2026 DETROIT TIGERS REGULAR SEASON THREAD

[NorthWoods]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

I'd prefer a grading system which broke out coach decisions from player decisions. I get its all put together as a matter of team performance, but being sent into sure outs is a fundamentally different problem for a team to solve than than having runners who don't run the bases well, so as a diagnostic metric I would prefer that cases be spilt.

But coaching decisions are a big part of how well a team runs the bases, no way to separate them.

[Sports_Freak]

32 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

So, it would be like an official scorer making decisions on fielding errors.  It's a good idea, but I can also see the same kind of judgement call problems you get with errors.  Teams make a lot of errors in part because they are able to get close enough to making plays because of good range.  So, is it a good thing or a bad thing?   With baserunning, the Tigers have a generally aggressive philosophy where they get more wins on the bases than other teams, but also more losses.  So, is it a good thing or bad thing that they get thrown out more than other teams? 

I know there are times where obvious "mistakes" are made by coaches, but sometimes a coach can take a big risk and the player ends up being safe.  How does the scorer decide?  I can see where they might give coaches all the blame and players all the credit.  I suppose you could have a statcast type thing where cameras inform how much of a risk/reward there is on every play and reward the coach/player according.  But that is hard too because sometimes players make decisions on their own. 

What makes the biggest difference is total runs scored. Cora getting some runners thrown out at home isn't as big of a deal as a coach on KC getting runners thrown out. KC has run scoring problems (right now) so any runner thrown out at the plate is magnified. If a team scores a lot of runs, having more thrown out at home may even be the whole reason for both more runs scored and runners thrown out. The aggressive sends may lead to more runs, which leads to more wins.

Just looking at that one stat can be very misleading. Its why some people dont like the use of stats, especially cherry picked ones. The runners thrown out on the basepaths could be a reason for run scoring issues or it could be teams having more base runners have a greater chance of having runners thrown out. Losing a 1-0 game with 3 hits and 2 walks wouldn't allow a team to have as many chances as a team that gets 15 hits and scored 7 runs. Score 10 runs while having 5 runners thrown out at home is a meaningless stat. As long as you win. Which is an incrediblely important stat. 😆

[NorthWoods]

IB post

Edited April 20 by NorthWoods

[chasfh]

I prefer stats to anecdotes.

[Tiger337]

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

I prefer stats to anecdotes.

Anecdotes are like noses.  

[gehringer_2]

a little more than 1/2 way to Sparky’s 40 game marker we’ve got a 500 team, and that’s what they are going to be if run prevention doesn’t ratchet up a notch or two. 

[davidsb623]

FWIW- McGonigle is leading the AL in WAR for all positional players.  So we have that going for us, which is nice.

[SoCalTiger]

10 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

a little more than 1/2 way to Sparky’s 40 game marker we’ve got a 500 team, and that’s what they are going to be if run prevention doesn’t ratchet up a notch or two. 

Truer words were never spoken and it's hard to accept when you have  a 1-2 punch of Skubal and Framber, a rookie meeting all the high expectations and 3 "closers".  Unfortunately the rest of the team is made up of players with "potential" and good skills but also each lacking one key component to their game. Sort of like the island of misfit toys - endearing  but still flawed. And then there is Cleveland consistent as ever..GRRRRR.

[chasfh]

Nice piece in MLBTR: 

 

[monkeytargets39]

On 4/22/2026 at 1:25 AM, gehringer_2 said:

a little more than 1/2 way to Sparky’s 40 game marker we’ve got a 500 team, and that’s what they are going to be if run prevention doesn’t ratchet up a notch or two. 

Definitely need to iron out a couple of things with the pitching staff, but I think we are better than a .500 team for a couple reasons

 

1.) The early season schedule hasn’t been especially favorable.  We’ve played a lot of interleague series already and only 1 of those 6 teams is under .500 (Marlins)

2.) We’ve had some very bad luck with BABIP—particularly when it comes to balls that would’ve been homeruns in most other parks besides the one we are at.  
 

3.) Despite the pitching woes, we are still 2nd in the AL in run differential.  We have the 4th best team batting average and the 4th best earned run average in the AL also.

Theres only 5 teams in the AL above .500 as of this moment and we are one of them despite being swept on the road twice already.

I think as things balance out, we will be a solid playoff contender with how we are currently constructed and Harris will have to make the tough decisions to sell off a couple prospects to patch the holes in the roster come June/July.  You can’t not trade Skubal, sign Framber, JV and Jansen, and then stand pat at the deadline again.

Edited 1 hour ago by monkeytargets39

[Tiger337]

Are we still hating Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson?  I just want to know.  

[monkeytargets39]

1 minute ago, Tiger337 said:

Are we still hating Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson?  I just want to know.  

I’m still aboard the “trade Riley before the end of his contract because he seems like a player that’s going to age very poorly” boat

Torkelson I have no issue with.  If he’s not hitting, he will get less ABs.  His defense is steady, and he isnt likely going to force us into either a long term deal or a must-trade scenario in the future.

[Graterol]

2 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Are we still hating Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson?  I just want to know.  

No but what does wenceel perez have to do to lose playing time? Didn’t hit 2H last year, nor in spring, nor this year. Julks or Workman probably need a shot. Perez never had a track record as a hitter so not sure why his rope is so long.

one silver lining is unlike last years roster, there should be an easy upgrade to find a league average OFer if meadows doesn’t come back or Clark doesn’t get promoted.

[casimir]

8 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Are we still hating Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson?  I just want to know.  

Greene has cut down SO% and increase BB% without sacrificing power so far this season vs last.  I think that’s what had been hoped for.

Torkelson will always find himself on the short end of a lot of fan evaluations because he isn’t living up to a 1st overall pick.  Even if he improves his consistency and/or progresses his overall game, I think he’ll remain one of the primary targets of angst from the fan base.

[Tiger337]

6 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I’m still aboard the “trade Riley before the end of his contract because he seems like a player that’s going to age very poorly” boat

Torkelson I have no issue with.  If he’s not hitting, he will get less ABs.  His defense is steady, and he isnt likely going to force us into either a long term deal or a must-trade scenario in the future.

It seems like outfielders don't bring back a lot in trades unless they are superstars, so I suspect they'll hold onto Greene and Carpenter into 2028.  Same with Torkelson.  All three can help them win over the next couple of years.  I dom't expect any of them to last beyond that.  Hopefully, they will have enough young players in place at the end of 2028 so that they have a strong core.   

[Tigermojo]

They have been horrible defensively with pretty much the same defenders as last year. Hopefully things even out over the rest of the season.