2026 DETROIT TIGERS REGULAR SEASON THREAD

[Sports_Freak]

20 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

 

All that computin' just to tell you that, yes indeed, Josh Naylor is a jerk. Stats don't lie...🤣🤣

[Sports_Freak]

7 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Has Melton been scratched for Saturday's game? Is he hurt or is Hinch resting him?

And there's the answer. I swear, we just cant have nice things;

[Edman85]

6 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

And there's the answer. I swear, we just cant have nice things;

That was two months ago against the Astros.

[Sports_Freak]

4 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

That was two months ago against the Astros.

Lol...whew. 

I filtered it for post in the last week. And then last day. And it keeps appearing. And he's not showing up as scheduled. Huh...a flare up?

Edited Friday at 01:40 PM by Sports_Freak

[Sports_Freak]

Google AI insists Melton is healthy and starting Saturday;

 

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, NorthWoods said:

RE: The "Tork is doing better" discussion from yesterday

 

Tork is having maybe the best stretch of his life, hitting safely in 14 of his last 16 games and slashing a nifty      .393/.458/.492, with a striekout rate of just under 20% during that stretch, which is actually below league average.

The down side is that he has only a single home run in 61 at bats during that stretch, so maybe he can't hit home runs while avoiding the strikeouts. His average swing speed is about the same as it has been all season, so not sure what to attribute that to.

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Tork is having maybe the best stretch of his life, hitting safely in 14 of his last 16 games and slashing a nifty      .393/.458/.492, with a striekout rate of just under 20% during that stretch, which is actually below league average.

The down side is that he has only a single home run in 61 at bats during that stretch, so maybe he can't hit home runs while avoiding the strikeouts. His average swing speed is about the same as it has been all season, so not sure what to attribute that to.

we can never discount ordinary luck, or maybe he’s starting to ‘grow up’ mentally as a hitter (we can only hope) or more likely as usual alittle of both. It’s good timing though, i’ll take it!

[Tenacious D]

1 hour ago, Sports_Freak said:

Google AI insists Melton is healthy and starting Saturday;

 

Always trust (and fear) the robots.

[papalawrence]

11 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

Always trust (and fear) the robots.

Based on my one encounter I also fear Nick Nolte's odor.

[SoCalTiger]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Tork is having maybe the best stretch of his life, hitting safely in 14 of his last 16 games and slashing a nifty      .393/.458/.492, with a striekout rate of just under 20% during that stretch, which is actually below league average.

The down side is that he has only a single home run in 61 at bats during that stretch, so maybe he can't hit home runs while avoiding the strikeouts. His average swing speed is about the same as it has been all season, so not sure what to attribute that to.

It seems Tork is solidifying his grasp on first base for 2027 and when you also consider the general shortage of right handed power league wide it seems almost certain he will be standing on first base come April (yes April) next season. 

[Graterol]

5 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said:

It seems Tork is solidifying his grasp on first base for 2027 and when you also consider the general shortage of right handed power league wide it seems almost certain he will be standing on first base come April (yes April) next season. 

I think it comes down to a) his defense and b) Briceño. Briceño has a 950 ops in the minors and has reached AAA. Ideally Tork would have 350 ABs at DH/1B/PH alongside Briceño and Carp but probably not room for all 3. I think one of carp or Tork will need to get traded this offseason.

[chasfh]

48 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

we can never discount ordinary luck, or maybe he’s starting to ‘grow up’ mentally as a hitter (we can only hope) or more likely as usual alittle of both. It’s good timing though, i’ll take it!

I would be loathe to conclude a "growing up" diagnosis for a three-week stretch, but in the spirit of anything is possible ...

A .460 BABIP during that stretch might be a contributor.

[chasfh]

13 minutes ago, Graterol said:

I think it comes down to a) his defense and b) Briceño. Briceño has a 950 ops in the minors and has reached AAA. Ideally Tork would have 350 ABs at DH/1B/PH alongside Briceño and Carp but probably not room for all 3. I think one of carp or Tork will need to get traded this offseason.

No one will give us boo for Carpenter.

As for Tork, an analytics-skeptical organization such as the Angels or Marlins might give us some workable depth pieces for him.

[AlaskanTigersFan]

Am I the only one not sold on Briceno? I have more faith that Ballinger will be the 1B of the future than Briceno....

[chasfh]

4 minutes ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

Am I the only one not sold on Briceno? I have more faith that Ballinger will be the 1B of the future than Briceno....

You might be. What do you see?

[RatkoVarda]

10 minutes ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

Am I the only one not sold on Briceno?

Yes.

Dude has raked. Top line numbers look great. Deep dive numbers look great. he's 21 and at Toledo; 

[oblong]

They removed the Comerica Bank sign from the facing of the second deck and replaced it with Fifth Third Bank.  I am pretty sure that was done on the recent road trip because I never noticed it before Tuesday's game.  I sit right behind it.

