While Major League Baseball and the players’ union remain at odds over the next collective bargaining agreement, it is the 2017-2021 edition to which we look today in considering the Detroit Tigers’ farm system. Added to that agreement were new rules for signing international free agents, one that established a bonus pool structure and sought to close off some of the loopholes teams exploited in the previous ruleset. It was at that point that the Tigers finally started to match other teams’ spending power. Infielder Cristian Santana looks like the best of the group.
However, Santana only just turned 18 back in November, so patience is required.