Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers is a little over a month away, and expectations are pretty low for our baseball team. Most experts believe that the Tigers will lose 90+ games this year. That being said, there are some intriguing and fun reasons to watch this team, and I believe they are actually going to perform better than projected.
Here are five reasons to watch the Detroit Tigers in 2018
Young Player Development
One of the most interesting things to watch in 2018 should be the development of our younger players. Jeimer Candelario will be the starter at third base, and I can’t wait to see how he produces over the course of a full MLB season. Candelario hit .330/.406/.468 in 27 games last year after coming to Detroit from the Windy City. Dixon Machado should be the starter at 2nd base. Machado is an excellent defensive player and will provide a lot of highlights on the field. We’ll see if he’s able to improve on his offensive numbers from last season when he hit .259/.302/.319 in 73 games.
Daniel Norris and Joe Jimenez are two younger pitchers worth keeping an eye on. It’s hard to believe that Norris is still only 24 years old, and under team control through 2021. He had a rough season in 2017, but the Tigers need him to bounce back and eat up innings this summer. Jimenez has been working hard in the off-season and dropped 20+ pounds coming into Spring Training. He just turned 23 years old and didn’t live up to the hype last year. He spent some time on the disabled list but appears to be healthy again. Let’s hope he’s able to find the success he had in the minor leagues and makes the roster that heads North from Lakeland.
New Offensive Leaders
Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, and Justin Upton are gone, and together they represented almost 75% of the Tiger offense in 2017. Who is going to replace their production? Certainly, we all expect Miguel Cabrera to bounce back and have a much better year now that he’s healthy.
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I also expect Nicholas Castellanos and James McCann to help lead the team at the plate. Castellanos is coming off the best all-around season of his career and has put up 44 home runs and 159 RBIs combined the last two years. McCann has shown flashes at the plate and had career highs in home runs and RBIs last year, but he needs to be much more consistent in 2018. McCann recently welcomed twin boys into the world, so maybe becoming a father will give him renewed focus and enthusiasm this year.
Michael Fulmer
Michael Fulmer is clearly the best pitcher on the Tigers staff, but the biggest question is will he be traded to a contender this year? Fulmer turns 25 in March and is under team control through 2022. The team hopes he can find the magic that won him AL Rookie of the Year in 2016 when he went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA.
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If the Tigers do keep Fulmer, the trade rumors won’t go away. While I would love to see him become our ace of the future, the right trade opportunity would be hard to pass up.
The Tigers have the #1 overall pick in the MLB draft
The consolation prize for the Tigers 64-98 record last year is the #1 pick in the MLB Draft this June. The last time they had the #1 pick was 1997, and they drafted flame-thrower Matt Anderson from Rice University.
After drafting Alex Faedo last year out of the University of Florida, all signs are pointing to the Tigers taking Faedo’s teammate Brady Singer this year. Singer was 9-5 last year for the Gators and won two games in the College World Series. He was also named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this past summer.
Definitely don't watch this Brady Singer K reel if you're squeamish pic.twitter.com/XoalgWt9dv
— Michael Lananna (@mlananna) June 27, 2017
While Singer is the likeliest choice at #1, there are several college players that will be taken in the first round, as well as some high school studs. The odds of the Tigers taking a pitcher are high though. According to Prodraftpicks.com, of the 60 players picked in the first round by Detroit, 30 have been pitchers, the most of any position.
Ron Gardenhire
Ron Gardenhire made a name for himself by building winning teams in Minnesota with lesser talent and smaller payrolls. Another thing he’s known for is being genuine and fun-loving. It will be intriguing to see how he steers this ship while it’s being rebuilt.
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Gardenhire has the experience and knowledge this young team will need, and he’s not shying away from the task at hand. He’s already having fun with the players and fans in Detroit. He believes there’s always a chance:
“I know there’s some uneasiness here, but also some hope,” Gardenhire said. “That’s what baseball brings. That’s what spring brings, is hope. You never know what’s going to happen. We’ve seen all kinds of crazy things in this game. You know what? We’ve got some good talent. We’ve got some veteran leadership and if we can keep people healthy and all those things, we can have a lot of fun this summer.”
It’s going to be an interesting season for the Detroit Tigers in 2018. We have been pretty spoiled over the last 10 years with high expectations and a lot of success.
That window is closed, but maybe lower expectations, more fun, and a more genuine approach to the game are exactly what this team and its fans need. Either way, it’s going to be fun to watch.
