The Tigers Bullpen Is in Full Meltdown Mode and There’s No Help Coming
Kenley Jansen just blew his third straight save and the Tigers bullpen is officially a five-alarm fire. The worst part? There’s nobody to call for backup.
Kenley Jansen just blew his third straight save and the Tigers bullpen is officially a five-alarm fire. The worst part? There’s nobody to call for backup.
Detroit snapped a brutal streak against Atlanta, taking down the best team in baseball behind Matt Vierling’s three-hit performance. With a home series against Texas coming up, this team has a real shot to surge past .500.
Jackson Jobe is officially the first pitcher in Detroit Tigers history to have eight consecutive team wins in his first eight career starts. The 22-year-old rookie’s arsenal is filthy, and his Friday showdown against Cleveland is must-watch baseball.
Riley Greene just won AL Player of the Week after posting a 1.202 OPS over his last 11 games — higher than Aaron Judge’s MVP season. The 24-year-old former All-Star is carrying the Tigers to a 22-13 record and first place in the AL.
The Detroit Tigers are the best team in the American League right now, first in ERA, fifth in home runs, fifth in batting average, and sixth in OPS. The All-Star conversation isn’t about IF they get representation — it’s about how many guys they’re sending.
The team we all said had no power is now fifth in baseball in home runs AND fifth in OPS. Detroit’s offense isn’t just hot — it might actually be legit.
Javier Baez — the same guy who hit .184 with a .516 OPS last year — is on pace for a 7.4 WAR, better than his MVP runner-up season in Chicago. He’s playing center field, robbing homers, and suddenly looks like the player Detroit thought they were getting.
The reigning AL Cy Young winner just put up back-to-back scoreless outings against two of baseball’s best offenses. Meanwhile, Riley Green is 1-for-32 and leading the league in strikeouts — but he’s not going anywhere, and anyone calling for Triple-A is out of their mind.
Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize — the two former first overall picks Detroit’s fanbase left for dead — are playing the best baseball of their careers and have the Tigers sitting atop the AL Central as baseball’s most compelling story.
Detroit has the young pieces — Riley Green, Colt Keith, Parker Meadows — but none of it matters if Chris Ilitch treats this franchise like a balance sheet instead of a contender. The Heavyweights aren’t buying it until ownership proves otherwise.