This might not be the best time for this conversation. Or maybe Detroit’s uninspiring play at the major league level makes this the perfect time for a future looking piece on the farm. Hopefully we can take a moment and appreciate how undeniably successful the minor league season has been, top to bottom, and revel in the commendations they have earned.
Ever year, Baseball America publishes both a Farm System Ranking and a Farm System Grade for every team in the league, and no, those aren’t quite the same
thing somehow. The individual articles cover the difference more deeply, but the Grade is based more on prospect quality/quantity and their expected translation to the major leagues, while the Ranking is about team performance, breakouts, and contributions to the big leagues. Obviously there is considerable overlap in those two, as systems that improved a lot are likely also ranking well, but it isn’t as one to one as it seems at first.
Ranking wise, Baseball America has Detroit number 3 in the league, behind just the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates. They praise Kevin McGonigle (#2) and Max Clark (#9), as expected, for anchoring the top of the farm system. Additionally, Bryce Rainer (#25), Josue Briceno (#54) and Thayron Liranzo (#71) all make their top 100 list. It’s an imposing top 5, probably the best core of hitting prospects in the sport, and the main reason Detroit ranks so highly.
It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows on the farm; BA specifically highlights the bevy of arm injuries that have hamstrung the entire system. Injuries have caused top prep arms from recent drafts to stall, 2024 breakouts to backslide, and kept relief depth from impacting the major league roster. Really, only Kelvis Salcedo and Andrew Sears have stayed healthy and pitched well throughout the whole season. They did get several guys back down the stretch and they also had some modest breakouts in the second half. Hopefully, some healthy bouncebacks for arms like Jaden Hamm help things along in 2026.
On the grading side, Detroit is one of three teams to score an A+, the top rank. They are joined by the, uh… Athletics baseball team (?) and, once again, the Brewers. BA emphasizes the major league contributions of Dillon Dingler and Troy Melton as the key reason to rank Detroit’s farm so highly. They additionally cite Max Anderson’s breakout on his climb to AAA Toledo and a high-upside adds of Jordan Yost and Cris Rodriguez to the lowest levels as reasons for optimism about a long term pipeline running through Detroit.
Does any of this matter? For the rest of the 2025 season, no. Jace Jung, up for Colt Keith’s injury, is the last player from the farm likely to impact the major league roster this year, and I use impact loosely. If the Tigers are going to stagger their way into the playoffs, they’ll have to get there with the roster up already. For the future, though, of course this is good. There’s no such thing as a sure thing, not in baseball and especially with prospects, but the slew of impact hitters at AA in particular suggests that the Tigers can remain a winning ball club for years to come.
