The Detroit Tigers entered the 2026 season with several recognizable pitching prospects, but the organization needed to replenish the depth behind its major league staff.

Injuries slowed some of Detroit’s recent draft picks, while graduations and trades reduced the number of starting options available at the upper levels. The Tigers have addressed that need through multiple avenues, including the draft, international development and two significant deadline trades.

That work is beginning to show at High-A West Michigan.

Detroit selected Cameron Flukey with the 22nd overall pick in July, acquired Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf from the San Diego Padres for Casey Mize and Gage Workman, and added River Ryan and Brady Smith from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal trade. Those moves followed a 2025 draft class that included Ben Jacobs, who has developed faster than expected and emerged as the leading homegrown pitching breakout in the organization.

Lucas Elissalt, a 13th-round selection in 2024, has also worked his way into the Tigers’ long-term pitching picture. Behind them are international signings Kelvis Salcedo and Jhonan Coba, two younger arms who could become candidates to join West Michigan during the 2027 season.

The Tigers still do not know how many members of that group will become major league starters. What they have created is a larger collection of pitchers with different arsenals, backgrounds and developmental timelines.

For the remainder of 2026, the clearest example is a West Michigan rotation that could feature Jacobs, Mayfield, Smith and Elissalt.

Jacobs has become the centerpiece of the Whitecaps’ rotation less than a year after Detroit selected him in the third round of the 2025 draft.

The 22-year-old left-hander has recorded 102 strikeouts over 72 1/3 innings, producing a 4.23 ERA and 1.22 WHIP through 18 appearances. He opened the season with Lakeland but needed only a few weeks before earning a promotion to West Michigan on April 28.

The ERA does not fully show how effective Jacobs has been at missing bats. He has averaged approximately 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings while holding hitters to limited sustained contact.

Jacobs generally works with a fastball in the 92-94 mph range that can reach 96. His slider and changeup both project as above-average pitches, giving him a legitimate three-pitch combination rather than forcing him to depend entirely on velocity. MLB Pipeline has given both secondaries 55 grades, although his control remains the primary area needing improvement.

There are still questions about whether Jacobs will throw enough strikes consistently to remain a starter. He can get hitters to expand the zone, but more advanced opponents will force him to prove that he can generate outs while working within it.

His progress through his first professional season has nevertheless changed his standing within the organization. Jacobs entered the year as an interesting third-round pick. He is finishing it as one of the Tigers’ most productive pitching prospects and the leader of a much more talented West Michigan staff.

Mayfield gives the Whitecaps another left-hander with a strong changeup, although his physical profile and pitching style differ from Jacobs.

The Padres selected Mayfield with the 25th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Elk City High School in Oklahoma. The Tigers acquired him after he made 15 starts for High-A Fort Wayne, where he posted a 3.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 62 strikeouts over 53 1/3 innings. Detroit assigned and activated him with West Michigan shortly after the trade.

Mayfield’s best pitch is his low-80s changeup, which MLB Pipeline grades as a 60. He sells the pitch with his arm speed before it drops with late arm-side movement. His fastball has generally operated around 90-92 mph as a professional, although it reached 97 during his final amateur season. His slider gives him a third pitch, particularly against left-handed hitters.

Regaining and maintaining some of his previous fastball velocity would raise Mayfield’s ceiling. His changeup and delivery already give him a reasonable foundation for a starting role, but the quality of his fastball will help determine whether he projects closer to the middle or back of a major league rotation.

The Tigers do not need Mayfield to immediately replace Mize. At 21, he remains several developmental steps from the major leagues. The trade gave Detroit another young starter with first-round talent, a proven ability to miss bats and experience against Midwest League hitters.

Smith gives the Tigers one of the more interesting statistical profiles in the system.

The right-hander had an 0-7 record and 4.36 ERA through 21 starts before being acquired from the Dodgers, numbers that do not immediately stand out. Smith also recorded 113 strikeouts over 74 1/3 innings with a 1.24 WHIP. His strikeout rate of approximately 13.7 per nine innings is the strongest of the current Whitecaps group.

Smith has more pitches available than many 21-year-old starters. His fastball received a 55 grade from MLB Pipeline, and his changeup received a 60. He also throws a curveball, slider and cutter, each graded as an average offering. That gives him multiple ways to change speeds and movement profiles rather than repeatedly using the same fastball-breaking-ball combination.

The changeup is his best pitch. It features splitter-like drop and gives Smith a weapon against opposite-handed hitters. His fastball generally sits in the mid-90s and plays effectively near the top of the strike zone. The breaking pitches remain less consistent, but they give him additional options when hitters begin anticipating the fastball or changeup.

Command is Smith’s largest developmental question. A five-pitch arsenal only helps if he can consistently reach favorable counts and place those offerings where they are most effective.

