Scott Harris, the Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations, had his season-ending press conference on Monday. Despite a 76-86 record and a fourth-place finish in the American League Central, the Tigers had some bright spots on the roster this season.

Shortstop Kevin McGonigle is only 22 years old and could very well win the American League Rookie of the Year award. He will be one of the young core pieces in the future. Outfielder Max Clark is expected to be a key piece of this organization for the long haul as well. They have more young talent on the way, and Harris is excited about the young players for the future.

Scott Harris Says the Tigers Are Building Through Development

Harris spoke about his vision of the team for the future on Monday. Jeremy Otto of 97.1 The Ticket was covering the press conference. The young players on this team are the exciting part about the future of the Tigers, and Harris was direct about how the roster gets built:

“not building through free agency. I have been very consistent on this point since the day I got here. We are building through development. We are participating in free agency & we always will participate in free agency but that is designed to supplement the core.”

McGonigle, Clark and Greene Are the Core

It appears as if McGonigle, Clark, and Riley Greene will be the core for the Tigers organization for the future. It is a good place for this team to start. Hao-Yu Lee is another young player who could factor in for Detroit during the 2027 MLB season.

Zyhir Hope Is Another Prospect to Watch

River Ryan and Brady Smith were both part of the Tarik Skubal trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in August, and so was outfielder Zyhir Hope, the headliner of the return. He could very well be in the Tigers outfield at some point during the 2027 MLB season. In 124 total games at the Double-A level this season with the Tulsa Drillers and the Erie SeaWolves, Hope had a .287 batting average with 29 home runs and 111 RBIs, along with 26 stolen bases on 32 attempts.

His on-base percentage was .367, his slugging percentage was .513, and his OPS was .880. Hope is only 21 years old. If he becomes a potential star like McGonigle and Clark, the core of this team will be good for the long haul. If they don’t develop the players well in 2027, there are people who will question the job that Harris has done with this baseball club.