FIVE FOR FRIDAY

by Holly Horning

Over the past 2 weeks, there have been a number of national articles (and radio shows) published that evaluate the Tigers’ rebuild.  All critical, all pointing their fingers at GM Al Avila.  All of them covered here at Totally Tigers this week.

Every piece has indicated that the Tigers have barely started to fill the many holes in their roster.  That the free agents have all essentially been busts, rookies have been struggling and mid-tier players are under-performing.  Some of them indicated that next year’s roster will need even more work given that the level of talent seen this year is not viable enough to stay.

In summary, they believe the Tigers will be slipping backwards in their rebuild. More positional holes will be created next year in contrast to 2022.

So the question now to ask is which of these players will actually be part of the rebuild?  Which ones deserve to stay?  Which ones will become the nucleus of a competitive team?

And that is today’s topic.

Here are the ground rules:

• Pick 5 players who have played in Detroit this year.  Those who are still prospects cannot be selected.

• You can choose those who are on the IL.  Even those who simply got a cup of coffee in Comerica.

If you were the GM, which 5 would you keep as you rebuild the team?

• And if you can’t find 5 players on the roster with the right level of skills and/or promise, that’s fine, too.  Just list the ones you’d keep.  If you can’t fill out 5 names, that will also say something, won’t it?

I’ll start things off.

I would definitely keep:

Riley Greene

Tarik Skubal

Spencer Torkelson

After that, I’m torn and I’m really grasping for straws as I try to fill out my selection.

If forced, I’d also select:

Beau Brieske

Alex Faedo

I hesitate on the last 2 simply because they are still clay waiting to be molded.  I have no idea what they’re going to look like with more experience.  But they are the best of the rest of the bunch.  And it makes me sad that I can’t easily pick 5.

I will also add that I avoided selecting relievers because they are so unpredictable and their efforts vary from year to year.  They are a very transient bunch.

I also avoided selecting players who have spent more time on the IL than playing.  I’m not going to risk picking players like Casey Mize, Matt Manning or Austin Meadows who may be spending more time on the IL more than on the roster.

Now it’s your turn.

(To facilitate everyone’s reading, please list each of your selections on 1 line each.  Extra points if you alphabetize your players so everyone can more easily see the patterns.)

Don’t see your comment? Comments are limited to a maximum of 3 sentences. Please make sure to check out the other rules for posting under the link at the top of the page.

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