The 2025 season is rife with expectations in Detroit. Tigers fans believe their club has plenty of assets to win — and possibly dominate — the AL Central, and also to make a deep postseason run.
In skeptical circles, it’s heady talk for a club that has played only one postseason series and had only two winning seasons in a decade. But the Tigers have assets.
2025 Detroit Tigers: Expectations for stars and bounce-back candidates
Begin with the obvious. That would be reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. He was 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 31 starts covering 192 innings last season, striking out more than a batter per inning. At 6.4, he led all of MLB in pitching WAR.
To supplement Skubal, the Tigers reunited with free agent Jack Flaherty, who they traded to the Dodgers at the 2024 trade deadline. He was 13-7 overall, going 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts for Detroit.
Reese Olson's pedestrian 4-8 record was buoyed by a 3.53 ERA in 22 starts, and he should be a reliable No. 3 starter. The team’s No. 1 prospect per MLB.com, Jackson Jobe, has the inside edge on a rotation spot.
But the most interesting figure in Tigers spring camp has been Spencer Torkelson, the team’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft who has struggled since then to justify that lofty status. Torkelson finished 2024 with a career .221 batting average and .693 OPS.
It’s possible that something powerful has kicked in over the most recent winter. Torkelson, who was basically written out of Tiger plans when spring workouts began, is hitting .302 this March with a .362 on-base average and .943 OPS. Do that over the summer and you are an MVP candidate.
Although Torkelson no longer appears to be the starter at first base — Colt Keith has that job — he does appear to have solidified a hold on DH duties. His blooming, even at this relatively late date, would be an unexpected bonus to the Tigers offense.
Although a playoff team, Detroit’s offense needed help last season. It ranked ninth in the AL in runs per game and 12th in both home runs and OPS (at .685). If his renaissance is more than a spring flash, Torkelson could be the solution to all those issues.
Keith has also had a solid spring, including a .314 average and .732 OPS. Gleyber Torres was imported from the Bronx to play second, while Riley Greene — coming off a nice 2024 and a sensational spring — has become a fixture both in left field and in the middle of the order.
Roster question, injuries facing the 2025 Tigers
All Is not entirely rosy in Tigers camp. A nerve injury to outfielder Parker Meadows’ right arm has sidelined him from all but the most basic athletic duties for at least a month. The Tigers’ solution is to entrust Meadows’ spot to 2024 rookie Wenceel Perez.
In 94 outfield starts, Perez was a defensive revelation but nothing special at the plate. He’ll get however much recovery time Meadows needs to show he can handle full-time outfield duties.
The other big question marks are on the left side of the infield. Javier Baez will be paid $25 million to play shortstop (or maybe the hot corner), but Baez hasn’t had a credible offensive season in three years in Detroit, so skepticism runs wild.
Third base is for now entrusted to Zach McKinstry, who landed in Detroit after part-time stays in Los Angeles and Chicago. McKinstry is a career .220 hitter with a paltry .643 OPS — not exactly the profile of an upper-echelon third baseman.
In the muddled AL Central, the Tigers should contend, although the same can be said of every division rival except the White Sox. Beating their fellow divisional contenders is really the challenge entering 2025; a year ago, the Tigers lost the season series to all three of their principal division rivals.
If the 2025 division race turns into the all-out brawl that it is expected to be, those divisional games against their fellow contenders probably will be pivotal to Detroit’s success… or failure.