The Detroit Tigers have officially clinched an American League Wild Card spot. On Friday night, the Tigers took down the lowly Chicago White Sox, 4-1. With two games left in the season and the Royals and Twins battling for the final postseason spot, the Tigers will likely enter October as the fifth seed in the American League.
Youth Movement in Detroit
Since August 11, the Tigers have posted an MLB best, 31-11 record. Looking back at it now, it seems as if the turning point for this Tigers team was the Little League Classic in Williamsport on August 18th. Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene had just returned from the IL. Spencer Torkelson had just been recalled from Toledo. Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney had just been called up. And that night, a young, eager team of players took the series (in extra innings) from the New York Yankees.
Since that period of time, they haven’t slowed down. It’s been a combination of clutch hitting and lights out pitching from a wide variety of arms. The biggest standout is obviously, Tarik Skubal, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner. Skubal leads the AL in Wins (18), Strikeouts (228) and ERA (2.39). He’s second behind Logan Gilbert in WHIP (0.92).
On the offensive side, it’s the two central Florida boys, Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene. Carpenter missed more than two months of the season, while still managing to blast 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and a .288 batting average and .935 OPS. Greene, also missing time, has put up 24 home runs with 74 RBIs and a .265 BA/.836 OPS.
SLG leaders this season (min. 250 PA):
.695 – Aaron Judge
.640 – Shohei Ohtani
.601 – Kerry Carpenter pic.twitter.com/Q8JAtCo5x8— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 23, 2024
Defense Wins Championships
At the trade deadline, the 2024 season looked all but over at the end of July. In addition to stellar season by Skubal and the pop at the plate from Carpenter and Greene, strong defensive play and a deep bullpen have been key factors to success. The Tigers have the seventh fewest errors of any team. Not to mention Parker Meadows flashing the leather in centerfield.
On the mound, they have the third lowest ERA (3.58) and second lowest WHIP (1.16). Outside of Skubal, manager AJ Hinch goes with the Opener approach. Watch most Tigers games and you will see four to five pitchers going one to four innings on any given night. It’s been combinations of guys like Reese Olson, Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Casey Mize, Will Vest, Jason Foley and others.
Reviving the Roar
The Tigers reach the postseason for the first time since 2014. From 2006-2014, they were among the most elite teams in the game, winning two AL Pennants (2006 and 2012). It was the era of superstars like Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander, who racked up the major awards. Since then, it’s been a long rebuilding process, leaving many fans wondering when this team would finally turn a corner.
At the trade deadline, there was talk about whether or not the Tigers might trade Skubal to the Orioles and today, it’s most likely the Tigers will face the Orioles in the postseason. Given their recent performance against Baltimore (and overall momentum), that series is certainly winnable. Whether or not the Tigers go deep into the postseason, this team has made late-season baseball exciting for Detroit fans for the first time in a long time. The future looks bright for these young Tigers.
I GUESS WE WANTED TO BE A PLAYOFF TEAM pic.twitter.com/MaaFrcO5st
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 28, 2024
