Against all odds, despite their disastrous May, the Detroit Tigers have happened upon a working model for a 5-man rotation, have a competent and extremely good 6th man as a long reliever who can start again in the event of a trade, and are slowly getting Kenley Jansen within 14 saves of that legendary 500 mark, perhaps the last to reach it for a while. Now...I dunno what the hell can be made of the rest of this team, but all of that is an improvement.
The flaw of this Tigers' team is very evident now. Basing the team on two or three prospects and a horde of handy contact guys won't work if one of the prospects shit the bed and all the contact guys flicker on and off. Matt Vierling, Jahmai Jones, Zach McKinstry, Jake Rogers and Hao-Yu Lee populating this team is a fun concept if they're all doing what they're supposed to. If none of them are, and it really is just down to Riley Greene, Kevin McGonigle and Dillon Dingler, then what the hell was the point. You draft Torkelson high, you draft McGonigle high, you draft Max Clark high, and if it all goes to plan then that's your team. Well, Torkelson's had one good year and now is back to pissing people off. He's hitting .215 with some occasional power numbers and no real outside value aside from that. Clark is still, infuriatingly so, in the minors, and it hurts that much more when McGonigle, who was drafted lower in that same draft, is already a successful MLB player. Greene has been great but he still strikes out way too much.
The guys they try to build the team around don't do what they're supposed to, and then the rest of the year becomes 'let's try this'. If you keep guessing wrong that many times, they're not the problem. It's the same with the contracts. You spend all that money on Javier Baez to get 1 good season and an immediate injury. Framber Valdez takes a pay cut to join the team, it's his most mediocre season yet. Meanwhile, Skubal's probably off to a team that will pay him TO play well, not FOR playing well.
The Tigers are lucky of how many guys that weren't supposed to be much have become heroes. Dingler's an excellent hitting catcher, has 19 homers and 60 RBIs, and justly made an all-star team. Troy Melton was a relief guy they gave a try to this year, and he's been lights out in 8 starts, with a 5-1 record and a 1.82 ERA. And Keider Montero's flexibility has kept this team alive this year, being durable and dominant both as a starter and as a long reliever. Montero has a 0.986 WHIP in 94 innings, and will no doubt get more opportunities to start once Skubal is dealt. IF HE'S...I mean, is there any doubt at this point? He wants out, they're not gonna pay him, it's happening.
I wish this Tigers team had a better outcome ahead of them, but the dream might be over, especially if the guys they're really relying on aren't gonna perform while the guys with small windows of success [Skubal, Mize, Melton, Dingler] give their absolute all. Maybe I'm wrong. But it's not looking good.
Coming Tonight: 4-for-5 with 10 RBIs. And they said he'd be a liability signing.
No comments:
Post a Comment