​As Major League Baseball neared the All-Star break, the Detroit Tigers began assembling their next wave of potential All-Stars. The 2026 MLB Draft concluded on Sunday, and Detroit selected 20 players over 20 rounds, including 13 pitchers and seven position players. Under Scott Harris, who has led the Tigers as president of baseball operations since 2022, this marked the fourth draft of his tenure. The club leaned heavily on college players this year, continuing a pattern that has characterized the Harris era.
In total, Detroit chose just six players out of high school and 14 from college. That high school tally matches the franchise’s lowest under Harris, a mark also reached in 2025. Notably, the Tigers limited their high school selections to six in the first 10 rounds in 2026. Their 11th-round pick, Will Adams from Alabama, was their first high-school selection outside the earlier rounds. Adams is a highly regarded hitting prospect.
During the draft’s final day, Tigers executives were asked whether this high-school to college split reflected the changing landscape of college athletics, where NIL money can entice players to attend college rather than turn pro immediately. “We’re always aware of the baseball landscape,” said Rob Metzler, the assistant general manager and vice president who oversees scouting. “I think it’s just the way the draft board fell this year.”
The Tigers kicked off their high-school selections with Dominic Pellegrin, a shortstop from Louisiana, chosen in the fourth round on Saturday. In the eighth round, they added third baseman Robert Omidi, out of St. Martin Secondary School in Ontario. Pellegrin has committed to Tulane, while Omidi is bound for Kentucky. The signing bonuses for these two early picks are set at $614,500 for Pellegrin and $225,300 for Omidi. Both could command more if they decide to forego college, but Detroit faces a modest bonus pool of just over $9 million to distribute. More than two-thirds of that pool is expected to be allocated to the Tigers’ top three picks, all of whom are college players. Among them is first-round talent Caeron Flukey, a right-handed pitcher from Coastal Carolina, whose slot value tops $4 million.
Slot values are determined through the 10th round, after which teams must negotiate with the remaining picks to ensure all 20 selections can be signed. That framework makes the selection of Adams—an 18-year-old first baseman and corner outfielder from Alabama—particularly compelling. Adams went in the 11th round, 336th overall, with MLB.com’s pre-draft rankings listing him at 102. Adams’ commitment to LSU may have deterred some teams, but Detroit saw value in what MLB draft analysts described as one of the class’s “prettiest left-handed swings” among high-school players in 2026. The Tigers acknowledged Adams’ shorter swing, but believed his toolset and potential justified the pick, especially given the context of the draft’s signing constraints and the team’s overall strategy.