SerpApi.Org
The MLB Draft is over and the Detroit Tigers got pretty good marks for the players they selected. On July 16, they finally closed a deal with prep infielder Will Adams, who is a prototypical pick from president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
There was concern that Adams would not be swayed from his commitment to LSU, but the Tigers were able to convince him to skip school and go pro, which is not a given for an eleventh-round pick.
This was possible because the Tigers got their first-round pick Cameron Flukey to sign for a bit of a discount. They were able to use those savings to give Adams more money. He was ranked as the No. 102 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline going into the draft, so he went way after many expected him to go at No. 336.
Adams is just 18 years old out of high school in Alabama. He was Gatorade’s high school Player of the Year for Alabama. He was drafted as a first baseman officially, but he's technically a two-way prospect, so it could be interesting to see how the Tigers choose to manage him.
He’s seen as a guy with a lot of upside in his bat and some untapped power, so he’s definitely going to be a player to keep an eye on as he progresses through the minors. If he works out, he could end up being an absolute steal for Detroit.
Scott Harris has had success with this prototype in the past
This is not the first time the Tigers have drafted a left-handed prep infielder under Harris. Obviously, Kevin McGonigle was drafted straight from high school, and he’s turned out great. Bryce Rainer is another great example and he’s lighting it up in the minors. Last year’s first-round pick Jordan Yost also fits that same profile.
Adams was drafted much further down, but he probably would have been selected higher in the draft if teams thought they had a more realistic chance of signing him and swaying him from his commitment to LSU.
It was definitely a risk for the Tigers to draft him because there was a good chance he would just end up going to college, but Harris deserves credit for getting a deal done and making the right money maneuvers to make it happen. Now the real work comes of trying to turn him into a legitimate big league player someday.
Today's best reads
- Grading the last 5 Tigers' first-round draft picks
- Tigers' 2026 first-round MLB Draft pick is littered with questions as Scott Harris goes off script
- Complete list of Detroit Tigers' 2026 MLB Draft picks with wild trend to note on Day 2
- Tigers' first-round pick solves longstanding organizational depth issue in a hurry
- Tigers reporter proposes intriguing theory for Scott Harris' 2026 draft pivot
This article was originally published on motorcitybengals.com as Tigers mercifully close deal with high-upside 2026 draft pick who is right out of Scott Harris' playbook.
