To start off, I want to say that this was Tigers General Manager, Al Avila’s best and – I mean best – moment as the Tigers GM. I’d give this draft a very high A-grade. Detroit’s farm system desperately lacked hitters and outside of Riley Greene and Isaac Parades, They don’t have any above-average position players.
Here’s who General Manager Al Avila selected in this years shortened 5-round draft:
Spencer Torkelson: With the number one pick in the 2020 MLB draft the Detroit Tigers selected the best player in the draft in Arizona State’s 3B/1B Spencer Torkelson. The Tigers were very hesitant about this, they didn’t call Torkelson to tell him they were going to draft him; it isn’t a huge deal but it was just a little odd. Commissioner Rob Manfred, Announced Torkelson as a third baseman, this shocked everybody watching.
Anyway, Torkelson will hit forty homers a year and play above-average defense at first (if he plays there). He’s a little more athletic than people realize. I think he plays first base, having Manfred announce him as a third baseman was just weird and probably a hoax considering they drafted another 3rd baseman in Gage Workman.
Dillon Dingler: With the 38th pick in the draft the Detroit Tigers selected Ohio State Catcher Dillon Dingler. The first thing that stands out to me about this pick is that Avila and the Tigers are losing faith in Jake Rodgers. Rodgers has been a great defensively but could never develop his hitting.
Dingler is very versatile considering his freshman at OSU he played center field. That kind of versatility is very intriguing. He is above average defensively. Offensively, he’s a bit raw but the tools are definitely there.
Daniel Cabrera: With the 62nd pick in the draft the Tigers made their best pick in the draft by taking Lousiana State (LSU) outfielder, Daniel Cabrera. The reason why this was the Tigers’ best pick was because this was a guy that Avila was thinking about at 38 and he fell to them at 62.
The Torkelson pick was a no brainer, the value here is great. Cabrera is going to be a Magglio Ordonez type player, you can plug him in the outfield and he’s going to hit. At his ceiling, he’ll hit .300 and hit 30 bombs. Not to mention the kid is a leader as he whore 8 at LSU. The number 8 is given out to the best leader in the LSU program.
Photo: TheSunDevils.com
