Heading into the 2022 Major League Baseball season, many, including myself, projected the Detroit Tigers to finish with a record over .500 for the first time in what seems like forever.
One of the main reasons why many were so optimistic about the 2022 Tigers was because of what on paper looked to be a much-improved offense, led by SS Javier Baez.
Unfortunately, the Tigers’ offense has been abysmal through their first 36 games as they have scored just 103 runs, which is dead last in Major League Baseball. In fact, Miguel Cabrera, who is 39 years old, currently leads the Tigers in just about every offensive category including hits (34), home runs (3), runs batted in (14), batting average (.296), slugging (.417), and OPS (.758).
Those numbers currently project to be .296 with 153 hits, 13.5 home runs, and 63 RBIs, which is not exactly anything to call home about.
http://gty.im/1240624637
As you can see, none of Miggy’s current or projected numbers jump off the page, which is a huge problem for a team that is currently 10 games under .500 and eight games out of first place in the American League Central.
Players like Baez (.210 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs), Jeimer Candelario (.202 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs), Jonathan Schoop (.162 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs), Akil Baddo (.140 with 1 home run and 1 RBI and currently in the minors), and Spencer Torkelson (.153 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs), to name just some who are struggling, are absolutely going to have to step up if the Tigers want any chance at all at making a run at the Central Division title.
http://gty.im/1240692402
There is absolutely no way that Miguel Cabrera should be leading the 2022 Detroit Tigers in any of the categories in which he is currently leading and it is time for some of the other “professional hitters to start pulling their weight.
If Cabrera is still leading the way in all of those offensive categories by the time the All-Star break rolls around, you can expect the Tigers to be at least 20 games under the .500 mark, which would be an absolute disaster for a team that was supposed to take the next step.
