DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today selected outfielder Akil Baddoo from the Minnesota Twins with the third pick of the Major League phase of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. The 22-year-old was picked in the Competitive Balance B round of the 2016 MLB Rule 4 Draft, and was ranked as the No. 13 prospect in Minnesota’s organization by MLB Pipeline.
“Akil had standout tools when he signed out of high school, and we’ve definitely seen them on display during his time in professional baseball,” said Al Avila, Detroit Tigers Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager. “We’ve seen the power, speed and defense from him, and are excited for him to work with our coaching staff. He’s got the rare athletic ability to be a high-level defender in the outfield and really impact the ball from the left side of the plate, and we look forward to him showing it this coming season.”
Baddoo missed most of the 2019 season with an arm injury, and began training this fall at the Twins instructional league. He’s played 233 Minor League games over parts of four seasons, finishing 2019 at Single A Fort Myers.
His standout campaign came in 2017, when he batted a combined .323/.436/.527 with four homers, 19 doubles, 29 RBI and 36 walks in 53 games between GCL Twins and Single A Elizabethton. He hit .389 (35×90) with 16 extra-base hits and 13 RBI in 24 games with Elizabethton during August, after which he was named the MiLB.com Appalachian League Player of the Month. He finished the 2018 season among the team batting leaders in many categories for Single A Cedar Rapids, where Baddoo posted career highs in homers (11) and hits (106) during his first full-season assignment.
Standing 6-foot-1, 210-pounds, the Silver Springs, Maryland, native was drafted out of Salem High School (GA). In 2015, he was a Perfect Game Underclass High-Honorable Mention, while in 2016 he was named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Second-Team All-American and to the Southeast All-Region First-Team.
With the addition of Baddoo, the Tigers 40-man roster is at 40.
