Detroit Tigers’ Emerging Star Poised for Breakout Season, First All-Star Nod
The Detroit Tigers have had a fairly quiet winter so far despite having high expectations for 2025.
It was an amazing campaign for the Tigers in 2024. Thanks to an amazing second half of the season, Detroit was able to snape a lengthy playoff drought. In the playoffs, the Tigers kept that momentum going by defeating the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card Round.
Now, since Detroit was just one win away from making the American League Championship Series, expectations are vastly different than they were last year. With one of the best pitchers in baseball still under contract at a cheap cost for the next couple of years, the time to win is now for the Tigers.
So far, they haven’t made the moves in the offseason that would indicate that mindset, but things could change.
However, one reason to believe that Detroit might not have to make a big splash to improve is that this is still a very young team that likely hasn’t reached its potential. With a lot of young talent in the lineup and in the rotation, there is certainly remove for improvement by simply just getting more experience.
Joel Rueter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about some of the best players in the league who could make their first All-Star team. For the Tigers, he highlighted Kerry Carpenter potentially being a player to be named to his first All-Star team.
“The 27-year-old might not receive much attention on a national level, but he is capable of an All-Star caliber performance in the middle of the Detroit lineup.”
There is a lot to like about what Carpenter can do at the plate from what he’s shown the last couple of years. In 236 games throughout three seasons, the left-hander has totaled a .276 batting average, 44 home runs, and a very impressive .850 OPS.
Last year, Carpenter had a really strong campaign despite missing some time. In 2024, he totaled a .284 batting average, 18 home runs, 16 doubles, and .932 OPS in 87 games. If the left-hander can stay healthy and put a full campaign together, the sky is the limit for his production at the plate.
While adding a bat has felt like a need for the Tigers, Carpenter has the potential to fill that need if he can stay on the field. However, the most that he has been able to play is 118 games in 2023.
With a little more national attention likely coming for Detroit after making the postseason in 2024, Carpenter will be a player to keep an eye on. If he can have an OPS north of .900 in the first half of the season, there is no reason why he shouldn’t make the All-Star team.
