Tigers Pitching & Diamondbacks offense.
Rotation: In February, Matt Snyder ranked the Tiger rotation as the third best in the Majors. Its’ best two pitchers are Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez.
Bullpen: “The bullpen has more experience to handle high-leverage situations now, with Finnegan brought back and Jansen brought aboard to aid Vest, Holton and Co.” — Anthony Castrovince, March 2026
Overall, the Tigers pitching staff was ranked as the fifth best in the Majors by MLB.com. Because the Diamondbacks batters will be challenged by great
pitching, this series will be an early look at the Diamondbacks offense. The question of interest is whether the offense is as good as last season, when they scored 5.074 runs per game at Chase Field, where this series is being played.
In this series, will the Diamondbacks score 15 runs or more against one of the best pitching staffs in the Majors? If so, the Diamondbacks offense may be better than last season.
Tigers Batting & Diamondbacks excellent infield defenders.
The Diamondbacks infielders (Arenado, Perdomo, Marte, and Santana) are excellent defenders. The question of interest is how good are they? The ratio of infield hits to outfield hits will provide an early indication. Last season, 12.7% of Diamondbacks hits involved batted balls to infield locations (League average was 12.4%).
In this series, will the Diamondbacks hold the Tigers to infield hits less than 12.7% of hits? If so, the Diamondbacks infield defenders are as excellent as expected.
Tigers player to Watch.
Kevin McGonigle (shortstop) is the Tigers number one prospect. At 21.6 years old, he was this season’s youngest player to be an opening day starter per Baseball Reference.
Once McGonigle lined a two-out single in the ninth off Wandy Peralta, he joined Billy Bean (April 25, 1987) as the only players in Tigers history with four hits in their MLB debut. — Jason Beck
“You gotta love those infield singles. I was just happy I was able to beat that out.” — Kevin McGonigle, 26 March 2026
He was drafted in the first round of the 2023 draft. How well is he defending at the challenging short stop position? Will he continue his excellent batting? Will he net the Tigers an extra draft selection?
Home Opener Series: What to look for each day.
Monday, 7:10 PM MST. Home opener for the Diamondbacks. One perspective is that the season starts with this series.
Michael Soroka. Last season, opponents did not score any runs in his last 6.2 innings pitched. Can he extend his streak?
Justin Verlander. In the last two seasons, he pitched against the Diamondbacks three times. His results mixed: zero earned runs in seven innings, 2 earned runs in six innings, and 8 earned runs in three innings. Three Diamondbacks have great results against Verlander (minimum 10 ABs). They follow:
- Carlos Santana, .913 OPS, 9 homers, 100 PAs.
- Nolan Arenado, .938 OPS, 1 homer, 16 PAs.
- Corbin Carroll, 1.001 OPS, 2 homers, 15 PAs.
“We’ll see how many punches the 43-year-old Verlander has left in him and if his return to Motown can be a true feel-good story. (His second half with the Giants last year indicates it can).” — Anthony Castrovince, March 2026
This matchup of starting pitchers is like David vs Goliath, and I’m cheering for David.
Tuesday, 6:40 PM MST.
Brandon Pfaadt. In the Snakepit article, one of my wagers was that Pfaadt will total more than 10 wins this season. Will this be his first win? I’m feeling somewhat confident.
Casey Mize. In his career, he pitched 1.2 innings against the Diamondbacks. The only Diamondback with more than 10 PAs against Mize is Carlos Santana, who has an OPS of .363 in 29 PAs.
“And while Flaherty and Mize were inconsistent in 2025, they have the pedigree to be something more than just back-end filler.” — Anthony Castrovince, March 2026
This matchup of starting pitchers is slight advantage Diamondbacks.
Wednesday, 12:40 PM MST.
Zac Gallen. In the season opener, he held the Dodgers scoreless for four innings. That’s big. So what that the Dodgers scored in the fifth inning. My expectation is that Zac Gallen will keep this game close.
“Typical Zac fashion, he was controlling counts, had some quick, easy innings. It looked like he was going to be able to get through five, maybe pitch into that sixth inning.” — Torey Lovullo
TBA, likely Tarik Skubal. In the season opening game against the Padres, he allowed zero earned runs in 6 innings pitched.
“Two-time defending AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal moves the needle in a big way here, obviously. Though he has hot competition from at least two pitchers, he’s still my pick for the best pitcher in the world.” — Matt Snyder, February 2026
“I don’t want to ever not be a power pitcher.” — Tarik Skubal
This matchup of starting opening-day pitchers in advantage Tigers.
