Detroit Tigers in close race for No. 1 pick in 2018 MLB Draft

Tigers battle Giants, Phillies for top draft pick

Alex Wilson #30 of the Detroit Tigers reacts after giving up a grand slam to Jed Lowrie of the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at Comerica Park on September 19, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan.

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers have traded Justin Upton, Justin Verlander, Justin Wilson, J.D. Martinez and Alex Avila. 

They recently announced manager Brad Ausmus would not return after this season.

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All of this has resulted in, well, very bad baseball. The Tigers have lost 21 of their last 25 games, giving them a 64-95 record with five games left in the season.

The good news: They are very close to grabbing the No. 1 pick in next year's MLB Draft.

The Tigers are in a close battle with the equally miserable San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies for the first pick.

As it stands, the Giants lead with a 62-96 record, while the Tigers (64-95) and Phillies (63-95) trail. 

The Tigers will finish out the season on the road against Kansas City and Minnesota. The Giants play the Diamondbacks and Padres, while the Phillies play the Nationals and Mets.

If two teams finish with the same record, the tiebreaker goes to the team with the worse record in the previous season.

Either way, the Tigers will have a top pick in next year's draft, which is exactly what a rebuilding team needs.

These are some of the top prospects for the 2018 Draft, according to MLB.com:

  • Brice Turang, SS, Santiago HS (Corona, Calif.)
  • Brady Singer, RHP, Florida
  • Jarred Kelenic, OF, Waukesha (Wis.) West HS
  • Kumar Rocker, RHP, North Oconee HS (Bogart, Ga.)
  • Joe Gray Jr. OF, Hattiesburg (Miss.) HS
  • Seth Beer, 1B, Clemson
  • Tristan Casas, 1B/3B, American Heritage HS (Plantation, Fla.)
  • Luken Baker, 1B, Texas Christian
  • Konnor Pilkington, LHP, Mississippi State
  • Nick Madrigal, 2B/SS, Oregon State

About the Author:

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.