Jordan Yost was a surprising first-round pick, but he's exactly the Tigers' type

New York Times

16 hours ago

DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers are nothing if not consistent.
They have a type these days. It's prep left-handed hitters who play up-the-middle positions. They have little regard for media rankings or following the consensus opinion. They like what they like and who they like. And if this year's records at the major-league level and across the farm system are any indication, their methodology tends to work.
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The latest example: The Tigers selected shortstop Jordan Yost from Sickles High in Florida with the No. 24 pick in Sunday's MLB Draft. The Athletic's Keith Law had Yost ranked No. 72 on his draft board. Other draft analysts also had Yost ranked well below the Tigers' spot at No. 24.
Yost, a Florida Gators commit, was a late riser in this year's draft crop. 'Helium' is the buzzword defining the Tigers' Day 1 draft selections. Although Yost was under the radar for most of his high school career, he started making noise this past year, and Tigers area scout RJ Burgess had watched closely as Yost grew and developed over time.
'This is a kid who walked into high school weighing 115 pounds,' Tigers scouting director Mark Conner said. 'Just took time to mature. Our guys scouted him during the summer, during fall, during the spring. Pretty early on in the spring, our group identified him as a target. If that was gonna lead to the first round or one of our picks throughout the draft, we really liked the swing, liked the defensive actions. We had been scouting him for a while.'
1.24 Tigers select Jordan Yost SS/OF Sickles (FL)
Yost is young for the grade. Patient approach w/ balanced approach in the batters' box. Plus bat speed & checks off boxes. Tons of helium this spring — late bloomer.#PGDraft #MLBDraft #RepDetroit
pic.twitter.com/kfJopq9ZHx
— Perfect Game Draft (@PG_Draft) July 14, 2025
Now listed a 6 feet and 170 pounds, Yost is already getting bigger and stronger. He hits from the left side with pure bat-to-ball skills — he had only a 7 percent whiff rate on the summer circuit and struck out only one time in his senior season — and also plays shortstop with slick athleticism. Whether he can develop more power is a question. But traits of recent Tigers draft picks Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer are evident in Yost's game. He might or might not develop into that tier of prospect. But he is certainly interesting and checks so many boxes the Tigers have tended toward in the Scott Harris era.
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Sunday night, the Tigers brass denied it is simply drafting left-handed hitters because of the obvious platoon advantage. 'I would say it's a lot more in depth than that,' Conner said.
Yost still feels like the latest example of the Tigers following their formula above all else.
'Honestly, it's all about attributes,' Conner said. 'It's about athleticism, bat speed, ability to control the strike zone. We're looking at right-handed hitters, left-handed hitters, switch hitters. All these different things come into play. It's not just the percentages.'
At pick No. 34, the Tigers did it again. They selected Michael Oliveto, who was ranked No. 219 by MLB Pipeline and included only as a name to know outside The Athletic's Top 100. Oliveto was drafted as a catcher. He hits — you guessed it — left-handed with the potential for plus power. He attended high school in the Hauppauge hamlet on Long Island and was another player who gained momentum late in the draft process despite hailing from a cold-weather state.
The Tigers were among several teams whom Oliveto impressed at the WWBA World Championship in October. Now they are betting on his power and prowess. His defense might be a work in progress. But as a Yale commit, Oliveto's intellect and makeup were also a selling point. It doesn't hurt he's listed at 6-3 with room to add more muscle.
'This was an exciting one just because our guys identified him a little bit later,' Conner said. 'He has a really, really good, loose swing. Projects to have power, bat-to-ball skills. As a high school catcher, definitely some work to do behind the plate as far as just handling some new pitchers and some different stuff. But very intelligent kid, driven, hardworking, with a frame to add a lot of strength.'
CBA.34 Tigers select Michael Oliveto, C, Hauppauge (NY)
Oliveto was a standout bat in Jupiter last year, handles the bat well w/ a short stroke. Helium picked up last fall. Tons of bat speed — athletic mover #PGDraft #MLBDraft #RepDetroit
pic.twitter.com/Vzp3MMPLDy
— Perfect Game Draft (@PG_Draft) July 14, 2025
At pick No. 62, the Tigers drafted right-hander Malachi Witherspoon out of Oklahoma. Witherspoon is the twin brother of Kyson Witherspoon, who went No. 15 to the Boston Red Sox. Malachi had a 5.09 ERA but struck out 11 hitters per nine innings in his final college season. He throws from a deceptive three-quarters slot but has battled command issues in his college career.
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'We liked the fastball, we liked the athleticism, we liked his ability to spin the baseball,' Tigers assistant general manager Rob Metzler said. 'We think he has great attributes to develop with our group as a starting pitching prospect.'
At pick No. 98, their final pick on the first day of the draft, the Tigers selected Arizona State lefty Ben Jacobs. He had a 4.95 ERA and struck out 12.9 hitters per nine innings last year. Strike-throwing is an area to improve, but Jacobs is well regarded for his ability to miss bats with his fastball, slider and changeup.
'He's an athletic left-hander with a good body and a really good foundational fastball that we think we're going to be able to build a starter's repertoire around,' Metzler said.
(Photo of Scott Harris: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)