DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are coming off perhaps their best offensive weekend of the season in Arizona, as they won a series against the defending National League champs.
But 2024 has mostly been a struggle for this young Tigers lineup. There have been some brief hot streaks, but overall, this is one of the least consistent offensive teams in MLB.
Here are my thoughts on each of the team’s hitters, in no particular order.
Riley Greene
Greene is coming off a mini slump, but it seems like he might have found his footing in Arizona.
After hitting a home run to bump his OPS to .953 on May 4 in New York, Greene went through a 5-for-39 (.128) stretch with 14 strikeouts, one homer, and one double.
His OPS dropped more than 100 points to .824, but I still have a ton of confidence in Greene.
The strikeouts are a bit elevated, but Greene does pretty much everything else well. He’s among the best players in baseball at hitting the ball hard, and his walk rate is a sparkling 13.9%.
He went 5-for-14 against the Diamondbacks, so hopefully Greene is getting back in the groove.
Spencer Torkelson
Six days ago, after he hit homers on back-to-back nights, I wrote that Torkelson couldn’t truly be “back” until he started punishing fastballs.
Well, guess what he did Sunday.
Torkelson got a center-cut four-seamer from lefty Jordan Montgomery and hit it 106.5 mph and 428 feet to the left-center field. That’s more like it.
Since May 5, Torkelson is hitting .280 with five doubles, three homers, and an .893 OPS. I was never panicking during his slump, and I’m not completely convinced that he’s fully fixed now, but at least we’re seeing signs of light from the team’s top power bat.
Kerry Carpenter
Speaking of power threats, Carpenter banged a 421-foot triple off the center field wall on Sunday and nearly gave the Tigers the lead with an inside-the-park home run.
Carpenter isn’t playing much against left-handed pitchers -- and he’s just 1-for-13 with a .220 OPS when he does -- but he’s been a menace against righties.
Carpenter already has 18 extra-base hits, including eight in the past nine games. I’m feeling really good about his ability to bounce back from a bit of a slump (3-for-26 from April 23 to May 5) and recapture his stroke.
Carpenter hinted last year that he could be a well above-average MLB hitter, and his first 43 games this year don’t suggest otherwise.
Wenceel Perez
The Tigers never could have imagined the boost they were about to get when they called up Perez.
He’s over 100 plate appearances now and batting .301 with 11 extra-base hits and four steals.
Perez has a low hard-hit rate but a strong average exit velocity, which means he specializes in medium-quality contact. Right now, that’s good enough to be one of the better hitters on this roster.
His strikeout rate is manageable, especially when coupled with his 11.3% walk rate. Perez is also holding his own from both sides of the plate, which is an unexpected bonus.
Obviously, what we’ve seen so far is encouraging. But with every passing week I’m feeling better about the chances it might actually last.
Jake Rogers
I don’t have much confidence in Rogers at the plate.
After he started the season with a .297 OPS through 42 plate appearances, Rogers racked up 14 hits in 12 games.
But he’s 0-for-9 since May 11 and has started just two games, so it seems like A.J. Hinch is feeling some of that same doubt.
Carson Kelly
Kelly appears to be a better offensive option than Rogers.
He’s been starting more often lately -- probably thanks to a 6-for-10 stretch against the Marlins and Diamondbacks. But the overall metrics are also more encouraging.
Kelly doesn’t qualify for MLB percentile rankings, but if he did, his hard-hit rates would be near the top of the league, and his plate discipline is also above-average.
The Tigers need all the offensive help they can get, so Hinch is hoping those underlying numbers lead to some production behind the plate.
Colt Keith
I refuse to lose faith in Keith. His minor league track record is rock solid and he’s run into quite a bit of bad luck at the MLB level.
Keith recently raised his batting average 26 points with a four-hit effort in Arizona, but he’s actually been hitting the ball well for the entire month of May.
It’s quiet production, but it’s a start. Keith is batting .306 with just five strikeouts and three walks across 40 plate appearances this month.
And remember, he’s only 22 years old.
Mark Canha
Nobody expected Canha to maintain an OPS over .900, even though that’s where he stood after April came to a close.
But May has been much tougher than expected, especially in terms of plate discipline, which is typically Canha’s greatest strength. He’s struck out in nearly one-third (17 of 60) of his plate appearances while posting a .493 OPS so far this month.
I wouldn’t worry too much about Canha. He’s about as proven as they come. But the Tigers need him to break out of this slump sooner than later.
Javier Baez
It was nice to see Baez rack up four hits in one game on Saturday, and he’s actually 9-for-17 in the past four days.
But the overall numbers are still terrible, and Baez isn’t playing well defensively. He’s got a lot of work left to do.
Andy Ibanez
Ibanez is going to continue to play against left-handers because he’s batting .324 with an .855 OPS in those matchups.
But his production is mostly singles, so I view Ibanez more as a Harold Castro-type player than a big difference-maker. There’s value in that, but it’s also easy to exaggerate.
Gio Urshela
I’m glad Urshela is back because the Tigers weren’t getting much production at third base during his absence.
He’s another player who mostly provides singles, but at least it extends the Tigers’ lineup and cuts down on the number of automatic outs in the bottom half.
Strangely, Urshela is hitting .354 with a .784 OPS against right-handers and only .160 with a .360 OPS against lefties. His numbers should get even better when he starts hitting lefties.
Matt Vierling
I’m not worried about Vierling’s slow May. He’s still contributing at least one hit almost every night and hitting the ball hard.
It’s surprising that Vierling is grading out so poorly on defense, but right now the Tigers need his bat in the lineup. So they’ll live with the defense.
Zach McKinstry
The Tigers haven’t gotten much from McKinstry this season, and it’s not like he has a long track record of production.
I don’t know if he makes it all season on the roster.