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.
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