Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

High school catching can be a high-risk demographic in the Draft, and finding a good backstop from the New York high school ranks can be even tougher. It's not completely unheard of, and there are scouts who saw Oliveto, especially during his standout performance at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., last fall and think that he could be one of the few, following in the footsteps of current Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe and Marlins prospect Joe Mack. The Tigers certainly agreed, taking Oliveto with the 34th overall pick and signing him for $2,447,500.

Those who like Oliveto, especially those who saw him in Jupiter, see a future backstop who checks off the big left-handed-hitting catcher box. He's shown that he can find the barrel with a solid left-handed swing geared toward power. It's at least above-average raw power that some think he'll get to in the future, especially if he can become an average hitter. Others aren't as sold on the pure hit tool, though he turned around good competition at WWBA.

Whether Oliveto can stick behind the plate remains to be seen. He has average receiving skills and moves decently for his size, but he'll have work to do on the pro side in handling premium pitching. There's hope his arm can be average in time, but he'll have to clean that up as well. A former Yale commit, Oliveto earned praise for his makeup, and the Tigers believe he’ll take well to all the work asked of young catchers offensively and defensively.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

High school catching can be a high-risk demographic in the Draft, and finding a good backstop from the New York high school ranks can be even tougher. It's not completely unheard of, and there are scouts who saw Oliveto, especially during his standout performance at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., last fall and think that he could be one of the few, following in the footsteps of current Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe and Marlins prospect Joe Mack.

Those who like Oliveto, especially those who saw him in Jupiter, see a future backstop who checks off the big left-handed-hitting catcher box. He's shown that he can find the barrel with a solid left-handed swing geared toward power. It's at least above-average raw power that some think he'll get to in the future, especially if he can become an average hitter. Others aren't as sold on the pure hit tool, though he turned around good competition at WWBA.

Whether Oliveto can stick behind the plate remains to be seen. He has average receiving skills and moves decently for his size, but he'll have work to do on the pro side in handling premium pitching. There's hope his arm can be average in time, but he'll have to clean that up as well. He's committed to Yale and was generating some earlier-round interest as the Draft approached.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/04/2025	FCL Tigers activated C Michael Oliveto.
	07/24/2025	C Michael Oliveto assigned to FCL Tigers.
	07/23/2025	Detroit Tigers signed C Michael Oliveto.
	05/26/2025	College Workout activated C Michael Oliveto.