Detroit Tigers Sign First-Round Pick, Three Other Top Selections

The Detroit Tigers have their first-round pick, Bryce Rainer, along with three other selections from the first five rounds in a flurry of deals on Monday, per MLB Pipeline.

Rainer’s is the most important, as it helps set how much money the Tigers will have left in their draft pick bonus pool, which is $11.921 million.

The University of Texas commit signed an above-slot deal with the Tigers worth $5.8 million. The bonus slot for his selection, which was No. 11, was $5.71 million.

MLB Pipeline wrote that Rainer might be the best pure bat in the class and expects to stay at shortstop. The report also said that comparisons to two-time World Series MVP Corey Seager were “inevitable.”

The left-handed hitting Rainer is a prep prospect who went to Harvard-Westlake High School (Calif.). MLB.com ranked him as the No. 10 overall prospect.

The Tigers were busy signing two other prospects and those deals were reflective of a belief that Detroit was looking to get some players on under-slot deals so they could add money to Rainer’s deal.

Second-round pick Owen Hall, a high school pitcher, signed a $1.75 million deal, which was about $143,000 below the slot value for his selection, which was No. 49 overall. The slot value was $1.893 million.

Hall was a Vanderbilt recruit, a program that has produced recent top prospects like Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. But by signing the contract, the Edmond, Okla., product will bypass college for the pros.

Hall starred at Edmond North High School, just outside of Oklahoma City. MLB reported that his fastball already hits 97 mph, plus has a slider and a change-up that he can put in the mid- to low-80s. Control of his secondary pitches will be key to his progression, based on scouting reports.

Third-round pick Josh Randall, another pitcher from the University of San Diego, signed an under-slot deal. Randall’s No. 85 pick was worth $892,600 but he signed a deal worth $700,000. He has a fastball that can hit 80 mph and a slider that can drop into the low 80s.

Fourth-round pick Michael Massey, a college pitcher, also signed his contract, which was worth $522,500, well below the slot value for the No. 114 pick, which was $637,200. The former Wake Forest star has a solid season as a starter last season, but may move back to a relief role after he was the Demon Deacons’ top reliever in 2023.

The Tigers have three other selections under contract — Notre Dame shortstop Jack Penney, who was their fifth-round pick and signed a deal $65,000 below slot; UC Irvine shortstop Woody Hadeen, who was their sixth-round pick and signed a below-slot deal worth $300,000; and Regis pitcher Ethan Sloan, who was their eighth-round pick.

Detroit has 5 p.m. eastern on Aug. 1, two days after the MLB trade deadline, to sign all of its draft selections.

The Tigers’ complete list of selections from the 2024 MLB Draft is below.