The Detroit Tigers are a storied franchise, having won four World Series championships and produced multiple MVP and Cy Young winners. They have made the playoffs the past two seasons with multiple first-round picks, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Casey Mize, leading the way.
They’ve been successful in the draft as of late, but prior to that, it had been a while since any first-rounder made a significant impact. Yet, Detroit has had first-rounders who have had iconic moments while wearing the uniform.
Detroit’s history is rich, but their best top picks were all taken prior to the 2000s, aside from one legend who helped them make it to two World Series. Justin Verlander is arguably the most well-known Tiger of the 21st century, and he kicks off the list of the Tigers’ first-rounders with the most bWAR with the team.
1. RHP Justin Verlander, 56.6 bWAR
A future Hall of Famer, Verlander is arguably the best pitcher in Detroit’s history. Drafted second overall in the 2004 draft out of Old Dominion University, he had a brief stint the next season before bursting onto the scene in 2006 and helping Detroit to a World Series.
The right-hander threw 186 innings with a 3.66 ERA on his way to winning AL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and never looked back. For the next eight straight seasons, he would throw 200 or more innings each year and led the league three times.
In 2011, Verlander posted 8.6 bWAR, throwing 251 innings and winning the Triple Crown with 24 wins, a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts. He would win the Cy Young unanimously as well as the AL MVP, the first pitcher to do so since 1992 at the time. He was the third Tigers’ pitcher to win the award.
But Verlander didn’t stop there. As a Tiger, he led the league in bWAR two more times. In his 12 and a half seasons in Detroit, Verlander made six All-Star teams, was a top 10 Cy Young finisher five times, including three other top three finishes, and received MVP votes in four seasons besides the year he won.
He’s top ten all time for the franchise in wins (183), WHIP (1.191), K/9 (8.5), innings (2,511), strikeouts (2,373), games started (380) and ERA+ (123).
Verlander is looking to pitch again in 2026 and has since to gone on to win two more Cy Youngs since leaving the Tigers, but his legend started in Detroit.
2. C Lance Parrish, 30.1 bWAR
Parrish is the oldest player on the list, being selected 16th overall in the 1974 draft. He wouldn’t make his debut until 1977 and the catcher didn’t play 100 games until 1979. Beginning that year, Parrish would go on to become one of the best offensive catchers in all of baseball.
During his peak, an eight year stretch, Parrish made six All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers and even got MVP votes three times.
Parrish was regularly hitting 20 home runs and was driving in 80 or more runs often, with three seasons of 90 RBIs and a career high 114 in 1983.
From 1979 to 1986, only one catcher had more home runs and RBIs than Parrish, Gary Carter. Carter edged out Parrish in home runs by one and RBIs, by 61. The eight-time career All-Star was one of the best catchers in the 1980s, particularly during his time with Detroit.
Parrish left after the 1986 season and only spent 10 years with the franchise in total, but he made his mark on both the Tigers and baseball during his stint.
He has the ninth most home runs in team history with 212.
3. OF Kirk Gibson, 27.7 bWAR
When someone mentions Kirk Gibson, the first thought for many is likely the home run he hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. But before that, Gibson was a star for the Detroit Tigers and even hit an iconic home run in that uniform first.
The Tigers selected Gibson in the first round of the 1978 draft, allowing him to stay home after his time at Michigan State. The outfielder would make his debut the next season as a 22-year-old, but it took him some time to find stardom.
In his first two years in the big leagues, Gibson played 63 games, hitting 10 home runs and posting a .727 OPS, just barely below league average at a 95 OPS+. The next season in 1981 is when Gibson would begin to make a name for himself.
In 1981, “Gibby” received MVP votes despite only playing 83 games. In a shortened season, he posted 2.4 bWAR while hitting .328 with a 141 OPS+. He took more of a step towards league average over the next two seasons, but he played over 100 games for the first time in 1983.
1984 would see his stardom reach new heights, after hitting 23 doubles, 10 triples, a then-career high 27 homers, and 91 runs batted in. His .879 OPS and 142 OPS+ allowed him to finish sixth in MVP voting, the highest of his career to that point. In the World Series that year, Gibson would hit two home runs in Game 5, including a three-run go-ahead homer in the eighth to clinch the series.
Over the next three seasons as a Tiger, Gibson would rack up at least 3.7 bWAR each season, including a career high 5.4 in 1985, where he also set career highs in doubles (37), home runs (29), and RBIs (97). After his stint with the Dodgers, Gibson would have pitstops in Kansas City and Pittsburgh before finishing the final three years of his 17-year career in Detroit.
4. SS/3B Travis Fryman, 27.5 bWAR
Fryman, taken in the first round of the 1987 draft, was a staple of some middling to bad 1990s Tigers teams. He made his debut in 1990 and from then until he left after 1997, he was one of the best third basemen in baseball.
He finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1990, posting an .818 OPS and racking up 2.1 bWAR in just 66 games. During his tenure as a Tiger, Fryman won a Silver Slugger and made four All-Star teams in his eight years.
He posted at least 2.0 bWAR each season and at least 15 homers in seven out of eight seasons, including more than 20 in five of them. In that span, only six third basemen hit more than his 149 home runs.
From 1990-97, Fryman played the fourth most games of any third baseman and scored the third most runs. The 13-year veteran was one of the most steady players in all of baseball during that time, only playing less than 140 games twice, once as a rookie and the other during the strike-shortened 1994 season.
5. LHP Justin Thompson, 13.1 bWAR
Thompson is different than every other player ahead of him in that he did not have a 10-plus year career. The left-hander spent four years with Detroit and just five years in the big leagues total. Drafted out of high school in 1991, he steadily made his way through the minor leagues to make his debut in 1996.
As a rookie, Thompson showed flashes of what was to come the next couple of seasons. In 11 starts, he pitched to a 4.58 ERA in 59 innings while striking out 44 batters and walking 4.7 per nine. It was a little rough around the edges, giving up over a homer per nine innings, but he had a 112 ERA+.
It all came together in 1997 with the lefty making an All-Star team and leading Detroit’s pitching staff in ERA (3.02), innings (223.1), and strikeouts (151). He would post a team -igh 152 ERA+ and 7.7 bWAR on the way to his lone All-Star selection.
Thompson would throw 222 innings the next season, but was far less effective, posting an ERA a run higher at 4.05. He only accumulated 2.9 bWAR in over 200 innings and his 116 ERA+ was a huge drop off. Injuries would slow him down in 1999, only throwing 142.2 innings and posting a 5.11 ERA. THe left-hander was traded that offseason.
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