by Holly Horning
Now that the 2024 season is underway, the cracks in the Tigers’ foundation are starting to show more clearly.
We knew there would be problems, esp. with the offense. But now it’s gotten to the point where it is negatively impacting the better parts of this team.
The good news is that Detroit is no longer sitting at the bottom of MLB’s team offensive stats. In the 6 most important categories that rank offense, the Tigers sit mostly at #21 or #22. In 1 category, they rank #23.
Their hitters are walking more, taking more pitches and striking out less. It’s definitely better than #29 and #30 rankings before Scott Harris arrived but obviously there is still a long way to go.
But now we’re seeing what the weak offense is doing to the team’s pitching.
As I mentioned the other day, Detroit’s entire pitching staff ranks #4 in MLB. The teams ahead of it are the perennial contenders in October.
But there’s only 1 starter with more wins than losses. Tarik Skubal. He also is among the top 5 starting pitchers in MLB in a number of categories.
Most of the other SPs have less than a handful of wins and losses despite having started 8 games apiece. The concentration of wins/losses are seen in the relievers’ stats and it’s because the Tigers are winning the majority of their games in the late innings when offense finally kicks in.
For the most part, the Tigers simply aren’t scoring their runs when their starting pitchers are on the mound.
In particular, let’s look at 2 of their starters.
Jack Flaherty is 0-3 out of 8 starts. He’s had only 1 bad game and still has a 1.048 WHIP. He ranks #5 in all of MLB for strike outs.
There were several games in which he should have been the winning pitcher of record but the team didn’t score those runs until the bullpen had been called in late in the games. One game in particular where he pitched a 2-hit shutout and struck out 14 batters to tie Max Scherzer’s record.
And he didn’t get the win.
Then there is Reese Olson. In 8 starts, he has yet to win a game. He is 0-4.
He, too, has pitched only 1 bad game. In the other 7, the team never supported him at the plate. Four games that the Tigers lost by 1 run. Two games in which his team gave him 0 runs. One game in which they scored only 1 run.
In those 8 games, including the bad one, Olson gave up a grand total of 11 runs. That amounts to just a bit over 1 ER per game on average.
Elsewhere, Olson would be ranking in multiple MLB pitching categories if he was on a team with better offense.
We now all know that wins and losses are not the most accurate of stats in which to judge a pitcher. ERA and WHIP are much better indicators. And in this case, Flaherty and Olson have much better stats than their records indicate. Significantly better stats.
But those wins and losses are also important benchmarks to each pitcher. It is part of their career record.
Having all those losses that they don’t deserve helps to obscure their overall value. Every pitcher wants those “w”s. It is the quickest way to ascertain their value without having to do a dive into their stats.
You’ve got to believe they are upset at how little their teammates support them in-game.
It’s also not a good advertisement for other starting pitchers who may consider coming to Detroit. Pitchers who will question how much offensive support they will actually get.
Currently, the talent of 2-3 SPs in the Tigers rotation is being wasted. Magnificent performances that end up either getting a no decision or a loss. And not because of the pitching.
The tremendous skills of Chris Fetter, Robin Lund and Juan Nieves are also being wasted. They have put together an elite group of pitchers. But you’d never know it if you took a quick superficial look at the stats.
Scott Harris said that he wants players who want to come to Detroit. To have the opportunity to get better and contribute.
But currently, it would be hard sell. If you were a starting pitcher, wouldn’t you rather go to a team that can give you actual run support in addition to some solid coaching?
Imagine the talent Detroit could draw by luring pitchers to work with Fetter et al and knowing that run support would also be available.
And this is the next step that the Tigers have to tackle now.
They need an injection of offense.
But is it possible?
What hitting talent is currently available either inside or outside the organization? There weren’t a lot of free agent options even in the off-season.
And of course that tightrope has to be walked. How will the team get someone with a dependable bat for the short-term who also won’t block the younger talent? The better the talent, the longer the contract they would want.
And will 1 single new hitter be able to help or will the best chance for the Tigers to improve their offense hinge on addressing multiple lineup spots?
All of these considerations will be most challenging for Harris. If it was easy, it would have already been done by now.
Maybe in the short-term, he will bring up prospects from Toledo to see what they can do. Given how some of the current hitters are performing, that may not be much of a gamble.
Or maybe as we get closer to the All-Star break, other teams will have a better understanding of what they need that may influence a trade sooner rather than later.
But in such a short time, the Tigers have gone from 2nd place to 4th place now. From above .500 to exactly 20-20 (through Sunday’s game). And it’s all because of the lack of dependable offense.
How soon will they stem the bleeding? It’s still mid-May and allowing the slide to continue will ruin Front Office resumes and kill attendance and revenue.
Allowing it to continue is not an option.
But finding a solution is another thing. If nothing is done, it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t an effort. It just may mean that the resources aren’t available.
We had better hope that Scott Harris has a Mary Poppins bag or at least a magic top hat in which he can reach in and pull out something that may work.
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.
What did you miss on our Twitter feed yesterday?
- This Tiger ranks #1 in a top MLB category.
Why should you follow Totally Tigers https://twitter.com/totallytigersbb on Twitter?
- 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?