Detroit Tigers show promising signs in rough season
By Tim Haberin
The Detroit Tigers have endured a challenging season, to put it gently. They raced out of the gate to an 11-2 record and seemed poised to duke it out with the Kansas City Royals all year long for the top spot in the American League Central. That narrative changed quickly, as the Tigers sank like a stone from their once-promising position and KC began leaving its division-mates in the dust over the following several months.
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Compelled to unload David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria at the trade deadline, the club is now trying to forge a new direction and build some momentum heading into the final month and a half of the campaign. It hasn’t been easy: the Tigers are 12-17 since the All-Star break, and 6-8 since their deadline makeover. There have been some recent causes for optimism, however, and the biggest roles moving forward could be played by a couple of familiar faces.
The principal news around the team this weekend was the highly-anticipated return of Miguel Cabrera from the disabled list. Miggy missed over a month with a strained left calf, and of course his bat is one you simply cannot replace. He looked like he hadn’t missed any time at all during the three-game set with Houston, going 4-for-10 with a home run, three RBI and four walks. Cabrera’s mere presence has the power to transform any lineup, and fans in Detroit will hope his recent DL stint remains the sole one of his career for a long time to come.
Justin Verlander‘s uncharacteristic form has been a hot debate topic throughout the season, but the former Cy Young and MVP winner has been looking much more like himself recently. After being lit up for seven runs in 3.2 innings on July 19 (a shelling that lifted his ERA to a startling 6.62), Verlander has appeared to find his groove. In his most recent five outings, he has posted a 1.75 ERA and limited opposing batters to a .214 average. He hasn’t surrendered an earned run in his last 14 innings of work.
Verlander seems to be faring better without putting up the high strikeout totals he did earlier in his career. His fastball, once known to hit triple digits on the radar gun, now averages at about 93 mph. If he has truly adapted to pitching with his diminished stuff, that would be a huge boost to a Tigers organization that has him on the books through 2019.
Detroit Tigers
After Joakim Soria’s relocation to Pittsburgh, 24-year-old Bruce Rondon eventually found himself in the closer’s role. In spite of a blown save on Saturday, the right-handed reliever has shown potential working the ninth inning and has a vote of confidence from manager Brad Ausmus for the time being. Rondon suffered an ugly start to his campaign but has settled down since mid-July. In his last 11 innings he owns a 2.45 ERA and has struck out 16, all while keeping opponents to a slight .184 batting average. If he can confidently hold onto the position through the end of the season, it could go a long way toward helping Detroit get its bullpen sorted out for next year.
Rondon isn’t the only young player doing an admirable job of taking over for a departed star. 25-year-old Tyler Collins has received a considerable amount of playing time in left field in the wake of Yoenis Cespedes’ trade to the Mets. Since being called up again on July 31, Collins is slashing .313/.333/.406 in 33 plate appearances. Though he has just two homers on the year, the Tigers feel he has some pop in his bat that could manifest at this level. He is making something of his opportunity so far, and Detroit will see if he can build upon it over the next several weeks.
The Tigers are currently 4.5 games off the pace for an AL Wild Card spot. That is certainly not an insurmountable margin, but they would need to fend off squads like the Orioles, Angels and Rangers to make a surprise postseason bid. Crazy things happen in the world of baseball, but if it’s not in the cards this year, Detroit can hang onto a handful of encouraging individual performances to give itself an improved outlook for 2016.