His strikeout production shows what the arsenal can do when he is executing. The Tigers can spend the remainder of the season evaluating which pitches Smith should emphasize and whether simplifying the mix could help him throw more consistent strikes.

Elissalt should not get lost behind the newer names entering the organization.

The 22-year-old right-hander has a 3.73 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 81 strikeouts over 70 innings this season. After an uneven start, he produced his best stretch in July, allowing only two runs over 19 2/3 innings while striking out 22 and walking four.

Elissalt does not have the same fastball velocity as Smith or Flukey. He generally works around 91-93 mph, but his 6-foot-4 frame creates extension that helps the pitch reach hitters faster than the radar-gun reading might suggest.

His curveball is the main reason his arsenal works. MLB Pipeline grades it as a 60 pitch because of its spin, vertical drop and glove-side movement and at Tigers Minor League Report, we give it the same grade. Elissalt also uses a slider and changeup while showing enough control to attack the strike zone during his better outings.

Elissalt’s July improvement is encouraging because it came with both strikeouts and reduced walks. He allowed only four walks during that 19 2/3-inning stretch, an indication that he was working ahead and giving hitters fewer opportunities to sit on his fastball.

A velocity increase would improve his projection, but it is not the only path forward. Elissalt can continue succeeding by locating the fastball, getting early strikes and using the curveball as his main finishing pitch.

He has gone from a 13th-round pick to Florida State League Pitcher of the Year in 2025 and now a productive member of the West Michigan rotation. That gives Detroit another example of developing pitching beyond the first few rounds of the draft.

Flukey is not currently part of the Whitecaps’ rotation, but he is an important part of the Tigers’ larger effort to increase their pitching depth.

Detroit selected the 6-foot-6 right-hander with the 22nd overall pick in July. Flukey is currently active with the Florida Complex League Tigers but has not made his official professional debut.

His fastball generally sits in the mid-90s, can reach 98 and received a 60 grade from MLB Pipeline. His curveball and slider both received 55 grades, while his changeup and control were graded as average or better. It is the type of four-pitch foundation that gives him a chance to remain a starter.

Flukey missed approximately two months of his college season because of a rib stress fracture, which could lead the Tigers to be conservative with his workload. Detroit does not need to rush him into competitive innings late in the year.

His likely role in this pitching group will become clearer in 2027. Flukey could eventually move quickly because of his college experience, strike-throwing ability and developed secondary pitches. For now, he gives the Tigers a power right-hander to place behind the more established High-A group.

The pitching depth does not stop with the draft picks and trade acquisitions.

Salcedo, a 20-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, has recorded 24 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings for Lakeland this season. Injuries have limited him to eight appearances, but his career totals include 202 strikeouts over 160 1/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA and 1.11 WHIP.

His fastball, slider and splitter have all received 55 grades from MLB Pipeline. The question is control, which has received a 40 grade. If Salcedo stays healthy and improves his strike throwing, he has the arsenal to become one of Lakeland’s more interesting rotation candidates in 2027.

Coba is another Venezuelan right-hander who has developed from a low-cost international signing into a legitimate prospect. He finished his FCL season with a 3.51 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 25 2/3 innings. His fastball has received a 55 grade, with his slider and changeup both receiving 50 grades. Like Salcedo, his control remains behind the quality of his pitches.

Neither pitcher should be considered guaranteed to reach West Michigan in 2027. Salcedo must stay healthy, and Coba still needs to prove himself against full-season competition. Both, however, are close enough that they could become part of the next rotation group after the current Whitecaps arms begin moving toward Erie.

The Tigers’ pitching pipeline is still built around projection.

Jacobs needs to improve his control. Mayfield must maintain his health and recover some fastball velocity. Smith has to turn his collection of pitches into more consistent command. Elissalt must show that his July improvement can continue against more advanced hitters. Flukey has yet to throw a professional inning, while Salcedo and Coba remain in the lower levels.

That uncertainty is normal with pitching prospects.

The difference is that Detroit now has enough options that the organization does not need every pitcher to reach his maximum ceiling. Jacobs, Mayfield, Smith and Elissalt give West Michigan four starters with legitimate bat-missing ability. Flukey provides another high-upside arm behind them, while Salcedo and Coba could continue the progression in 2027.

The Tigers paid a significant price to acquire some of that depth, particularly by moving Skubal and Mize. The early returns from those trades will be judged primarily through Hope, Ryan and Mayfield, but Smith and Wolf also increased the number of pitchers available to the organization.

West Michigan is where the immediate improvement is easiest to see. Jacobs has led the group throughout the season. Elissalt is pitching his best baseball of the year. Mayfield arrives with a first-round background and a plus changeup, while Smith brings one of the strongest strikeout rates in the system.

That rotation gives Tigers fans several new arms to follow through the end of the season and provides the organization with a deeper group to move toward Erie in 2027.