So I pay no attention to this really, except I know we got some good pitchers lately that slipped because of contract issues.

My question is with all the arms we've drafted and a pretty good rotation now, do we finally get some positional talent in here?

Do they take Davidson (looks like a great hitting 3B)? They can always move Inge to SS in a couple years.

I can't think of many guys that move to SS as they get older. It's typically a young man's position.

If Inge turns out to be a gold glove (or near GG) 3B with a more consistent bat, why would you move him to another position anyways?

Seconded. If another great arm is there, I take him... Can't have enough, what with injuries and all. We have a solid SS prospect in Iorg... OF's are pretty young and promising... Cabrera is still very young... etc

Here's a glance at what the Tigers have in store as the First-Year Player Draft approaches:

In about 50 words
The top half of the first round is heavily centered on pitching, and the Tigers are smack in the middle of it. The Tigers have a shorter list of possibilities than last year, mainly because they have fewer teams picking ahead of them. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of them involve pitching.

The scoop
"There is an abundance of pitching," Chadd said. "I wouldn't say that's exactly the way we're going to go. There are still a couple wild cards in there. We've got a handful of guys in our small group. We're just doubling back and looking."

First-round buzz
Much of the speculation involves the Tigers taking a high school pitcher with upside, a route that paid off greatly two years ago with Porcello. Right-hander Jacob Turner fits the profile, but that also comes with the contract expectations of agent Scott Boras. Shelby Miller is another hard-throwing prep right-hander who has caught attention. But the Tigers could also go for a high school left-hander if Tyler Matzek unexpectedly falls or if Chad James or Matthew Purke become too intriguing to pass up. That said, the Tigers reserve the right to pounce if someone unexpectedly falls out of the top eight picks, which is where the position player wild card seemingly comes into play.

Shopping list
The Tigers are building a wealth of pitching, especially with past high-round picks Luke Putkonen and Casey Crosby returning healthy from injuries, and they're clearly looking for more. Detroit remains thin on the left side of the infield, and they could use some depth at catcher in the lower levels, though Alex Avila's rise has sent him rising up the developmental ladder behind Dusty Ryan. That said, Chadd said the Tigers plan to go after the best athlete available as they go round by round. "Every Draft's different," Chadd said.

Trend watch
The Tigers have selected a pitcher with their top pick in five out of the past six years, with Cameron Maybin as the lone exception. Moreover, their top four selections were pitchers, as were eight of their first 10, as they took advantage of good arms with subpar results who fell from projections. Not only has it fit into Detroit's preference to build a rotation from within, but as the Miguel Cabrera and Gerald Laird trades showed, extra arms can become trade pieces to fill positional needs. Detroit has shown no particular preference towards college or high school pitchers overall, but its mid-round picks have trended towards the college ranks recently.

Recent top picks
2008 and 2007: Each of Detroit's last five top picks have played in the big leagues this year, not all for Detroit. Porcello and Perry, Detroit's first-round selections in 2007 and 2008, made the Tigers roster together out of Spring Training and have more than held their own on the mound.
2006: Andrew Miller, Detroit's 2006 first-round pick, is filling out the Marlins' rotation after joining Florida in the Cabrera trade.
2005: Maybin, the 2005 top pick, was up with the Marlins as their center fielder last month, then back down after struggling.
2004: Justin Verlander, the second overall selection in the 2004 Draft, is anchoring Detroit's rotation.

Rising fast
Right-hander Cody Satterwhite, last year's second-rounder, is already up to Double-A Erie, where Porcello and Perry would've been had they not made the big club. Satterwhite's six saves through Sunday were tied for the team lead on the SeaWolves entering last weekend in a split closer situation to go with 24 strikeouts over 18 innings. His 11 walks show work left to do on his command, but the big fastball that drew the Tigers to him last June has been as good as advertised. Another 2008 Draft pick, fifth-rounder Alex Avila, is catching a lot of Satterwhite as the SeaWolves' regular catcher after spending his first Spring Training in Major League camp.

