Baseball America projects first three draft picks for Tigers

22. Coleman Borthwick, HS RHP

Firstly, the staff mentioned Coleman Borthwick, an oversized pitcher out of South Walton High School in Florida’s panhandle. Borthwick is a bit of a throwback pick as a massive, hard-throwing righty listed at 6’5, 255 lbs; he certainly would fit right into a typical Dave Dombrowski draft. Beyond the measurables, Borthwick is pretty much what you’d expect. He throws up to 98 on his fastball, has a sharp slider he can usually locate on the corner, and generally bullies high schoolers in the zone. Right now, he’s repeating his delivery enough to track as a starter, but he would need to develop a changeup to really pop. Good thing the Tigers are typically good at finding some sort of changeup; speculatively, I’d assume the 6’5 guy would have hands big enough to create a solid splitter. Borthwick has drawn some buzz for his offensive skills, too – he’s a big, strong power hitting corner guy – but his pitching seems to have taken off in 2026. Reports indicate teams are much more attracted to his arm than his bat. As with any 18 year old pick, there’s a lot of work to be done, but the goal would be to get him away from his Auburn commitment and onto a pro mound full time. The big frame, high velocity, and solid slider make for a strong foundation to build up from.

Wes Mendes, FSU LHP

Next we have Wes Mendes, a lefty from Florida State University. Mendes is a third year pitcher, having previously transferred from Ole Miss’ bullpen to FSU’s rotation for 2025 and 2026. Mendes is a lefty who sits around 91 with an uphill fastball that plays up in the zone and a plus changeup in the high 70s. His initial attempt at starting went very poorly as he built up to a full time workload, but this year he has posted a 2.43 ERA in a very hitter-friendly college league. The continued positive development – from bullpen to bad starter to good starter – in only three years is a big arrow up for a lot of organizations. Seeing the aptitude for improvement early can often be a sign of further improvements or adaptations later down the road. FSU is in the ACC too, so this isn’t a product of jumping to a small school with poor competition, either; he’s facing real college hitters as the Friday-night starter for a D1 program. Whatever team grabs Mendes will be banking on three simple things: getting the fastball from the low to mid 90s, developing a breaking ball, and getting him ready for 150+ innings.

Luke Williams, HS SS/CF

Finally we have my favorite of the three names mentioned, Luke Williams. Williams is a hyper-athletic HS SS/CF from Pennsylvania. This sounds highly Tiger-ish. BA specifically mentions his 70-grade speed and 70-grade throwing arm as indicators he’ll be fine at either CF or SS, but doesn’t say much about his right handed stick. He’s listed at a fairly typical 6’0, 180 lbs, and likely has a bit of room to add some strength but nothing crazy. He reportedly has plus bat speed but missed time in 2025 with a serious ankle injury, so scouts have had a fairly limited timeframe to check out the hit tool. That’s especially notable because Pennsylvania isn’t known as a baseball hotspot and there’s no indication he played for any of the international teams that put someone like McGonigle on the map. All that being said, when you get into the 60s of any draft, this is the type of bat I think you should be targeting. You’ve got a plus or double plus defender up the middle with strong hands, a quick bat, and room to grow into power. Unless he shows terrible plate discipline or no feel for the barrel when you see him in person, this feels like a risk worth taking. The Tigers are doing pretty well developing this type of player these days. Nobody mentions that in their April scouting reports, so for now I’m inclined to guess he’s about average for the level there and doesn’t stand out in either direction. That’s enough to start from. If you’re reading this, you know as well as I do it’s April. Mock drafts the day before the draft get information wrong all the time, so don’t take anything written this early as gospel. Players will pop or bust, teams will do in-person negotiations, money will come into play, all that. For now, it’s better to view these names as representative of the options the team might be considering. Or might not. It’s April, after all.