Detroit Tigers Veteran Named Finalist for Major Award
The Detroit Tigers' magical season is over, but their fans still have several things to look forward to while they wait 'til next year.
One of those things is offseason awards. While Tigers players haven't taken home much hardware recently, that's likely to change this winter.
For starters, Tarik Skubal is the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award after winning the AL pitching Triple Crown, which would make him the first Detroit pitcher to win that award since Max Scherzer in 2013.
A.J. Hinch is also a contender to win AL Manager of the Year after guiding his team to a shocking playoff berth down the stretch, overcoming trades and injuries along the way.
The Tigers may have a Gold Glove winner as well, as Gold Glove finalists were announced earlier this week.
MLB revealed the three finalists at each position, one of whom is Detroit catcher Jake Rogers.
Congratulations to @_JROG_ on being named a #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards finalist! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/DR96AHleSC
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) October 15, 2024
Rogers, 29, was the Tigers' only Gold Glove finalist this season. This is his fourth season, but he's never won the award before.
If he wins, he'd become the first Detroit player to win a Gold Glove since second baseman Ian Kinsler in 2016.
The last Tiger catcher to win a Gold Glove was Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez in 2007.
Rogers appeared in 102 games for Detroit this year, including 92 behind the plate. He started 86 of those 92 contests, catching 761 innings while sharing backstop duties with Carson Kelly and Dillon Dingler.
Rogers' production tailed off at the plate this year following his breakout 2023. His home run total dropped from 21 to 10 and his OPS plummeted from .730 to .607.
However, Rogers made up for it with his excellent defense. He led AL catchers in fielding percentage (.996), making just three errors in 776 chances.
With his steady fielding, strong pitch-framing metrics and good plate-blocking skills, Rogers racked up a career-high 12 defensive runs saved. He also did a decent job of controlling the running game, throwing out 25% of potential base-stealers (the league average was 22%).
The other two finalists are also potential first-time winners. Rogers is going up against Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners and Freddy Fermin of the Kansas City Royals.
Both have better fielding stats than Rogers, so it would be surprising if he ends up winning the award.
Even if he loses, being a finalist is still an impressive honor worth celebrating.
