The Tigers made a head-scratching decision with their Opening Day roster that saw 25-year-old right-handed reliever Dylan Smith put on waivers, ultimately trading him to the Giants for cash. This move kicked off a season where the Tigers found themselves short on exactly the kind of right-handed relief Smith could have provided, a strange bit of roster mismanagement that maybe screamed “overconfidence” in their bullpen depth back in March.
That Dylan Smith DFA Still Stings, Doesn’t It?
Okay, let’s talk about Smith. We’re deep into looking back at our BYB preseason prospect rankings, and Smith was sitting at #21. The dude was DFA’d right at the start of the season. Think about that for a second! He went on to throw 39.2 innings for the Giants, snagging four saves but blowing five. His 3.86 ERA and 3.63 FIP for 0.5 fWAR? That’s pretty much what the Giants hoped for when they picked him up. He’s not a closer, and he wouldn’t crack the setup man spot for most teams, but he’s a middle reliever with some setup ability.
The thing is, we were desperate for right-handers like that at multiple points in 2026! It makes you wonder what was going on there. Smith’s fourseam-slider combo was effective enough for a solid strikeout rate with the Giants, and he limited home runs. Oracle Park might’ve helped him out there, given it’s a tough place for dingers, especially since he allowed a much higher fly ball percentage than he did in the minors. Maybe he was pitching to the park. He still needs to command both pitches more consistently and cut down on walks if he wants to move into regular high-leverage setup work, but he took a solid step forward in his first full MLB year. His stock? Neutral. But man, for the Tigers, it felt like a missed opportunity from the jump.
What About the Rest of the Crew?
This review, the third installment of our dive into the 2026 BYB preseason prospect rankings from #21 to #30, is hitting different this year. With those CBA negotiations dragging, potentially leading to a much longer offseason, we’re taking a deeper look at how everyone performed, what improvements they made (or still need), and if their prospect stock is trending up, down, or chilling at neutral. Most players in this #21-30 group are 40+ FV prospects, with Izaac Pacheco, at #30, being the sole 40 FV tier guy in this specific article. Remember, we’re only looking at preseason guys; no mid-season trade acquisitions or draft picks are included.
Up next at #22, we had right-hander Ty Madden. This guy has spent years in the Tigers system battling a fourseam fastball with mediocre shape and declining velocity. The good news? His command developed pretty nicely, especially considering he’s got a deep pitch mix in his arsenal. We’ll be diving more into what that actually means for his future soon enough.
So, as the offseason really gets going, and we wait for those CBA talks to finally wrap up, we’ll keep revisiting these preseason grades and scouting reports. We need to know who’s primed to make noise in next year’s reports and who still has work to do.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bless You Boys.
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