After taking Texas high school pitcher Jake Thompson with their first selection in the 2012 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers reeled off three selections of young arms in the middle rounds on Tuesday afternoon.
With his third pick this year at No. 154 overall, Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski opted to go with a high-upside choice in Vanderbilt junior Drew VerHagen in the fourth round, a 6-foot-6, 230 pound righthander with a raw, but impressive skill-set. With arguably the most ideal frame you'll find for a young starting pitcher, VerHagen will have to work on his control before he ascends the ranks to the MLB level.
With their next two selections the Tigers remained in a pitching mindset, but instead focused on nabbing a pair of lefthanded options in Central Florida's Joe Rogers at No. 184 and Oklahoma's Jordan John at No. 214. Rogers went 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA in 28 appearances out of the bullpen for the Knights, and struck out 45 batters over 39.1 innings. John, a redshirt sophomore who might have the highest ceiling of all three, started eight games for the Sooners this past year and posted a 2.23 ERA. The 6-foot-3 Corpus Christi native finished his two-year stint with Oklahoma with 140 strikeouts in 158 innings pitched, and is only scratching at his potential after only being utilized as a spot-starter.
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