Evan Blanchard:
I’ll be the first to tell you how excited I was at the Tigers’ improbable playoff run last year.
But last season’s improbable run was just that. Improbable. Detroit went on a crazy hot streak, winning numerous one-run games with clutch hitting and lockdown pitching. Is the pitching replicable? 100%, especially when you have the best pitcher on the planet in Tarik Skubal. But at some point, if the Tigers want to go from a feel-good underdog story to legitimate contenders, they need to figure out their offensive woes.
That’s precisely why I have the Tigers coming in a tight third or fourth place. There isn’t enough in the cabinet to tell me otherwise. The Cleveland Guardians will still boast an incredible defense and have one of the best players in the AL Central in third baseman Jose Ramirez. The Royals have a top-five player in the game in shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr., to boot along with outstanding pitching. And finally, I can see the Minnesota Twins winning the division, granting health to star shortstop Carlos Correa.
I need to see a lot more out of this offense to believe that they can be a division winner. Riley Greene is probably the best left fielder in the MLB, but there are significant question marks after him. Can Kerry Carpenter hit lefties, or will he remain just a dominant hitter against righties? Can first baseman Spencer Torkelson figure out his approach at the plate after a really solid 2023 season but a subpar 2024 season? Torkelson had a spectacular opening day against the Dodgers, going for four walks and a home run.
How about the young guys? Will second baseman Colt Keith continue the hot streak he had late in the year and become a great piece? Can one of Trey Sweeney, Jace Jung, Dylan Dingler or Max Clark mature into a legit hitter? This lineup has so many questions and a lack of true firepower.
If I’m a betting man, my AL Central order looks like this: 1. Guardians 2. Royals 3. Twins 4. Tigers 5. White Sox. However, things could go down like they did last year, where the Guardians, Royals and Tigers all earned playoff spots because of the Wild Card. I still hope that the Tigers can put it all together for a division title push.
Kurt Szymanski:
Although Evan thinks the Tigers’ last season run was improbable, which it undeniably was, I’m left wondering if what we saw at the end of last season wasn’t just the Tigers getting hot. What if that’s just how the Tigers are now?
While I have my doubts about that, the Tigers have a chance to show the baseball world this season that last season wasn’t a fluke. In a wide-open AL Central division, I think the Tigers could ultimately win the division, barring injuries, with the worst-case scenario being that the Tigers finish third in the division ahead of the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals.
The addition of Gleyber Torres was a good one. Was he the Alex Bregman that most Tigers fans wanted in the off-season? He isn’t, but if Torres can stay consistent, I think most Tigers’ fans will forget just how much they wanted Bregman.
Now that Jackson Jobe is good enough to crack the rotation, there’s a lot to be excited about in this Tiger’s squad. The sky is the limit for a team that hasn’t won the AL Central since 2014.
