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The Detroit Tigers have reportedly come to terms with their first five draft picks in the 2026 amateur draft, as well as few select other picks so far. We’ve been waiting for numbers to be announced so we can begin to get an idea how many of their prep and JUCO picks they might actually be able to land. On Thursday evening, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline announced the first and biggest number on their board. First round selection, right-handed starting pitcher Cameron Flukey has signed with the Tigers for a reported $3.8 million, which is roughly $282,000 under slot for the 22nd overall pick.
The big right-hander out of Coastal Carolina has an overpowering mid to high 90’s fourseam fastball that misses bats, as does his sharp 12-6 curveball in the high 70’s. He also has a good track record of locating both pitches for strikes. Development of his slider and offspeed pitch, along with refining his command a little further, will be keys to turning Flukey into the frontline starter he has the potential to become.
So the Tigers saved $282,000 here, and this is the plan. Hopefully they can trim a hundred thousand here and there from college draft picks’ slot bonuses, while landing a lot of their later college picks further on in the draft for around the league minimum. The savings would then be used to lock up their prep and JUCO picks, who have the option to honor their four-year college commitments should they not get an offer they’ll accept from the Tigers.
The strategy usually results in a few players going back to school, but by locking up as much teenaged talent as possible the Tigers hope to get future first round talents before they get that far and become much more expensive to sign. So far, leaning into that strategy hasn’t done a whole lot for the farm system, but it takes a lot more time to really know how prep players will play out. At the same time, this strategy continues to become tougher as colleges can now offer NIL dollars to their recruits to try and convince them to pass on their draft offers and hope to improve and raise their draft stock signficantly in time for their junior seasons of college, when most top college talent is drafted and signed.
The Tigers entered this draft with $9,165,100 in total bonus pool. Prior to round 11, all money paid as a bonus to draftees counts against that total bonus pool. Beyond the 10th round, teams can pay a player up to $150,000 without it counting against their bonus pools. That $150,000 threshold is often referred to as the minimum bonus, although teams can pay less. The Tigers have done pretty well finding athletic, undervalued college players later in the draft for close to that minimum number in recent years.
