2 weeks Ago
The Detroit Tigers made a surprising push to the ALDS last season, but not many believed that they could back that up this year. So far, they certainly look like they belong . Through 23 games, the Tigers sit atop the AL Central with a 14-9 record.
They are also the only team in the division with a positive run differential. The only real competition within the Central seems to be the Cleveland Guardians . Even if the Guardians do take it, Detroit is in a great spot to make the postseason.
Popular statistics website Baseball Reference thinks the Tigers have a real chance to go all the way too, as they currently have them as having the second-best percentage chance to win the World Series at 14.1%. For reference, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a 14.
3% chance at this point last season. Detroit was sitting at just 0.5%.
Second place is behind just the Chicago Cubs right now, who sit with a healthy lead at 18.7% chance. Baseball Reference uses a statistic they call the Simple Rating System to help find these numbers.
Basically, they combine strength of schedule to compare what the Tigers have done this year to an average team. It is similar to OPS+. What is really surprising, is that it has been a fairly balanced attack.
It was pretty much just the strong pitching that fueled their run last season as the offense was lagging behind. Both sides of the ball have been above average for Detroit this time around. Pitching is still the strong point , though.
They have the third-best staff ERA at 3.11 Four of their starting pitchers have a sub-3.00 ERA.
Five reliever have at least eight innings pitched and a sub-2.00 ERA. Casey Mize and Jackson Jobe have been the biggest triumphs so far this year.
Mize is a former first overall pick that has struggled to begin his career. Jobe is a high-profile rookie, but has found quick success in the Majors. Over on the offensive side, they have a team wRC+ of 111, which is the ninth-best in MLB.
They don't hit a ton of home runs as a team, but are great at getting on base and not wasting opportunities. Spencer Torkelson has been the biggest development there , finally looking like the first overall pick that was promised years ago. Torkelson has a .
286/.392/.619 slash line with seven home runs and 21 RBI.
He has almost matched his production from a year ago already. The Tigers have a lot of road ahead of them left to cover, but are off to a very strong start this season. Recommended Articles.
