Works Every Time

 

Colt Keith is the epitome of hot and cold. In his first four months as a major leaguer, he's embarked upon a listless April, a .343 May, a weak June and then a huge, .322, 7 homer/17 RBI July. Either he's the most exciting rookie of the year or he's a waste of a roster space, with no in-between. 

And Keith, even in his strong periods, is a perfect summation of a team like the Tigers. The Tigers are consistent and inconsistent at the same time. They're owners of the most consistent pitcher in the AL, Tarik Skubal, who has a very good chance at winning a Cy Young this season. They have a very consistent bullpen, made up of people like Tyler Holton, Jason Foley, Will Vest and Shelby Miller. They have three players who've been extraordinary for them this year, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Reese Olson...who are all currently injured. There are giant holes in this team, like half the rotation, a third of the lineup and throughout the depth. They can get you when you least expect it and simultaneously their season's pretty much over. And yet this is somehow an improvement.

The Tigers weren't great before, but taking away Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, Carson Kelly and Mark Canha makes it so much more obvious what needs to be done with this team. I thought the rotation was working and then Mize and Olson got hurt and Maeda fell apart. Matt Manning is likely the answer but the Tigers would rather give Beau Briske and Joey Wentz a shot at starting again before they do anything drastic. The youth movement is taking over this lineup, but not well enough. Spencer Torkelson still hasn't put it together in the majors. Justyn Henry-Malloy, Wenceel Perez and Parker Meadows have had moments of triumph but not much more. And too much money has been given to Javy Baez when it's clear his heart isn't really in it anymore. At any point, Baez could just start caring and touch upon the exploits that made him a star in Chicago, but he doesn't really want to, and the team is suffering. 

And yes, having a rookie like Colt Keith commanding attention and getting a great offensive season together is great, but like usual with the Tigers you have to ask if he'll even be around by the time these guys can compete. Can this team actually build a roster of people who'll all be good at once? Even if they draft people first overall, that seems to be a tall order. Torkelson and Mize have both underwhelmed, despite so much deserving praise during the draft process. And now you're seeing Baltimore use multiple #1 overall picks to find glory, because there's a team that can build around a farm system and not a bloated contract for a diva. 

It's so wild, because on one hand this Tigers season has been better than the last few. But it's also left them in a worse place than before, and with more to rebuild from. Which means they're lucky they play in a division with the Chicago White Sox.

Coming Tomorrow- He came at the tail end of a massive development upswing, stayed past the rebuild and is now pushing for the offside chance of a playoff run.