Last year the Tigers were inches from qualifying for the Wild Card playoff, with a reformed team, some surging youth, and a core that hadn't really felt like it was aging yet. For a team that was very up-and-down since the World Series appearance, things actually looked promising for them.
This year...a lot of that went to the wayside. The heroes of yore, like Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, looked remarkably human, and the guys doing well, like JD Martinez, Alex Avila and Justin Wilson, were all traded away. Justin Upton and Michael Fulmer are doing their best to carry the team, in between injuries, but the depth is clogging up, and the team's looking pretty unremarkable for the first time since their dreadful 2015 season.
Ian Kinsler is, as usual, one of the guys pulling the team away from last place, as he's an incredible hitter and still a pretty great second baseman. I imagine his career's gonna be overlooked once the Cooperstown committee comes along, but i do think Kinsler's one of the most underrated second baseman in the game. The power he's able to exert when he wants is pretty impressive, and he's also a great leader and defensive force. Kind of odd to think that's he's actually older than Miguel Cabrera, though.
The AL Central isn't really the Tigers' story anymore, so all they can really do right now is play to finish strong, and not finish in last.
Coming Tomorrow- Reliever for a team I so desperately want to be good this year.
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