FIVE FOR FRIDAY

/ totallytigersblog

by Holly Horning

After a promising start to the season, the Detroit Tigers are now taking on water.  For the first time this year, they are now 6 games under .500.  In their last 10 games, they’ve won only 3 contests and just got swept by the Atlanta Braves. 

Runs have been very hard to come by.  We knew offense would be of the biggest concern but other than that single game in which they scored double digits, they’ve scored 0 – 1 runs each in 6 of their last 10.

The concern now only grows as the season goes on and becomes more complicated.  Wins are going to be harder to get and resources are going to become more scarce.

The losses could potentially accelerate over the 2nd half of the season.  Scott Harris and the Front Office have to try to find some solutions to stem the bleeding.

So what are the 5 biggest concerns they have to address?  Here are my 5…….

1. Losing Kerry Carpenter to the IL for a back stress fracture has been a death blow for the team.  If they don’t get him back soon, the team simply cannot win games without his bat.  

2. Javier Baez is ranked as the worst hitting SS in MLB – and it’s not even close.  He’s also the 4th worst SS in DRS now.  An automatic out in the lineup and no longer contributing defensively.  The Tigers need to slow walk him back from the IL and start platooning him with other players in preparation for, hopefully, a DFA at the end of the year.

3. As the season advances, more injuries will crop up.  What happens if Carpenter is unable to return and Riley Greene, Mark Canha, Wenceel Perez and/or Gio Urshela have to hit the IL? 

4. What will happen to the starting rotation at the trade deadline?  If Jack Flaherty gets traded, as many expect, who will take his place?

5. And finally, if the Tigers continue their strategy of flipping players at the deadline, who will replace them?  Some of those players who may leave are the better members of the roster.

Is there another situation you see happening this year that will further diminish the Tigers’ ability to win games?

Don’t see your comment? Comments are limited to a maximum of 3 sentences and must address the day’s topic. Please make sure to check out the other rules for posting under the link at the top of the page in order for your comments to be published.

THE BEST COMMENT FROM YESTERDAY’S BLOG:

It’s a tie!

from chipper1962: “I mentioned awhile back in a post that owners should be responsible to produce a winning record within 5 years which is lenient or have to sell the team.”

from Senior Chief: “I do applaud all the changes/money that ownership has put into the organization to bring the Tigers into the 21st century. But Scott and the gang are tone-deaf when it comes to the product on the field. Use the trade deadline to shake things up and let’s see what happens – Tiger fans deserve better.”

What did you miss on our X feed yesterday?

  • Ben Verlander points out the stats about Javy Baez covered above.

Why should you follow Totally Tigers https://x.com/totallytigersbb on X?

  • We tweet out breaking news before it’s published in the sports pages. The best news from the best sources.
  • Want more than 1 Totally Tigers fix every day? How about throughout the day?

24 thoughts on “FIVE FOR FRIDAY”

    • This is conceivable, but and perhaps even likely. But the cost to the culture of competing is devastating because it acknowledges that roster places are not earned. It would aligns the present Tigers with the Jordan Zimmerman Tigers.

      Liked by 3 people

        • Thanks, I mean that the entire organization from owner to ball boy is bent on winning. The team isn’t tanking, the GM is not filling the roster with washouts, and the players come to the park expecting to win and then playing to win. Playing a Javi Baez or Jordan Zimmerman just because they have expensive contracts sends a message that the team is not about winning baseball games.

          Liked by 7 people

          • Thanks — I like your definition. I think the Tigers have miles to go before they have a winning culture. Finding a better SS (shouldn’t be too hard) would certainly be a step in that direction.

            Like

  2. This team was over-achieving to start the season, thanks to great pitching and timely hitting. The offense was never one to scare anyone and now that the bullpen has soured and the few hits we get are not as timely, the losses are mounting up. The mental rush the players got from the great start is gone as the summer grind kicks in and the realization of another losing season will make it harder to come to the park day each day.

    Liked by 8 people

  3. The enthusiasm and confidence of the players who soon may be asking themselves Why? If they have the game lost before they step onto the field is a big problem. A diminishing factor which is hard to fix.

