The Detroit Tigers are one of the best teams in the major leagues right now, and for very good reason.
Great young talent on the team, a World Series champion manager, and one of, if not, the best pitchers in the game today in Tarik Skubal.
But an underrated part of Detroit’s success is their farm system, and it could help them get some good pickups at the trade deadline, especially second baseman Max Anderson, whom The Athletic predicts will be donning a new jersey come July 31.
Anderson, who was selected by the Tigers in the second round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Nebraska, has been stellar with Double-A Erie, currently holding a .314 batting average with 12 long balls and 57 runs batted in during his 79 games played.
“Anderson is having a great season, hitting above .300 in Double-A Erie and showing ability to get to his power in games. But his defensive ability is average at best, and with other infielders like Kevin McGonigle, Hao-Yu Lee and Jace Jung in the system, Anderson seems expendable to the Tigers. He could simultaneously be attractive to other teams in a high-priced market,” Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic said.
With the starting middle infield consisting of players like Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez, two All-Star Game starters from this year, perhaps Detroit can afford to ship off a prime prospect in order to get a slightly shinier diamond in the process as they look to make their way back to the World Series for the first time since 2012.
