The 2021 Detroit Tigers were headlined by new faces making big impacts in the lineup. They finished with 77 wins in the '21 season, their best record since 2016. Eric Haase & Robbie Grossman were among those new faces making a big impact, but nobody made a bigger impact then Akil Baddoo. The 22 yr old OF put himself on the map after being taken 3rd overall in the Rule 5 Draft in December of 2020...
On December 10th, 2020 the Tigers announced that they acquired OF Akil Baddoo with the 3rd pick of the MLB Rule 5 Draft, from division rival Minnesota Twins. I'm sure at the time Tigers GM Al Avila had no idea how big the acquisition was... Akil Baddoo earned his spot on Detroit's opening day roster by impressing Tigers Manager A.J Hinch in spring training. Baddoo hit 5 Homeruns, with 11 RBI's, 10 walks and a .325 batting average in Spring training camp. Before joining the Tigers, Baddoo never played past High-A minor league level, never reaching an AA or AAA affiliate, which is why he was eligible for the Rule 5 draft, which made his Major League success even more impressive...
On April 4th, 2021 Akil Baddoo stepped to the plate for the very first time in the big leagues, never having a plate appearance past High-A and the very first pitch he ever saw in his big league career he hit over the wall in left field at Comerica Park for a Homerun. That was only the beginning of Akil Baddoo's first week in the Major's as he went on to become the only Tiger to homer in his first two Major League games (One being a grandslam) he also hit a walk-off single against his former organization, the Minnesota Twins in the bottom of the tenth in his 3rd career game. Akil Baddoo was the spark to the lineup that the Tigers needed in their first successful season in multiple years. His speed played a big role as well with his 18 stolen bases in 2021. Now with the 2022 season (hopefully because of the lockout) approaching, is sky the limit for the 23 yr old star?...
Akil Baddoo was heavy in the AL Rookie of The Year conversation after his phenomenal season in the Motor City. Despite his efforts In the '21 season, Baddoo didn't finish among the top 3 in AL ROTY voting, but for a player who only played High-A ball he was definitely the most surprising player to burst onto the scene. Now, after a year of big league experience, could Akil Baddoo be reaching for bigger awards?. I believe Akil Baddoo will be a MVP canidate in 2022, Mostly because of his experience with big league pitchers in 2021... Baddoo hit 13 Homeruns, with 55 RBI's, he had an average of .259... Even if Baddoo isn't yet in the MVP race in the '22 season, Detroit knows the found a diamond in the rough, and I think most people would agree he's a superstar...
Thanks for the read.
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