DETROIT _ The Tigers had the pick of the litter to start the second round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft Thursday, but two players who had been at the top of their board Wednesday night were plucked with late compensatory picks.
The Kansas City Royals took Baylor shortstop Nick Loftin with the 32nd pick and the Tampa Bay Rays took shortstop Alika Williams from Arizona State with at No. 37, the last pick of the night.
So, would the Tigers take the next best shortstop on the board, or would they go in another direction.
Answer: Different direction.
With the 38th pick, the Tigers took Ohio State catcher Dillon Dingler, who experts thought was the second-best catcher in the draft after NC State's Patrick Bailey.
He projects to be an athletic catcher (6-3, 210), a right-handed hitter with some pop both in his arm and bat.
MLB analyst Dan O'Dowd called Dingler the Tigers' catcher of the future _ which Jake Rogers will have something to say about.
"This might be the most athletic catcher in the draft," O'Dowd added. "A lot of raw power. This guy has a chance to be one of those cornerstone guys for the Tigers."