Cinderella story
Big left-hander Jon Kibler, a 30th-round selection two years ago out of Michigan State, was the Tigers' Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season with a Midwest League-best 14 victories and a 1.75 ERA at Class A West Michigan. After making an impression with the Major Leaguers in Spring Training, Kibler bypassed high Class A ball for Erie, where he currently leads the SeaWolves in innings pitched while racking up a pair of complete games to go with a 2-3 record and 3.57 ERA entering last weekend.

In The Show
In addition to all the Tigers' first-round selections to make it to the Majors, Clete Thomas advanced from Triple-A Toledo into a regular role in Detroit's outfield since filling in for Marcus Thames. The Tigers drafted Thomas in the sixth round in 2005. Jeff Larish, taken one round ahead of Thomas that year, has made two stints with the Tigers this year as a corner infielder and designated hitter. Detroit also got a contribution in May from left-hander Lucas French, an eighth-round pick out of high school in 2004 who steadily rose at each level until he was the player development folks' recommendation for a call-up when Nate Robertson went on the disabled list last month.

6pm on the MLB network btw

Any dynamic lefties?

Mike Schaff, a 6'7" switch-hitting 1B/SP is expected to go in the draft and will forgo his college scholarship to "go pro." Mike is an Arthur Hill Lumberjack and I believe he is the first Mid-Michigan player to be drafted in quite a while. Maybe as long back as Matt Mieske? I think a kid from Nouvel that went to Coastal Carolina and led the country in stolen bases was almost drafted.

Anyone know of a guy that got drafted or anyone from your high school ever get drafted?

Curt Young (AH), back in the day

Curt Young (AH), back in the day

Did you go to school with him or know him at all Gl'enn? At last check Curt was still the pitching coach with the Oakland A's.

Derek Jeter

Did you go to school with him or know him at all Gl'enn? At last check Curt was still the pitching coach with the Oakland A's.

Naw, I went to McArthur/Heritage.

and he's about 12 years older than I am

6pm on the MLB network btw

So its done already?

^ manana tonto culo

chris getz, now the everyday 2nd baseman for the chisox, was a grade below me in school. when he transferred to michigan he was at my house a few times (friends with a roommate, not really me).

i still remember i was caddying at the CC when personel for the A's took him out for a round of golf, a group in front of mine. kind of an emo moment for me.

anyway, pretty decent guy. cant say im not jealous, but i never exactly was a "prospect" in baseball anyways.

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i completely agree with the dombroski method of just drafting flame throwing pitchers all the way down the draft. but getting a stud position player every now and then would be way more fun. i love reading about some hot shot horse pounding the minors.

Scott Boras is possibly expected to ask for a $50 million signing bonus for expected #1 pick Stephen Strassburg from SDSU. Imagine a right handed Randy Johnson that throws like Zumaya with more control and a sicker breaking ball. His negotiaton should get its own reality show because Scott Boras is a super clown!!!

Can he fall to number nine? lol

Don 't think Illie wants to spend that much. lol

Boras has a very good relationship with the Tigers... just sayin'...

I'm betting if the top prospect dropped to him he'd pay the money. He did that with Andrew Miller (he may have been the 2nd best prospect, but he dropped a ways).

I wish we could get Willis and Nate off the books (or Willis would bounce back for good). If they weren't on the payroll it would make a huge difference.

I went to the hill and played on means stamping in 1984. Guys on our team that were drafted were Billy st. peter by the Cubs. Dan Snover by the braves. John McIntyre by the tigers. John Vanderwal by the pirates he was our pickup player and made it to the pros. Jeff bradley was also drafted by the tigers. This was off the team I played on. Steve Elmer would have been drafted but blew out his rotater cuff his during his last college game. Chris Sarmiento was drafted in the 2nd out of Mcarther high school but went to miami to be the closer and blew his arm out. Threw 92-94 with a nasty slider. Played with Schaffs dad also. He was and still is a great bowler.

