Series Preview: Detroit Tigers, Round 1

For sure first place in the “scariest real life mascot” AL Central race.

Thank you to the weather for delaying this series one day because I was running behind schedule. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled baseball programming.

The Detroit Tigers spent their offseason making solid, veteran additions to their young core. Their pitching looks promising if the young arms can stay healthy and there is just enough to like with their bats that they could compete in a weak AL Central. Of course, that’s what seemingly every team in the Central thinks these days and it will only work out for one of them. They’re off to an encouraging start, but there are still plenty of questions.

Where were they in 2023?

The highlight of the Tigers’ 2023 season was probably the Miguel Cabrera farewell tour, but that overshadowed a surprisingly promising season. Cabrera is a Hall of Fame lock, but the last few years of his career were very poor. The Tigers finally got out from under that contract, but seemingly stepped right into another albatross in the shape of Javy Baez.

Since joining the Tigers, Baez has put up a .623 OPS in 289 games, which is actually better than reality because he had an ungodly .593 mark in 2023. Still with four years and $98 million on his contract, it’s gotten to the point where Detroit’s front office has to seriously consider eating the rest of the money to get him off the roster. It would be a tough pill to swallow, but his at-bats are so unproductive that he’s actively hurting the team.

Outside of Baez, there was a lot to like, starting with the official breakout of Tarik Skubal. Skubal missed plenty of time with injury but looked like a true #1 when he was on the field. Strong finishes from Reese Olson (1.44 ERA in September), Matt Manning (2.80 ERA from August 1 on), and former Twins farmhand Sawyer Gipson-Long (2.70 ERA) gave the Tigers a lot to like in their rotation heading into the offseason.

On the offensive side, they had a trio of breakouts from Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Spencer Torkelson. Greene and Tork were expected to take steps forward as former top prospects, but Carpenter was a real find. The former 19th-round pick had an .811 OPS in 118 games last season and was a steadying presence in their lineup. Greene missed the last month of the season with a torn UCL but looked solid before the injury knocked him out. Torkelson recovered from a very slow start to put up an .856 OPS and 16 home runs in the final two months of the season.

Put it all together, and you have the beginnings of a division contender. The Tigers shocked the Guardians by finishing ahead of them in the season standings.

What’s new in 2024?

While the Tigers didn’t go out and get bonafide superstars as they have in past offseasons, they did pick up solid, if unspectacular, players. For 2024, they are counting on continued development while cleaning up the margins, and so far that strategy is looking wise.

They signed Twins legend Kenta Maeda (2 years, $20 million) and former Cy Young contender Jack Flaherty (1 year, $14 million) to steady the rotation. Flaherty has had a rough go of it the past few seasons, highlighted by being left out of the rotation for the pitching-needy Orioles at the end of last season, but is still an upgrade for Detroit. Former top overall pick Casey Mize is also back this year after recovering from Tommy John’s Surgery.

They made a couple of minor moves in the bullpen as well, adding veterans Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller on one-year deals to add depth to a surprisingly good stable of arms.

On the offensive end, the Tigers traded for Mark Canha and signed another Twins legend in Gio Urshela to shore up the bats. Neither will transform the lineup, but they have very high floors. For a team that gave a combined 2,335 plate appearances to below-average hitters Miguel Cabrera, Nick Maton, Akil Baddoo, Zach McKinstry, Eric Haase, Zack Short, Jonathan Schoop, and Tyler Nevin last season, it’s an inarguable upgrade.

Detroit also promoted top prospect Colt Keith to the big league club to start the season. After crushing his way through the upper minors, Keith received a six-year, $28.6 million extension before ever appearing in an MLB game. Their primary second baseman, Keith is off to a slow start. But as we saw with Edouard Julien on Wednesday, one good game can turn things around quickly.

Other Names to Know

Parker Meadows may never hit all that well, but wow can that man run. At 6’5” and 205 pounds, Meadows’ 90th percentile sprint speed makes him look like a gazelle in the field. Picture Matt Wallner with Byron Buxton’s current speed. It’s a little scary.

Jason Foley and Alex Lange are the high-end names to know at the back of the bullpen, but both can be pretty erratic. Manager AJ Hinch hasn’t settled on a true closer, cycling through those two along with Chafin as save opportunities present themselves.

TLDR

The Tigers have made some massive strides in the past year. They’re a team powered by good, not great, players everywhere on the field, but all they need is one or two players to break out to find themselves in the playoff mix. Also, Tarik Skubal is the real deal.