 

 

[AlaskanTigersFan]

https://prospectsavant.com/player/800522  - Consistently his Chase % has been pretty high, and same for his Whiff %. Z-swing % (measurement of how often he swings at pitches in the zone) is quite low at 62.50%. He's taking a lot of pitches which is why his OB% has been so good. But I'm really surprised that he's closer to two out of four versus three out of four that he swings at.....

I'm just wondering if he's too patient where upper level pitchers will be able to derail his success at the plate with better command...... I'm not saying I think he's a bust. But I think he's going to be closer to a .270/.320/.400 hitter than what we all hope is a .300/.370/.500 ....... Still valuable. But I'd like to see him swing and make more contact. He's already whiffing close to 30%......  

[AlaskanTigersFan]

I'm probably just nitpicking.... He'll probably be fine. 

[gehringer_2]

44 minutes ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

https://prospectsavant.com/player/800522  - Consistently his Chase % has been pretty high, and same for his Whiff %. Z-swing % (measurement of how often he swings at pitches in the zone) is quite low at 62.50%. He's taking a lot of pitches which is why his OB% has been so good. But I'm really surprised that he's closer to two out of four versus three out of four that he swings at.....

I'm just wondering if he's too patient where upper level pitchers will be able to derail his success at the plate with better command...... I'm not saying I think he's a bust. But I think he's going to be closer to a .270/.320/.400 hitter than what we all hope is a .300/.370/.500 ....... Still valuable. But I'd like to see him swing and make more contact. He's already whiffing close to 30%......  

different profile but inability to hit strikes is what killed Malloy as well

 

[AlaskanTigersFan]

Just now, gehringer_2 said:

different profile but inability to hit strikes is what killed Malloy as well

 

I am a very firm believer in pedigree of prospect. While I think Malloy was a good prospect, I think Briceno is a step above.... I just don't know if he'll be much more than Tork. But again, I may be way overlooking this..... 

Ballinger's profile is literally Vinnie Pasquintino (healthy version) 2.0.... I could see him SKYROCKETING up prospect lists next year. 

[Graterol]

I don’t see Briceño as a future all star, but Tork is averaging about 1 WAR over last 4 years. If we can’t get anything useful for Tork, I think we just need him to be the next Jahmai Jones.

[SeattleMike]

1 hour ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

https://prospectsavant.com/player/800522  - Consistently his Chase % has been pretty high, and same for his Whiff %. Z-swing % (measurement of how often he swings at pitches in the zone) is quite low at 62.50%. He's taking a lot of pitches which is why his OB% has been so good. But I'm really surprised that he's closer to two out of four versus three out of four that he swings at.....

I'm just wondering if he's too patient where upper level pitchers will be able to derail his success at the plate with better command...... I'm not saying I think he's a bust. But I think he's going to be closer to a .270/.320/.400 hitter than what we all hope is a .300/.370/.500 ....... Still valuable. But I'd like to see him swing and make more contact. He's already whiffing close to 30%......  

His Minor League career whiff rate is 24%. Last year, between A+ and AA it was 19.7%. This year at AA it was 21%. Yes, at AAA this year it's at 38%, in 13 PAs. Does he have Clark and McGonigle's bat/ball skills? Obviously not. But so far, at the same age as those two, he has shown considerably more power. Others on here have expressed some doubts about Briceno. Fair enough. But is whiff percentage really doesn't raise any huge red flags. 

[LongLiveMaroth]

 

1 hour ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

https://prospectsavant.com/player/800522  - Consistently his Chase % has been pretty high, and same for his Whiff %. Z-swing % (measurement of how often he swings at pitches in the zone) is quite low at 62.50%. He's taking a lot of pitches which is why his OB% has been so good. But I'm really surprised that he's closer to two out of four versus three out of four that he swings at.....

I'm just wondering if he's too patient where upper level pitchers will be able to derail his success at the plate with better command...... I'm not saying I think he's a bust. But I think he's going to be closer to a .270/.320/.400 hitter than what we all hope is a .300/.370/.500 ....... Still valuable. But I'd like to see him swing and make more contact. He's already whiffing close to 30%......  

That is also only off of 76 plate appearances so that's a pretty small sample size of a guy who is coming off of wrist surgery. I for one was not expecting him to be a .300 hitter in the majors. Heck there are only 9 players in the majors with a .300+ average right now that being said I would say OPS matters way more than average for a 1B. If we get at least a .830 OPS out of him he is a top 10 1B in the league but also he is 21, still lots of time to work on things etc.

[LongLiveMaroth]

49 minutes ago, Graterol said:

I don’t see Briceño as a future all star, but Tork is averaging about 1 WAR over last 4 years. If we can’t get anything useful for Tork, I think we just need him to be the next Jahmai Jones.

If Zach McKinstry can be an All-Star, anyone has a chance.