Kid Gloves

 

Right now, in Williamsport, PA, the Little League Classic is going on between the Yankees and Tigers. I feel really bad for the Tigers, because the Yanks have people like Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Gerrit Cole, even Jazz Chisholm and Jasson Dominguez came along for the ride, and...I think the Tigers had to activate Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter, and call up Spencer Torkelson, so the kids would have anybody to be excited about on their side. Like, what 12 year old wants to hang out with post-Cubs Javier Baez? 

I exaggerate a little, the Tigers actually do have some fun picks for the little leaguers to spend time with, like Tarik Skubal, Jason Foley, and the two big rookies of the week, Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney. But I really don't hope the Tigers aren't getting their feelings hurt by all the kids racing to hang out like the Yankees. They're a perfectly adequate team, but they happened to come to town with a team that every team wants to talk baseball with. Like, the Yankees? Any era? Come on.

Still, the Tigers have still found some moments to stifle the Yankees during this season. Keider Montero was part of a battery that silenced the Yanks yesterday, and as I write this Tarik Skubal's doing a pretty good job of that as well. People like Torkelson, Vierling and Keith are capable of coming up and delivering in crucial moments. And yes, you can definitely see a clearer picture of the future with Jace Jung finally taking third. Honestly, an infield of Torkelson, Keith, Sweeney and Jung might be the model for a while in Detroit, and seeing it finally click into place is a pretty cool feeling.

That's not to discredit some of the veteran, replacement-style choices that have also been successful for the Tigers this year. Andy Ibanez has continued to be a reliable defensive infield choice, and on top of that he still hits .265. Ibanez, like Jake Rogers and Parker Meadows, have been giving great defensive performance that at least keeps the team sturdy without completely going all in on the need for great hitting. Clearly Torkelson and Keith are not fully reliable at defensive positions yet, and having these upgrades still keeps the Tigers from going make-or-break on these guys. 

Now, are some of these veteran guys really feeling like replacement-level holdovers? Yes, I think the Tigers still very much regret signing Javier Baez for that long, and for that much money. Similarly, the Tigers could have DFA'd Kenta Maeda a while ago, but not only do they need starting innings right now but they're paying him 14 million this year. In a lot of cases, the Tigers' hands are tied, and they can't completely move onto open spaces for the next stage of the team. So we're still in this awkward position where you can see the team begin to develop but they can't entirely.

Next year will hopefully be another step in the right direction, and hopefully Jung and Sweeney will give them even more sure bets going forward. But until then, they're not exactly gonna be winning popularity contests with teenagers in Williamsport.

Coming Tomorrow- His team was out of the race a week or so ago, and now they're breathing down the neck of the wild card race. Just one problem...their best player just got injured.