Earlier in the week, we asked readers to tell us which positional player has been the most disappointing so far this year.  Today, let’s switch it up and go the other way. Which Tiger so far has impressed or surprised you the most for their performance? KERRY CARPENTER .292/.346/.583/.929 plus defender low strikeout rate leads team in HRs GIO URSHELA .294/.308/.333/.641 neutral defender low strikeout rate leads team in hits MATT VIERLING .310/.326/.429/.754 plus defender ranks #3 in hits highest team batting average Take Our Poll Make sure to come back and check the final results ..read more

by Holly Horning Now that Scott Harris and some of A. J. Hinch’s coaches have a year of experience with the Tigers under their belts, now is the time to start looking at this team to see if any fundamental changes have been made. Changes that are different than their previous m.o. . And yes, there are, including some noticeable ones. Without further adieu, here are the 5 most prominent and positive changes I am seeing. 1. BULLPEN -Remember when the Tigers didn’t know what a bullpen was and then believed they had one headed by a 40-year old as their closer?  Their bullpen is ranked #1 wit ..read more

by Holly Horning Today, we’re going to address some great questions our reader, Jim, sent to me. He wrote “When do we start wondering if the hitting coaches aren’t very good at their job? We rightfully praise the pitching coaches for their magic, so why not wonder if the hitting coaches are failing? Outside hitting coaches are still a thing for Tigers’ players.” Isn’t it ironic that we know so much about Chris Fetter and his staff but almost nothing about the hitting coaches? Part of that is because of the differences between hitting and pitching.  Every pitch a pitcher throws is seen, l ..read more

The Detroit Tigers are trying to rebuild their offensive skills after spending years in the bottom of MLB.  They are moving up the ranks but very slowly.  In comparison to the other 29 teams, they currently rank 25th offensively and average 3.73 runs per game. Only Gio Urshela, Kerry Carpenter and Matt Vierling are performing well at the plate.  The rest of the roster is struggling. But which player has disappointed you the most at the plate so far? Before we give you the options, we’re intentionally not including Javy Baez for obvious reasons.  Nor the rookies such as Par ..read more

by Holly Horning Some of the biggest news during spring training this year did not revolve around teams or players.  Rather, it was about all the top free agents who still did not have contracts.  Even a pitcher who just won the Cy Young Award. Scott Boras was probably the biggest loser as the top 5 remaining free agents were all his.  And in the end, most of them got 1-2 contracts at app. $20 mill a pop instead of the 6+ year deal worth $150+ mill. Sure, part of it was that Boras was overvaluing his clients.  But another factor is that baseball teams have now realized tha ..read more

by Holly Horning Today, it’s about quick hits – bits of news that catch my radar during the week as well as connecting the dots re ongoing stories.  Even the quirky. So let’s get to it!  Here are the most interesting topics that hit my radar over the past week……….. This season so far has been filled with multiple arguments between MLB and the Players’ Association.  Pitcher injuries, pitch clocks, internal power struggles and oh, a massive fail in re-designing the uniforms. The players have complained about not being able to customize jerseys and pants to their physical proporti ..read more

MLB owners and the Players’ Association are at war with each other over a number of concerns.  The latest is the significantly higher number of pitchers requiring surgery on their arms and elbows. The MLBPA is focused on the pitch clock but experts (the surgeons) say that increased velocity and a significant increase in using dramatic breaking pitches like the sweeper are really the main catalysts. The catch-22 is that pitchers realize they won’t make a roster unless they throw hard and strike out a lot of batters.  Therefore, they are always looking to increase how hard they throw ..read more

Tiger fans have enjoyed watching Riley Greene play in the outfield.  Watching him dive for balls, athleticism on display. Sure, it’s exciting to watch but these displays on his part aren’t due to exceptional defensive skills.  Actually, quite the opposite. Greene finished last year with a -7 DRS.  Second worst defensive player on the team and 4th weakest CFer in MLB. The reason we’ve been watching all of his gymnastics is really due to his struggles with reading the ball well after it’s hit and getting late starts in tracking it down as a result. The inability to have quick rea ..read more

by Holly Horning How do we more accurately evaluate how well the Detroit Tigers will perform this year? Do we go with the assumption that they finished in 2nd place last year and improved their record (despite it being under .500)? Do we go with the assumption that another year of experience for several former top draft picks will lift the team? Or do we go with the assumption that they played above .500 towards the end of last year and will continue this trend? None of the above. There are so many variables in baseball.  So many things that can go right but also so many things that can ..read more

by Holly Horning (with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel) Where have you gone, Alan Trammell?  This Tiger nation turns its lonely eyes to you….. Ugh, just when you thought the shortstop situation in Detroit was bad, it gets worse. Shortstops are dropping like flies and it now appears that the Tigers really have run out of options.  Both here and in Toledo. Forget platooning or benching Javier Baez this year should his hitting become untenable. There’s no one to replace him. And this may become a real concern if his injury from Tuesday requires some time off to recover. Ryan Kreidler ..read more