I struck out a guy in JV ball who got drafted by the Astros.

My high school's field, which I never even watched a game on, was named after a guy who pitched for the Braves.

Strasburg is worth the $$$, that guy is lights out.

It sounds like the Tigers might get a chance to deal with Boras after all. I think the kids name is Turner maybe, but apparently he is the rumored pick at #9 and is a H.S. right hander that the Tigers really like.

From BP:


9. Detroit Tigers: Nobody values velocity more than Detroit's scouting director, David Chadd, and nobody in this draft other than Stephen Strasburg throws as hard as Scheppers does. His medical history is cause for concern, but his price should be far more reasonable than the two best high school arms still on the board at this point, Matt Purke and Jacob Turner.
Pick: Tanner Scheppers, RHP, St. Paul Saints


Massive Helium Watch: Reymond Fuentes, OF. The top talent in Puerto Rico has been in the US this week, and his private workouts have been nothing short of stunning. He's a 70-plus runner with impressive bat speed and some power, and the teams that like him think he could develop into a true power/speed threat in center field. He wasn't even in my Top 50 on Saturday, but in the last 24 hours he's been attached to teams as high as Detroit at #9 (where his workout for them bordered on legendary), to plenty of teams picking in the 20s. Most likely to take a shot at him? The Astros at 21, the Angels with one of their picks at 24 and 25, or the Rays at 30.

Why not gun for that outfielder? The corner outfield spots are looking a little sketchy these days.

^^I am a big fan of the defense Anderson and Thomas bring out there. We also have Wilkin Ramirez and Brent Clevlen, who show promise from both sides of the plate.

I half expected us to take Matzek...

matzek wanted more than porcello got. Plus he wont be ready for 3 or 4 years. I would have took him though. Lefty at 95 2 different curves and a change. Poise is nowhere near porcello.

Tigers nab prep workhorse Turner
Missouri right-hander has parallels to Porcello
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

The Tigers went back to the high school pitching ranks for their first pick in the First-Year Player Draft, selecting right-hander Jacob Turner out of Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis with the ninth overall pick.

Turner, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound workhorse pitcher, fits the profile of the kind of pitcher Detroit covets. His power arm consistently fires fastballs in the mid- to upper-90s, while he has added a curveball and changeup to his arsenal in the last couple years.

That power arsenal produced an impressive round of statistics during his high school career, starting with a 23-5 record and a 1.24 ERA entering late May. That included a 7-1 record and 0.40 ERA at one point last month, scattering 19 hits over 52 innings with eight walks and 105 strikeouts. Among the individual games was a one-hit, 18-strikeout performance.

Turner caught the Tigers' attention in the spring and maintained it through much of the high school season. While Detroit scouted plenty of talent in preparation for the big pick, Turner always seemed to stay at or near the top of the list.

The biggest risk in the First-Year Player Draft used to be the high school right-hander, whether for risk of injury or for the uncertainty of development. The Tigers went against that trend by drafting Rick Porcello in the first round two years ago, a move that paid off big when he cracked the Tigers rotation this spring at age 20. Detroit is clearly hoping to repeat history.

Like Porcello two years ago, Turner has committed to pitch collegiately at North Carolina, and he has retained the services of super agent Scott Boras as his adviser. Whether he follows through on that remains to be seen. The Tigers will have until Aug. 17 to sign him or risk losing him.

Mike Schaff, from Arthur Hill, was just drafted by Texas in the 18th round of the draft. He played baseball with my nephew when they were in "coach pitch" at Hoyt Park so we called to congratulate him and he said he was pretty pumped. He said they want him to start off as a pitcher, but there will be a possibility to play 1B if it doesn't work out. He is working on getting an agent and hoping to sign in the next couple of weeks he said.

Are we drafting any members of the Ausmus or Vizquel families today?

BEAU BURROWS

Are we drafting any members of the Ausmus or Vizquel families today?

FAM GIBSON