projected to become an "ace") could be more valuable if the Tigers were to trade Fulmer. But he is in a nasty slump right now, which already must have taken a toll on his trade value. Whereas Boyd continues to shine, but certainly won't bring back a huge return right now - neither will Liriano, Fiers or Martin, who are off to good seasons themselves. Let's hope Greene improves to his 2017 performance and attracts a generous contender!
Although bat-first players have less demand nowadays (although J.D. Martinez punished all those stingy other contenders by mashing for Arizona), the Tigers have come into an interesting situation with Castellanos. He is hitting very well (and I am positive that his slugging will even improve), so he will draw interest from other teams. But if the market stays lukewarm like it was last summer, the Tigers might be better of to sing him to some multi-year $ 15m-ish extension. On the other hand, Stewart seems to be a similar bat-first slugger (albeit in LF) and Cabrera will also need to be DH more often. That seems to be the most challenging question throughout this currently refreshing season.
Gruß,
BSHH