In the ever-changing analysis of mock drafts, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline have landed on the same type of prospect in their latest first-round projections for the Detroit Tigers.
The outlets each slotted a high school hitter to the Tigers with the No. 22 pick in the MLB Draft on July 11-12 in Philadelphia. In its third mock draft, released Monday, Baseball America has the Tigers taking Trevor Condon, an outfielder from Woodstock (Georgia) Etowah.
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"... Condon has had a strong spring," Baseball America's Carlos Collazo writes, "and teams seem to have a lot of comfort in his track record, contact skills, center field profile and plus speed. Detroit is generally linked to tons of high school hitters."
Perhaps Aiden Ruiz, a shortstop from The Stony Brook School in New York, is one of them. He's Pipeline's pick for the Tigers in the first round, in its "first official" mock draft unveiled Friday.
"Ruiz is the best defender in the Draft," Pipeline's Jim Callis writes. "He pushed (presumptive top-two overall pick Grady) Emerson to third base on the U.S. 18-and-under national team at the World Cup — and also offers bat-to-ball skills from both sides of the plate, albeit with questionable power."
A high school hitter would follow a recent trend by the Tigers, who have taken high school prospects with their last three top picks — and four of the last five — including Florida shortstop Jordan Yost, who was selected No. 24 overall last summer. Righthander Jackson Jobe (2021), outfielder Max Clark (2023), and shortstop Bryce Rainer (2024) have been the other selections.
The Tigers followed Clark's selection in 2023 with another prep hitter in shortstop Kevin McGonigle with a competitive-balance round pick at No. 37. McGonigle since has carved out a significant role with the Tigers, emerging as one of the MLB's top rookies. Similarly, the Tigers spent their No. 34 pick in 2025 on prep catcher Michael Oliveto, after taking Yost.
The Tigers, however, do appear to have a shortage of pitching among their top prospects, with hitters dominating evaluators' lists. In Baseball America's list of top 30 Tigers prospects, hitters hold the top 10 spots. In MLB Pipeline's top 30 Tigers prospects, hitters occupy the first eight slots, following McGonigle's recent graduation from prospect status.
A recent "staff draft" last month had the Tigers taking pitchers with two of their top three picks, including a high school arm at No. 22.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers take high school hitters in latest mock drafts