Detroit Tigers 2018 season review
2018 Detroit Tigers: What went right?
The best position player on the Tigers was Nick Castellanos. He had a career-best batting line of .298/.354/.500 and led the Tigers in games played, plate appearances, hits, runs, home runs, and RBI. His team-leading 130 wRC+ meant he was 30 percent above average after league and ballpark effects were taken into account.
Of course, even the brightest spot on the Tigers came with a dark underside. Defensively, Castellanos was the worst right fielder in baseball. At some point, the team might want to slide him into the DH spot, although Miguel Cabrera may beat him to it. Castellanos was also much better in the first half (.305/.359/.517, 137 wRC+) than the second half (.288/.346/.473, 120 wRC+).
On a team that was destined to lose 98 games for the second season in a row, Castellanos should have been traded away for prospects when his value was highest at mid-season. Now he has one year left before he can be a free agent. The team should have dealt him in the heat of the pennant race when he still had 1.5 years of control remaining because he’s not likely to be part of the next good Tigers team.
Three other position players had above average seasons. Shortstop Jose Iglesias isn’t much of a hitter, but he can pick it with the glove. Young third baseman Jeimer Candelario finished second on the team in home runs and runs scored and tied for second in RBIs. Unfortunately, like Castellanos, Candelario was better in the first half (.225/.325/.428, 106 wRC+) than in the second half (.223/.306/.348, 79 wRC+). Despite his second-half struggles, he’s a player the team can build around.
Outfielder Leonys Martin was quite good on defense and about league average with the bat, which made him an above average player despite playing in just 78 games with the team. The Tigers dealt him to Cleveland at the trade deadline.
About a week later, Martin’s season took a turn for the worse when he felt ill after a game in early August. He needed hospitalization and doctors discovered that he had a life-threatening bacterial infection. He’s hoping to be ready to go in spring training next year.
The Tigers pitching staff was mostly a dumpster fire. Matthew Boyd was the only starting pitcher who had enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. He was 9-13 with a 4.39 ERA. That was good enough to make him about league average, which is the best this team could muster from a starter. Out of the bullpen, Joe Jimenez struck out 78 batters in 62.7 innings.