It’s October, the Tigers made some upgrades to their team at the offensive and pitching positions, and all of this led to a playoff run...Oh wait, things did not go as planned, and the Tigers did not even sniff the playoffs. So what went Wrong? You name it, it happened. Injuries, underperforming players, and, lack of plate discipline. Yes, some players showed flashes of greatness, but lack of consistency plaqued this team all year. Generally, however the bullpen remained pretty consistent all year. If it wasn’t for the woeful performance of the rest of the team, this franchise may be in the playoffs right now.
Too often this season, the Tigers were unable to conquer the injury bug. In fact, the Tigers went through 17 starting pitchers this season, that is the equivalent of 3 plus full starting rotations. That alone could be the reason why the tigers struggled so horrendously this season. However, it gets worse, highly touted prospect Riley Greene broke his foot in spring training, causing him to miss extended time. Plus, valuable bullpen pieces missed time due to injury. Not only were injuries a problem, but the Tigers ranked last in run production, next to last in On Base Percentage, and had one of lowest team batting averages in baseball. Much of this is due to lack of plate discipline, which led to a plethora of strikeouts. Obviously, none of this is a recipe for success in Major League Baseball.
A couple bright spots this year for the team this year were the bullpen, and some of the prospects that were called up this year. For the bullpen’s sake, they executed their role adequately for this team to succeed. They ranked 8th in MLB with a 3.48 ERA. Furthermore, Gregory Soto racked up 30 saves for this 66 win ballclub, though it would benefit the team greatly for him to harness some of his erratic tendencies. In a return after an injury, Matt Manning pitched in 12 games, accruing a 2-3 record and a 3.43 ERA, obviously fueling hope for a better future for this team. Further bolstering that hope is Riley Greene who batted .253 with 95 hits and 46 RBI in 346 plate appearances. He also pulled off several dazzling defensive plays, exhibiting his valuable defensive prowess. On paper, it appears the Tigers future looks bright.
In order for this success to come to fruition, several things need to occur. First, hitters need to practice better pitch selection; swing at strikes not balls. In turn, pitchers must work harder, which increases their pitch count, making it more likely they will give hitters better pitches to hit. If these things occur we will likely get more production from the third base, shortstop, and first base positions. If these strategies are implemented, there is a high likelihood that the overall success of the team will improve.
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