The Tigers lost their two best players last week: Shane Greene and Nick Castellanos are now playing for competitors, and working towards rings they had no chance of getting in Detroit.
So, where does that leave the worst team in baseball? Arguably in the right direction.
In the past week, the Tigers have called up two top prospects: catcher Jake Rogers, and right fielder Travis Demeritte. They're both 24, they've both cooked in the minors for a while, and they both have spots, finally, on the 40-man. Rogers' is really because their catching options are so dire right now, but Demeritte is up because Castellanos, their previous right-field option, is gone, and...any others can't hit after a while.
Rogers and Demeritte will hopefully break the trend of great prospects coming up and hitting like hell for a week only to hit .170 the rest of their time up. Because Christin Stewart, Greyson Greiner and Ronny Rodriguez have been big disappointments for their farm system, which needs to cough up ready players before the inevitable playoff run caused by the call-ups of Casey Mize, Isaac Paredes and Riley Greene. In like 2023.
The pitching prospects have done...a little better? Tyler Alexander and Spencer Turnbull have made the most of their call-ups, while Ryan Carpenter...has not. At least I can say with certainty that once Fulmer returns next year, and once Matt Moore figures out how to stay healthy, we could run with a Boyd-Fulmer-Moore-Turnbull-Norris/Alexander rotation. Which...in the grand scheme of things, is not bad.
The lineup is what needs the most overhaul work. Jeimer Candelario is probably their best offensive asset, and even HE'S batting .201. At least Brandon Dixon has FINALLY figured how to hit for average, with a .260 along with his [sigh] CLUB-LEADING 14-home runs. At least Miguel Cabrera's batting .283, despite his...general inefficiency. But even if the kids are coming, a LOT of this lineup needs to be thrown out, because none of it is working.
I don't know how many crappy Tigers teams I'll be forced to cover. At least the White Sox after a while picked a strategy and ran with it. And...interestingly enough, I'll be seeing how well they fare against my hometown team later today.
Coming Tonight: It's his birthday today! He's a hard-hitting rookie in a plummeting NL Central team, but at least he's a trusted asset by the time he's turned 26.
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