Some people would say this Detroit Tigers team and franchise has come a long way. It all started back in 2022 when the Tigers were coming off a surprising 77-win season and decided they needed to take the next step to get themselves where they believed they could be. At the time, the former Detroit Tigers General Manager Al Avila decided to sign Eduardo Rodriguez and Javier Baez who were both known to be All-Star players. Now Rodriguez is gone with the Arizona Diamondbacks who made the World Series last year and Baez has been doing terrible batting .222 last season with just nine home runs. But even though things have not looked good for some of Detrot’s players, the Tigers still have amazing upside. People have said this Tigers team has a chance to make the MLB playoffs for the first time in ten years thanks to exciting prospects like Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene if they can finally take the next step in their MLB career.
The first reason why this could happen is because Detroit is arguably in one of the easiest divisions in baseball. The Chicago White Sox are one of the many teams rebuilding in the division. And ever since they won 93 games back in 2021, they have not won more games than they have lost, making them not a big threat. The Royals have talent, but are still a step behind the Tigers and haven’t shown much growth, and the Guardians have never been dominant ever since they went to the World Series in 2016. That’s why this year the division seems open for the Tigers if they can find a way to get by the Minnesota Twins who won the division last year.
Another reason to be excited about this Tigers team is the young bats that popped out of nowhere last season. Like what happened to the Orioles last year, the Tigers could make an exciting run with their new and young bats. Riley Greene is just one of the many young hitters on the team and has shown tremendous upside. Not only does he have lots of speed, but Green also hit .288 last year and showed great plate discipline for a young hitter. Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter also had a combined 51 home runs last season. If all the puzzle pieces fit together, this Tigers team could be scarier than they sound.
And pitching shouldn’t be a problem either. After the Tigers lost their ace Eduardo Rodriguez, Tigers General Manager Jeff Greenberg and Manager A.J. Hinch decided to sign Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda. Flaherty has been known to have been one of the best pitchers in the National League. He finished 13 in the NL MVP voting in 2019, which shows lots of what he can do. Maeda has also been known to be a good pitcher and has won three ERA titles. Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning should be better this year as well and Casey Mize will also be back which should add even more depth to this team. Jackson Jobe, who is one of the top prospects in the MLB, should also bring his talent to the Tigers this season.
The rest of the lineup could see new additions like Geo Urshela at third base and Mark Canha in left. Matt Vierling and Zach Mckinstry are just more weapons off the bench for manager A.J. Hinch to use. If there are any concerns, most people would say it would be the bullpen. But even the bullpen is one of the best in the MLB. The bullpen shouldn’t be an issue with Andrew Chafin, Jason Foley, Tyler Holton, and Alex Lange. If that’s not convincing enough, the Tigers finished with one of the best records in Spring Training and are already off to a hot 3-0 start this season for the first time since 2016. Even though the Tigers are one of the four teams left that are undefeated in the MLB, unlike two years ago lots of these Tigers players have proven they can play at a high level. With an already great spring and many smart additions, the Tigers look better than ever heading into the 2024 MLB season.
