With the conclusion of a double header sweep in Cleveland, the Tigers are now officially halfway through the 2021 MLB season. While the Tigers aren’t in the playoff conversation, the season has seen the team grow and improve immensely compared to previous years of the rebuild. The team under the guide of Manager A.J. Hinch has a bright future ahead with the progression of Spencer Turnbull, Casey Mize, and the Rule 5 Draft steal in Akil Baddoo. The youth movement has finally begun in Detroit after a half decade of rebuilding.
The Tigers started out this season as many people expected, a below .500 club with little chance of a winning record let alone a playoff berth. They ended April with a 8-19 record and another 100 loss season seemed to be on its way. The Tigers averaged only 2.78 runs per game during that span. They couldn’t win nor score and six Tigers batted under the Mendoza Line for the month. The slide continued well into May as the Tigers started the month 1-5. The only bright spots were lead-off man Robbie Grossman, Matt Boyd, and Casey MIze after he settled down to start the year.
Just as things began to get out of hand for the Motor City Bengals, the team came home for an extended stay. This saw a winning home stand with a 4 game win streak. Since that 4 game win streak began on May 8th, the Tigers have gone 27-21. Manager A.J. Hinch finally got his club to turn around their play as of late. It seems the controversial hire has thus far paid dividends for a team desperate for winning baseball. Pitching Coach Chris Fetter has also gotten the young pitchers looking good after a less than stellar start. While the bullpen is still shaky, with a few additions the bullpen could be easily stabilized for the near future. Although, Jose Cisnero and Michael Fulmer out of the pen have been a sight for sore eyes this year.
Hitting also plagued the Tigers to start the season and not even Miguel Cabrera was without his issues. The future Hall of Famer did find his legs in this past month though as he improved his batting average and hit above .300 in June for the first time since 2019. Notably, Jonathan Schoop has turned his season around with improvement in May and June. During that span, Schoop has turned himself into an all-star and shown his 2020 season was more than just a fluke. With the veteran bats hitting up, Akil Baddoo and Harold Castro have provided some youthful hitting these past few months. If either of them pan out long term for the team, it could have big implications for the team’s success. However, not everything is perfect as Willi Castro has regressed somewhat from last year as he tries to solidify himself as a big leaguer. The second half of the season will be important for Willi and his future. Hopefully he finds himself behind the plate.
The direction of the team from here is still a mystery. The MLB draft is only a few weeks away and there is a glaring hole at shortstop. Whether or not the team decides to pursue a shortstop in free agency with the likes of Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, and Trevor Story set to be free agents the team will have plenty of big names on the market. The MLB draft is also deep with shortstop talent so the front office will have decisions to make about the timeline of their rebuild. The team will still have several years to rebuild but things are looking up this year. As the season closes out, the goal for the team should be set on playing close to .500 ball. If the team finishes with 70 wins or more that would be a great benchmark for the future.
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