    Liked by 5 people

  4. The Tigers wins will diminish because the competition in the central is so improved. They dominated a much weaker central in 23 but in 24 the central has played dominating baseball. The Tigers are certain to fall more often to the Guardians, Royals, and Twins.

    Liked by 8 people

    • Naldo, the strength of the Central has caught everyone by surprise. The Tigers “contending” in this division would have never been a discussion point if we knew how strong it would be.

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Flaherty’s back issues will negatively factor in any trade potential. The tiger’s poor record on accurately assessing talent, while getting players at post peak performance is an easy identifiable pattern, right along with the consistently weak development of seemingly strong rookies, giving me little hope or confidence.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I think related to #5 is the issue of trying to pull off a trade of assets for players who can help now rather work their ways up from the minors. Scott has not yet traded a player who the team really values in order to address foundational weaknesses. Will he do so at the trade deadline or off season or stand pat?

    Liked by 7 people

  7. Here’s another concern– the guys at AAA are not doing well. Attend a Mud Hens game and you’ll see Jung struggles against left handers; Tork and Meadows have not changed one bit; Bigbee has no power; and most importantly, the vaulted “young pitching in the pipeline” ain’t there. I walk out of Mud Hens games saying “uh-oh”.

    Liked by 8 people

    • I just read Tork is 1 for 16 in last four games with only two hits against over 95 mph pitches. Jung has been moved back to second base for the most part and can’t hit fastballs either. In high school, we would get out the Jugs machine, crank it up to 100 and just whiff but then in the games, 82 -90 seemed like child’s play.

      Liked by 2 people

      • Hitting has diminished league-wide. Bullpens have become places where guys who haven’t yet had a payday use technology to concentrate on pitch shape and velocity. The hitters are having trouble keeping up.

        Liked by 2 people

    • Unfortunately the main core of minor league talent is at Lakeland in guys like McGonigle, Clark, Valencia, and Adametz. Which makes me think Harris has a chart on his wall that shows everything coming together in 2026. Good thing I’ve got other summer time hobbies.

      Liked by 6 people

    • In Toledo, Ryan Vilade is looking promising, and I’ve been liking Andrew Navigato’s numbers lately. But AA Erie is where it’s at.  Gabe Alvarez has got the SeaWolves playing entertaining and winning baseball.

      Liked by 2 people

  9. I hate to say it out loud but Skubal’s last few starts are not so good. Could be a sore or tired arm. That could be the sort of short and long term disaster that sends the Tigers spiraling.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Jack Morris said his arm would always get tired this time of year. Skubal needs to skip a start and rest. He’ll probably have to throw an inning or two for the All-Star game, so no rest there.

      Liked by 4 people

  10. On Holly’s point #2, I think Javy will be DFA’ed because the money lost from him playing (fewer fans, less interest, less merchandise purchased, reduced media exposure) is greater than the money lost by eating his contract.  If we were to bring up Andrew Navigato (hitting .362 in June for Toledo), fans would come out to watch, and there’s also Kreidler and Leonard.  Javy is hitting .183, so even Gage Workman from AA would be an improvement at the plate.

    Liked by 3 people

  11. I am so disappointed in how things are going with my Tigers. While I wasn’t fooling myself that they were going to go out and win the World Series, I was expecting a much better team then what I am seeing. I figured with Harris and Co I was going to see at least some progress each year, but instead, much to my chagrin, I am seeing the same ‘ole, same ‘ole🥱

    Liked by 8 people

    • It doesn’t help that we have a fair number of players who suffered thru the Dave Littlefield “player development” system. I suspect they hoped that the number of salvageable players would be higher, but that hope is fading fast.

      Liked by 6 people

  12. Harris and Hinch need to commit to playing struggling young hitters already with Tigers (Malloy, Kreidler, etc) — they need consistent ABs come what may. Unfortunately, many fans and media want everything immediately. If this season is lost, now is time to do that and see what these guys can do.

    Liked by 6 people

Comments are closed.