TIGERS SELECT ALEX FAEDO IN FIRST ROUND (18th OVERALL)
The Detroit Tigers selected right-handed pitcher Alex Faedo from the University of Florida with their first pick (18th overall) in the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
In 17 starts for Florida this year, Faedo is 7-2 with a 2.60 ERA (107.1IP/31ER). The 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior has also racked up 132 strikeouts (11.07 SO/9.0 IP) with only 35 walks (3.77 SO/BB). The Gators are 14-3 in his 17 starts this season, including a 2-1 win last Saturday in Faedo’s rain-shortened start against Wake Forest in Game 1 of the Gainesville Super Regional.
“The Tigers are extremely excited to have drafted one of the most polished right-handed pitchers in all of college baseball,” Tigers Director, Amateur Scouting Scott Pleis said. “Alex Faedo throws in the low to mid 90’s with a plus slider and a changeup. We couldn’t be happier to have him in the fold.”
Over the last three seasons for the Gators (2015-17), Faedo has posted a 26-6 career record with a 3.09 ERA (256.1IP/88ER) in 50 appearances (43 starts). He was a standout on the 2016 USA Collegiate National Team as well, when he went 3-0 with a 0.56 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16.0 innings. Faedo was previously selected by Detroit in the 40th round of the 2014 draft out of Alonso High School in Tampa, Fl., but did not sign.
The club selected 40 total players during this year’s draft. The Tigers selected 21 pitchers during the three-day draft, while they picked 19 position players. Of the 40 players, 32 were from the college ranks, while eight were high school players.
The list of players selected by the Tigers in the 2017 draft is as follows:
| Rd. | Player | Position | Ht. | Wt. | B/T | Age | School |
| 1 | Alex Faedo | RHP | 6-5 | 220 | R/R | 21 | University of Florida |
| 2 | Reynaldo Rivera | OF | 6-6 | 250 | L/R | 21 | Chipola College |
| 3 | Joey Morgan | C | 6-0 | 205 | R/R | 20 | University of Washington |
| 4 | Gio Arriera | RHP | 6-2 | 220 | R/R | 19 | Palm Beach State College |
| 5 | Sam McMillan | C | 6-0 | 190 | R/R | 18 | Suwannee HS (FL) |
| 6 | Dane Myers | RHP | 6-2 | 205 | R/R | 21 | Rice University |
| 7 | Brad Bass | RHP | 6-6 | 250 | R/R | 21 | University of Notre Dame |
| 8 | Max Green | LHP | 6-1 | 175 | L/L | 21 | Pepperdine University |
| 9 | Luke Burch | OF | 6-2 | 185 | L/L | 23 | Kent State University |
| 10 | Garrett McCain | OF | 6-0 | 185 | R/L | 21 | Oklahoma State University |
| 11 | Garett King | RHP | 6-4 | 189 | R/R | 21 | California Baptist University |
| 12 | Will Vest | RHP | 6-0 | 180 | R/R | 22 | Stephen F. Austin St. University |
| 13 | Cole Peterson | SS | 5-11 | 160 | L/R | 21 | St. Bonaventure University |
| 14 | Antoine Mistico | CF | 5-10 | 175 | L/R | 19 | Chandler HS (AZ) |
| 15 | Teddy Hoffman | RF | 6-0 | 200 | R/R | 20 | Texas State University |
| 16 | Carson Lance | RHP | 6-5 | 240 | R/R | 22 | Lamar University |
| 17 | Billy Lescher | RHP | 6-4 | 215 | R/R | 21 | University of Pennsylvania |
| 18 | Dylan Rosa | LF | 6-2 | 210 | R/R | 20 | Kent State University |
| 19 | Ryan Karstetter | 3B | 6-4 | 210 | R/R | 20 | State College of Florida Manatee – Sarasota |
| 20 | Dylan Burdeaux | 1B | 6-2 | 230 | R/R | 23 | University of Southern Mississippi |
| 21 | Jordan Pearce | 3B | 6-2 | 200 | L/R | 21 | University of Nevada Reno |
| 22 | Colby Bortles | 3B | 6-5 | 225 | R/R | 22 | University of Mississippi |
| 23 | Mitchell Stalsberg | LHP | 6-1 | 200 | L/L | 21 | Winona State University |
| 24 | Jordan Knutson | LHP | 6-0 | 175 | R/L | 22 | Missouri State University |
| 25 | Dylan Stock | RHP | 6-4 | 195 | R/R | 20 | Binghamton University |
| 26 | Drew Crosby | LHP | 6-0 | 196 | R/L | 21 | University of Memphis |
| 27 | Jake Bivens | UTL | 6-1 | 185 | L/R | 22 | University of Michigan |
| 28 | Cameron Warner | 2B | 6-2 | 188 | R/R | 23 | Texas Christian University |
| 29 | Grant Reuss | LHP | 6-5 | 230 | R/L | 21 | University of Michigan |
| 30 | Kyle Thomas | RHP | 6-3 | 195 | R/R | 22 | University of Northwestern Ohio |
| 31 | Nick Storz | RHP | 6-6 | 242 | R/R | 19 | Poly Prep Country Day School (NY) |
| 32 | Drew Carlton | RHP | 6-1 | 207 | R/R | 21 | Florida State University |
| 33 | Jake Nelson | RHP | 6-3 | 215 | R/R | 20 | University of Pennsylvania |
| 34 | Ronell Coleman | CF | 5-5 | 155 | S/R | 22 | Vanderbilt University |
| 35 | Jeff Criswell | RHP | 6-2 | 201 | R/R | 18 | Portage Central HS (MI) |
| 36 | Jesse Heikkinen | LHP | 6-1 | 180 | L/L | 18 | Holt HS (MI) |
| 37 | Shane Cooper | SS | 5-11 | 185 | R/R | 22 | Hutchinson CC |
| 38 | Steven Mann | CF | 5-10 | 190 | R/R | 18 | Detroit Country Day School (MI) |
| 39 | Jack Leftwich | RHP | 6-3 | 205 | R/R | 18 | TNXL Academy (FL) |
| 40 | Rhys Cratty | 2B | 5-11 | 185 | R/R | 18 | Langley SS (British Columbia) |
Detroit Tigers schedule