If you’re following along with our prospect rankings and reports, you’ve noticed several themes developing. One low key trend that’s less obvious is the Tigers success with inexpensive college pitchers from smaller schools. While the Detroit Tigers have focused their bonus pools at the top of the draft and then on prep talent later on, they’ve done a pretty nice job plucking the right college pitchers beyond the top three rounds. A few have already turned into minor trade chips, while Troy Melton and to a lesser extent, Jaden Hamm, developed into legit upper level pitching prospects. 2023 ninth rounder Hayden Minton may be another one in the making, but a big test is coming in 2026 as the right-hander makes the Double-A leap.
The Tigers paid Minton the minimum after a good senior year for Missouri State. The Oklahoma product pitched there without much to recommend him as a freshman and sophomore, and spent his junior year in community college before earning his way back. On draft day, the 6’3”, 210 pound right-hander was an unheralded senior signing with just one good season for a solid but unspectacular D1 program, but good strikeout rates, advanced strike throwing, and a strong trendline after having to work his way back to Missouri State drew the attention of the Tigers’ scouting department hoping for a bit of a late bloomer.
Beyond his size and control, there were a few other traits the Tigers were intrigued by. They like pitchers with good extension, and Minton gets almost seven feet of extension to the plate, well above average. He can also rip the baseball, averaging 2720 rpms on his mid-80’s slider, a little less with his 80 mph curveball. In pro ball, Minton has leaned into the slider and it has developed into an above average pitch for him. Even better, he arrived with some changeup feel as well, understanding how to kill spin and velocity on his 85 mph circle change while maintaining his armspeed.
Minton’s fastball isn’t a standout pitch, but his size, extension, and fairly limited pitching background in college argued for plenty of upside. He arrived in Lakeland in 2024 with a fringe average sinker sitting 93 mph, and while its movement profile out a low three-quarters arm slot needed some tuning in pro ball, Minton arrived with the ability to locate it around the strikeout zone and induce weak contact.
Minton struck out his share of hitters in 2024, but as he and the Tigers worked on his stuff, his strike throwing suffered at points. He pitched a lot better than his 4.65 ERA. A 26.6 percent strikeout rate against his 10.4 percent walk rate was a good ratio, and he didn’t allow many home runs. Instead he was mostly BABIP’d to death. Still, the stuff developed, his command started to come around as the season progressed, and he made 21 starts and threw 93 innings.
That pro debut didn’t wow anyone, and Minton wasn’t jumping up any prospect lists, but his 2025 season showed signs of growth. He cut his walk rates down to nothing in seven starts at Single-A Lakeland to start the year, then made the move to High-A West Michigan. He had some trouble making the move, giving up a few more home runs as he continued to tweak the fastball and slider in particular. His results were fine in June, but the strikeouts were lacking a bit, and then he had a rough stretch of starts in July that contined after the All-Star break.
Finally, everything started clicking for Minton in August, and he posted a 2.63 ERA for the month. His fastball velocity was up a bit and his ability to command the slider and curveball combination sharpened up considerably. Over his final six outings, he issued just five walks, while striking out 29 hitters and allowing just two home runs across 29 innings. The timing couldn’t have been better as the Whitecaps stormed down the stretch with momentum that would carry them to a Midwest League championship. Minton’s contribution was six no-hit innings with five strikeouts and one walk to lead the Whitecaps to a divisional title over Lake County on September 11. You can watch that outing here courtesy of Tigers Minor League Report.
At season’s end, Minton looked like a much more well rounded pitcher. He was sitting 94 mph consistently and touching 96-97 when he let it all out. He appears to be mixing in more fourseamers with the sinker and is getting more whiffs up in the zone as a result. His low three-quarters armslot doesn’t produce great ride, and this is still an average set of fastballs, but by mixing types and taking advantage of his extension and improved command, he’s become much more effective with it. A steadier bump in velocity or some tweaks to get a little more seam-shifted wake movement will still be required to really develop an above average heater, but he’s a lot closer than he was at the beginning of 2025. The hints of 96-97 mph heat showing up bodes well for his future.
Another area in which he shines is in pairing the tilt on his slider and curveball to keep hitters guessing. The slider will draw plenty of whiffs and is an above average pitch when he’s dialed in. The curveball is fringe average, but because he’s able to make the pair look the same out of his hand, he’s often able to get hitters off balance and induce routine contact off the curveball. His changeup still has nice depth, but his command of it remains fairly crude. As a result, Minton was really tough on right-handed hitters, but sometimes struggled against lefties.
Essentially he reminds me somewhat of another Sawyer Gipson-Long in the making. It’s natural to look for guys with plus raw stuff and hope they round out their arsenal and develop command. Eye-popping stuff is the quickest path to big bonuses and focus from prospect hounds. Minton is a bit ahead of the curve in terms of command, particularly for a pitcher with a fairly long arm path. He also now boasts a pretty well rounded pitch mix. Still, it’s true that the stuff is still pretty average overall with the exception of his slider.
While Minton will be 25 this year and has two full seasons of pro ball under his belt, I still think his limited college career, size, and extension bode well for a little upside remaining in terms of pure stuff. Some of those late bloomer tendencies have already come to pass to get him this far. He’ll need a bit more to make the leap and thrive at the Double-A level this season. If things come together a little more the Tigers will have a pretty good depth starter candidate who can swing to middle relief as well.
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