Here's how the Tigers' season is going: last night, all the action was upstaged by a bunch of field hands chasing after a squirrel. After that, the Tigers lost the game to the Orioles. I'm not sure who actually did anything during the game but the squirrel may have done more.
Rough go of things for the Tigers yet again. The all-for-one contact energy that made the teams great in 2024 and 2025 has dissolved to reveal a bunch of starting roles for people that won't hit. Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson, Matt Vierling, Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry have all been very disappointing this year. We've seen them band together and do something great, and they're just not doing that. And what happened to Parker Meadows? Wasn't he supposed to be something? Or is the Meadows family just cursed? Yes, Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres, Kevin McGonigle and Dillon Dingler make a very nice core for this team, but the depth was what got them to the playoffs. Now there's none of that. Hao-Yu Lee is...decent? He's hitting .274 with 6 homers and 23 RBIs, I suppose that's alright. I dunno who else is around to fill out this lineup? Is Max Clark gonna happen this year or not?
The pitching is a little surer of itself but Mize and Skubal have both had excellent seasons plagued by injury. Skubal missed some time, came back and is still very good [and likely on the way to a surer market], while Mize will have an excellent stretch then leave a start early and come back a week later like nothing's different. Mize is just giving people ulcers every so often, and while I'm glad he's pitching well again, that's not the way. Jack Flaherty's season isn't great either, he's got a 4 ERA again and is missing time. And Framber Valdez, in between occasional flashes of Astros brilliance, has a 4.50 ERA and too many starts where teams get the best of him. This man was the king of quality starts before, and now he just can't keep runs down. It's kind of upsetting.
It makes the rise of Troy Melton even more satisfying, because this guy was not supposed to start this year. When JV got signed, the Tigers' rotation seemed very figured out. Skubal-Mize-Valdez-Flaherty-JV. All but Valdez has gotten injured. Keider Montero, the sixth man, became a very crucial pillar for this rotation. Openers were high in demand. And Melton, who was at best a long reliever, was given starts. He's been extremely good in this role though, with a 1.95 ERA, a 5-1 record and 55 Ks in that time. Skubal has been good, but he's got a 2.70 ERA. Even Skubal's had missteps. Melton's just been really solid and not very showy at all. So even if Skubal leaves, Melton could be a nice rotation backbone guy if things keep going wrong, similar to Montero.
The Tigers probably aren't competing, will probably sell at the deadline, and will probably rethink what a competitive team will look like going forward. I thought this rebuild would yield success, it sort of did, but it didn't have the legs they wanted. And they may need to pare down and think small for a bit. Unless they've got any more rodent-related plays in mind.
Coming Tonight: An actual decent starting pitcher from the Cardinals. Who'd have thought?
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