The second day of the 2026 MLB draft is underway, and this is where the Tigers can get some good value. Remember, Tarik Skubal went in the ninth round, and Kerry Carpenter was a 19th-rounder, so some of these guys have a chance to make big impacts in Detroit.
It’s rare to see players picked in the first 10 rounds not sign, but the second half of the draft is a bit different. Slot values go away, and teams are allowed to offer $150,000 that doesn’t work against the bonus pool. Anything over that number
comes out of any underslot-signing savings in the first 10 rounds. Usually, you’ll see a Hail Mary type pick in the final four or five rounds, and those players don’t always end up being signed.
For a refresher, Detroit selected Coastal Carolina right-handed pitcher Cameron Flukey in the first round, Kansas shortstop Tyson LeBlanc in the second round, Florida Gulf Coast two-way Evan Dempsey as a right-handed pitcher in the competitive balance round B and high school shortstop Dominic Pellegrin (Holy Cross HS, LA) in the fourth round. The Tigers did not have a third-round pick due to the signing of Framber Valdez.
Round 5, Pick 158: RHP Declan Dahl, Louisiana Tech
A 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-hander out of Louisiana Tech, Declan Dahl is an interesting developmental pickup for Detroit.
He spent two seasons with Seminole State (Okla.) at the JUCO level, compiling a 13-6 record, 3.36 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 128.2 innings and 26 appearances (21 starts). Dahl threw four complete games in that time and had a 10.00 K/9 over that time, too.
His JUCO success set him up for a Division I opportunity at LA Tech, and he finished the 2026 season as the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year, as well as earning First All-Conference honors. Declan had a 7-4 record and 2.75 ERA over 15 starts and 81.1 innings, with 102 strikeouts and only 23 walks. His 4.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked 53rd overall last season.
Dahl is a flyball pitcher, seeing 47.8% of batted balls go in the air. He maintained a 10.1% home-run-to-flyball rate, which is right where it should be. He has a three-pitch mix: a 91-93 mph fastball that tops out around 95 mph, a 79-83 mph slider and an 80-84 mph changeup.
He has a low release point, which helps the secondary stuff but might be limiting his velocity. The changeup is his best pitch when he can control it, sinking and drawing swing-and-miss. Dahl’s slider gets left over the plate a bit more often than one would like to see, but the arm slot helps all three pitches force batters to chase.
