MLB · P · Detroit Tigers
Burch Smith
B/T R/R · 6' 4" · 225 lb · born San Antonio, TX, USA · age 36 · draft 2017 rd 1 · played P 23 · MLB debut 2013-05-11
Injured 60-Day · Right shoulder inflammation. (roster status, as of )
73 batters faced scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Burch Smith, 36, is a right-hander from San Antonio who first pitched in the majors in 2013. He has 250 strikeouts across 165 career games, and he's still throwing for Detroit.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
What he’s paid
ArbitrationA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s, as of .
- 2026 salary
- $1.28M
- Tax hit
- $1.28M
- Service time
- 5 yr 86 d
- Options left
- 0 / 3
The deal 1 year (2026)
On the sheet: 1 y (26) · agent Truth Spts
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2027 |
|---|---|
| Cash | Free agent |
| Tax hit | — |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, Detroit Tigers.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $1.50M
- Guaranteed
- $1.50M
- Term
- 1 yr
- His class
- MiFA
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary | Arb 3 |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Burch Smith
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Burch Smith cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Burch Smith
The scouting press, in their own words
Tigers draft grade for me is a B+. It depends on what you think of Kash Mayfield, but you’re able to run out a rotation with Troy Melton, River Ryan when back from injury, and a returning Jackson Jobe. I really like that trio. Plus Zyhir Hope is a lot of fun, so is Brady Smith.
Umpire favor
+0.6 net runs over 8 graded games — the zone was kind to the umpire on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →