Detroit Tigers Have Another Elite Pitching Prospect Who Could Join Rotation Soon
The Detroit Tigers are enjoying an incredible stretch of play that has put them right back into the Wild Card race coming down the final weeks of the season.
It's hard not to get excited about what is taking place on the field, as not only is this team playing their best baseball of the year, but they're doing so in a manner that has gotten them into the playoff picture led by their young stars.
With seven rookies in their starting lineup and a patchwork rotation led by AL Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal and former top prospect Keider Montero, their ability to find ways to win has been impressive.
The staff needs to continue pitching well, especially since manager A.J. Hinch is using an unorthodox strategy of having multiple bullpen games per week.
Unfortunately, their superstar pitching prospect Jackson Jobe is still about a year away, just now getting promoted to Triple-A with all eyes on how he performs to close out the season. There is a real chance the Tigers' No. 2 overall prospect will be in the starting rotation on Opening Day if he performs well at that level and throughout Spring Training.
Outside of Jobe, there is another lesser-known youngster who is also someone the organization is very high on.
Last year's fifth-round pick, Jaden Hamm, has skyrocketed up the ranks of their farm system.
Coming into this season without a place in their top 30, the 22-year-old is now listed as Detroit's No. 7 prospect after putting together a huge campaign at the High Single-A level where he posted an ERA of 2.64 across his 24 outings and 23 starts.
Jason Beck of MLB.com took a look at Hamm and how quickly he might move up in terms of his ability to reach Major League Baseball as soon as next season.
"Hamm wrapped up his first full pro season last week as the Tigers' No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline, the top pitching prospect in the organization not named Jackson Jobe and potentially the next man behind Jobe to join the pitching pipeline to Detroit ... Nobody in the organization did more for his stock this season," he wrote.
It's fair to say that's been the case.
The Tigers worked with him on his pitch location when using his fastball and adding a slider to his arsenal. His ability to pick up on things quickly and add those elements to his game allowed him to dominate this year.
In addition to his sub-3.00 ERA, he also struck out 122 hitters across 99 innings pitched, only walking 31, while holding opposing lineups to a .202 batting average.
With Detroit searching for starting pitchers who they can pair alongside their ace Skubal for the foreseeable future, they are hoping Hamm becomes an internal option alongside Jobe who could give them a formidable frontline attack.
They might have to wait a bit longer for that with his projected call-up time not coming until 2026, but if he can continue to pitch the way he has, he could be on a similar rise to Jobe.
BRAD WAKAI