05/17/2026 1:40p EDT Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers

[Tiger337]

3 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

I think maybe you can turn it around and get more likely statement - which would be that if you are an elite hitter the majors will find a place for you even if you are a poor fielder, but if you are an elite fielder that is a poor hitter, that is much less likely. Ergo, there are probably more elite fielders that can't hit hanging around the minors that teams are hoping will eventually hit, than there are elite hitters stuck there learning to field better. But the fact there are more than one than of the other doesn't mean there are a lot of them in absolute numbers.

That is probably true, but when I watch minor league games, there is a noticeable difference in fielding from the majors.    

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

yes, I think the idea that the minors are filled with elite defenders who can't hit well enouigh is a myth.  The difference between an average fielder in the minors and an average fielder in the majors is very large.  It's likely not as big as the hitting gap, but still very big.  

Not only that, but those considered the best defenders in the low minors are also playing in a league three or four levels below the majors against players 80% of whom will never make the majors, and about 45% of whom will never even get out of A ball.

[NorthWoods]

5 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Who is Garcia?  Pedro?

Sorry, brain lock.   Perez.

[gehringer_2]

8 hours ago, chasfh said:

OK, I was wondering whether you meant their window had closed and they need to overhaul again.

that wasn't what I was thinking about but if we go into next season (assuming it's played) without Skubal and Mize they are going to be a bad team again.

Edited 23 hours ago by gehringer_2

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

That is probably true, but when I watch minor league games, there is a noticeable difference in fielding from the majors.    

sure - there is a big dilution factor. Almost every great fielder in the majors spent some time being a great fielder in the minors, but the funnel effect means he was playing along side a lot more stiffs than in the majors...

Edited 23 hours ago by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

24 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

that wasn't what I was thinking about but if we go into next season (assuming it's played) without Skubal and Mize they are going to be a bad team again.

Not necessarily.

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Not necessarily.

It will be a bad team unless substantial changes are made.  That could happen, but it will take a lot.  

[tiger2022]

The lack of power is very concerning.  It'll carry over to next year.  

Greene hasn't hit for much power this season.  Dingler has solid power.  Carpenter is not healthy enough to rack up a goodly number of home runs.  Torkelson has power but it's tough to stay in the lineup with a .190 average.

Everyone else on the roster will struggle to get to 10.

Harris has constructed a roster with punch and judy hitters who, for the most part, have trouble even hitting singles.  You can't consistently win with a roster constructed like that.

[Tiger337]

7 hours ago, tiger2022 said:

The lack of power is very concerning.  It'll carry over to next year.  

Greene hasn't hit for much power this season.  Dingler has solid power.  Carpenter is not healthy enough to rack up a goodly number of home runs.  Torkelson has power but it's tough to stay in the lineup with a .190 average.

Everyone else on the roster will struggle to get to 10.

Harris has constructed a roster with punch and judy hitters who, for the most part, have trouble even hitting singles.  You can't consistently win with a roster constructed like that.

You don't need to be a big home run team to win.  Tampa Bay and Milwaukee have fewer home runs than the Tigers.  They shouldn't be reliant on homeruns playing in Comerica.  They need to do other things well though - like pitch, play defense and get on base.

[chasfh]

13 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

It will be a bad team unless substantial changes are made.  That could happen, but it will take a lot.  

I don’t disagree. We’ve been trying for a few years now to get something anything out of guys who have limited upside and/or who don’t mesh with the current organizational direction while we are developing our system. It was always going to be a slow process and we still have to put a team in the field in the meantime, but at some point we will have to cut bait with a lot of them.

[NorthWoods]

8 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

You don't need to be a big home run team to win.  Tampa Bay and Milwaukee have fewer home runs than the Tigers.  They shouldn't be reliant on homeruns playing in Comerica.  They need to do other things well though - like pitch, play defense and get on base.

And right now they're 0 for 3 on those.