After a rather rough start to the year, Detroit Tigers outfielder Mikie Mahtook is looking like he could finish the 2018 season on a high note.
Last season, Mikie Mahtook had something of a breakout year for the Detroit Tigers. Through 109 games, Mahtook hit .276/.330/.457 (106 OPS+) with 12 home runs and 38 RBI. His numbers may have even been better had a groin injury not cut his September a bit short.
This year, Mahtook had a rough spring training and continued to struggle in the regular season as well. He was demoted to Triple-A Toledo for the first time in April. He has spent the 2018 campaign going back and forth between the Tigers and Triple-A.
In the second half of the month of August, Mahtook has begun to receive quite a bit of playing time for the Tigers and is taking advantage of his opportunities. Mahtook has looked a lot like the player he was a season ago, hitting .267/.400/.600 with five home runs through a total of fifteen games this month.
Mahtook basically provided all of the offense in the Tigers’ 9-2 loss against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, going 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.
What does the future hold?
If Mahtook can continue swinging a hot bat through the month of September, it will be interesting to see what it could mean for him going forward. Mahtook has been playing mostly left field, and many expect that up-and-coming slugger Christin Stewart could be putting up a very serious challenge for that position in the near future.
In center field, the Tigers have JaCoby Jones. The 26-year-old Jones has played exceptional defense this season. Though he has struggled to hit for average, he has shown he has some pop in his bat, hitting nine home runs through 106 games. One would expect that Jones will be the favorite to be the Tigers’ starting center fielder in 2019.
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In right, Detroit has
, who has easily been the team’s most productive hitter in 2018. However, Castellanos is under team control through only next season, and his name has appeared in trade rumors in the past.
It certainly appears possible that the Tigers could consider trading him this season. On the other hand, the Tigers could keep Castellanos and consider moving him to first base and shifting Miguel Cabrera to the DH spot when he returns from a biceps injury next year. Either scenario could obviously open up a competition for the right field job.
The role that Mahtook might be better suited for, however, is that of a fourth outfielder. After all, he is someone who can play all three outfield spots and provide a certain amount of pop from the right side of the plate. For his career, he has hit .259 against lefties compared to .243 against righties.
Obviously, only time will tell how the Detroit Tigers will want to use Mahtook in the future. Right now, however, the fact that he has battled through a few struggles this year and is once again performing at the big league level certainly makes for a nice, feelgood story for the Tigers in 2018.