Elite Pitching Will Be Needed for Detroit Tigers To Make Postseason
How many baseball fans would correctly name the Detroit Tigers as the team that has the best record in the American League since July 1?
Likely not many, but that is where things currently sit.
The Tigers are tied with the Houston Astros for the best record in the AL since July 1 as both teams have gone 35-25. While the Astros have built a big lead in their division, Detroit has unexpectedly climbed back into the Wild Card race.
The final spot is currently held by the Minnesota Twins, whom the Tigers are only three games behind. Tied with them are the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.
This has been quite the ride for Detroit, as a summer surge was not expected after they traded away several veterans on expiring contracts ahead of the deadline.
What will it take for this hot streak to continue?
One of the keys for the Tigers over the final 18 games of the season is their pitching staff continuing to perform at an elite level.
Anchoring the staff is likely AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal. With a chance to win the pitching Triple Crown (leading the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA), he should receive MVP consideration as well.
Skubal, along with Keider Montero, have been the only starting pitchers that manager A.J. Hinch has relied on consistently since the deadline. He has mixed and matched masterfully, using openers and bulk pitchers behind them to fill in the gaps.
Rookies such as Brant Hurter, Ty Madden, Bryan Sammons and Brenan Hanifee have done as well as the team could hope for. Sean Guenther has been an excellent call-up as well.
They deserve a lot of credit and have played a huge part in the Tigers having a 2.85 ERA over their last 60 games. Relievers Jason Foley, Tyler Holton and Will Vest all have ERA’s south of 3.00 on the season also.
Despite not blowing opponents away, with only a 7.92 K/9 ratio, the pitching staff is getting the job done.
As shared by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, they are near the top in several pitching statistics.
“The Tigers, though, have ranked fifth in ground-ball rate (44.2 percent) and seventh in lowest average exit velocity (88.3 mph), and they hold the league’s fourth-lowest walk rate (6.9 percent) in that time,” he wrote.
Those numbers, combined with some good luck with a .255 BABIP that is second lowest in the Majors, have led to runs being tough to come by for opponents.
If they can keep up that level of production, this is a race that will go right down to the wire.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.