As the Red Sox approach Opening Day, it’s time to start taking a look at the other American League playoff contenders. Next up, a team that’s led by the best pitcher on the planet.
What’s this team’s deal?
For the past few seasons, The Tigers have been Tarik Skubal and the Skubettes. Fans, who are for some reason obsessed with “value”, have been wishing a Skubal trade into existence for multiple seasons in a row now. The Tigers instead have opted to keep Skubal and try to win with him, which has resulted in ALDS defeats in two
straight seasons. Last season, in his two ALDS starts, he threw seven innings of two-run baseball and six innings of one-run baseball. They lost each game by a final score of 3-2. What’s the point of having incredible baseball players if you’re not going to try to make a run with them? Sure, they might not be able to retain Skubal in free agency (although they could if they wanted to. Tigers ownership group, Illitch Holdings, generated over five billion in revenue in 2025, according to Forbes), but having Skubal right now is more fun than talking about prospects, so I applaud them for keeping him and giving it a go.
I did gloss over the fact that one year after a miraculous post-trade deadline run to make the postseason, the Tigers choked away a 15.5-game lead in the American League Central to the Cleveland Guardians. In a twist of cruel fate for Guardians’ fans, however, they played the Tigers in the Wild Card round, and Skubal struck out 14 over 7.2 innings in game one. The Tigers went on to win the series, 2-1, and the whole world kind of forgot about the meltdown.
How good are they?
They’re pretty much exactly as good as they need to be. The Tigers have the luxury of playing in the American League Central, where nobody is really that good. Detroit ranked 11th in runs per game, 14th in runs allowed per game, and 15th in fielding run value last season. They were basically middle of the pack across the board, which led them to 30 wins in the division, 87 wins overall, and the final Wild Card spot.
Offensively, they’re a young team that used home runs to power their offense. Detroit struck out at the fourth-highest rate in baseball, but hit the tenth-most home runs. There isn’t one player in the lineup that scares you to death, but they’re fairly solid top to bottom. Dillon Dingler was the only player to accumulate more than four fWAR, largely due to his defense behind the plate. Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter hit 36, 31, and 26 home runs, respectively. In total, they had nine players hit double-digit home runs. Infielder Zach McKinstry made a leap and put together his best career season, while Gleyber Torres quietly continued to produce offensively.
The rotation is headlined by Skubal, who is the favorite to three-peat as American League Cy Young. If I were ranking pitchers, I’d put Skubal at the top of the list, but if you want to pick Paul Skenes or Garrett Crochet, I won’t stop you. Behind Skubal is the new big addition in Framber Valdez. Valdez is super reliable, having thrown at least 175 innings in each of the last four seasons with an ERA between 2.82 and 3.66. He has a sinker-heavy approach that’s tried and true for him, and should continue to work so long as his velocity holds up. They also brought Justin Verlander back, which might not work, but at least it’s a fun story. Casey Mize is a strike-thrower who can dominate on a given day when everything is working. Jack Flaherty is similar, although it’s fair to wonder if his health and velocity will hold up. It’s a really solid five-man group, but injuries to Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton, and Reese Olson are seriously detrimental to the depth. Drew Anderson was brought over from the KBO and is intriguing. Sawyer Gibson-Long has some skills, but has never shown them consistently at the major league level. Keider Montero has a good sinker to throw to righties, but nothing to get lefties out with. There are some options, but each comes with questions.
The bullpen for Detroit should help them win games. They have three closers on the roster in Kenley Jansen (old friend), Kyle Finnegan, and Will Vest. Jansen figures to handle the ninth because he’s Kenley Jansen, with the other two working in the seventh and eighth. Troy Melton has “relief ace” potential when healthy, but he’s out for at least a couple of months. Tyler Holton is a solid left-handed option.
Overall, it’s more of the same for the Tigers. The offense has questions, but they bring back most of the same lineup and are looking for their young players to continue to improve. The rotation is solid, and the bullpen should be able to protect leads. While I don’t expect them to win 95 games, another 87-win season feels in the cards.
Who’s their most likable player?
The correct answer is Tarik Skubal, but he took some heat after leaving Team USA during the World Baseball Classic, so I’ll look at someone else. Jack Flaherty is very involved in the community and social activism causes. He’s also very animated on the mound, talking to himself almost all of the time. The real answer is Tarik Skubal, though. He keeps 100 mph fastballs in his back pocket for fun.
Who’s their least likable player?
It’s gotta be Framber Valdez after that stunt he pulled last season, where he threw at his own catcher. He can pretend it wasn’t on purpose, but it sure looked like it was.
Schedule against the Red Sox
The Red Sox and Tigers play seven games over the first two months of the season. The first four are at Fenway from April 17 to April 20. If you like knick-knacks and thingamabobs, you’ll want to be there. Each of the four games has a promo attached. We start with Brava Night, followed by Diary of a Wimpy Kid day, Margaritaville Day, and a nice windbreaker giveaway on Marathon Monday.
A couple of weeks later, the Red Sox go to Detroit for a three-game set, including a Bark at the Park night and a Tigers-branded euchre deck giveaway. After that, we’re done with the Tigers save for a potential postseason matchup.
Season Prediction
I think the Tigers win the American League Central this year. I have questions about the rotation depth, because getting 30 starts a piece out of Verlander and Flaherty seems like wishful thinking, but the lineup should be just as strong as last year, if not better, and the bullpen is talented at the back. I’ll put them at 88 wins, one game ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the American League Central. As for the postseason, I’ll say they lose in the ALDS for a third year in a row.
