Inside the Article:
Last night the Detroit Tigers picked up their 23rd win of the season with a 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Jonathan Schoop was not in the lineup and this season the Tigers are 10-8 when Schoop doesn’t appear, they are 13-17 when he makes an appearance. In games, Schoop starts the Tigers are 7-12, and in games, he hasn’t started in they are 16-13.
Key Points:
- The Detroit Tigers won their 23rd game last night
- The Tigers beat the White Sox 7-2.
- Jonathan Schoop did not play
- The Tigers are 10-8 when Schoop doesn’t play
- The Tigers are 13-17 when Schoop plays.
- The Tigers are 7-12 in games Schoop has started
- The Tigers are 16-13 in games Schoop hasn’t started.
Jonathan Schoop by the numbers
Schoop has struggled this season going 16-72, he has failed to hit a home run and has driven in only two runs. Schoop has a slash line of .222/.291/.278 to this point of the season. He has posted a 63 wRC+ which has not been beneficial to the Tigers as well as being a -4.3 WAR offensively.
Three Options to replace Jonathan Schoop
3B/OF – Justyn-Henry Malloy
Malloy came over in the trade with Atlanta that sent Joe Jimenez to the Braves. Malloy is a solid option to bring up to Detroit, although he doesn’t play second base you could move Zach McKinstry to second and put Malloy in the outfield. Malloy is currently playing in AAA with the Toledo Mud Hens and this season he has a slash line of .287/.421/470 with seven home runs and 26 RBI.
The one thing about Malloy is he gets on base; in 46 games he has walked 35 times and been hit by a pitch three times which has led to his OBP being .421.
2B/3B – Colt Keith
Keith was drafted by the Tigers in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB draft and is now the second-rated prospect in the Tigers system. Keith is in AA playing with the Erie SeaWolves right now, but his numbers are outrageous especially as of late. This season Keith has a slash line of .325/.399/.581 with nine home runs and 35 RBI. Just last week he was named minor leaguer of the week and hit for the cycle.
Keith made a nice impression at spring training playing in 16 games with a slash line of .261/.370/.696 with two home runs in three RBI but the Tigers decided to send him to the minors, now he’s made a case it might be time to bring him up and play him at second base.
2B – Wenceel Perez
Perez was signed by the Tigers out of the Dominican Republic back in July 2016. Perez is currently holding down second base with AA Erie; he started the season in Lakeland coming back from an injury but has played in 32 games with the SeaWolves posting a slash line of .274/.378/.387 with three home runs and 13 RBI.
Like Malloy, Perez gets on base drawing 19 walks and being hit by a pitch three times. The difference is when Perez is on base, he can be a problem as he has nine stolen bases so far this year, the Tigers as a team have 26 stolen bases with only seven players stealing a base; the team leader is Zack McKinstry who has seven. Perez could help the Tigers with his speed on the basepaths.
Detroit Tigers’ big picture
The Detroit Tigers have a few issues on their roster that have held them back so far this season and Schoop is one of the glaring ones. It’s time to cut ties and look at the future with one of the three prospects above that are having nice seasons and could help the Tigers continue their winning. They are closing in on the Minnesota Twins for the first place in the American League Central. Tonight the Tigers will look for their third straight win as they take on the Chicago White Sox in the second game of their four-game series.
