The Tigers and Royals are both looking to build off last year’s run.
The Tigers have gone through a rebuild at about the same pace as the Royals, only they seemed to be behind last summer. They were six games under .500 at the trade deadline, and were obvious sellers, trading away starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, reliever Andrew Chafin, and outfielder Mark Canha.
But with a team full of young players, the Tigers went on a run, winning 34 of their last 51 games, the best record in the American League after August 2. They stormed into the playoffs and swept the Astros in the Wild Card round before falling to Cleveland in the ALDS
Kansas City Royals (8-11) vs. Detroit Tigers (10-8) at Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
Royals: 3.05 runs scored/game (29th in MLB), 3.79 runs allowed/game (8th)
Tigers: 4.50 runs scored/game (10th), 3.72 runs allowed/game (6th)
Like the Royals, the Tigers are looking to build off that success, although some say they didn’t do enough this off-season to put them over the top. They added free agent second baseman Gleyber Torres and brought Flaherty back, but much of their success will depend on the continued development of their young players. So far that has worked, as the Tigers have rushed out to first place in the division.
The lineup has been hit with injuries, with catcher Jake Rogers, and outfielders Manuel Margot, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez, and Matt Vierling all out. Detroit has lost three of their last four, scoring one or fewer runs in those three losses. Former #1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson is off to a hot start, hitting .273/.367/.621 with six home runs in 18 games. Torkelson hit just 3-for-29 (.103) against the Royals last year. Free agent Gleyber Torres missed some time on the Injured List but is back and has hit .308 with one home run in seven games.
Left-handed Colt Keith hit .305/.352/.366 against lefties last year while slugger Kerry Carpenter hit just .107 against southpaws. Riley Greene has been mired in a 1-for-31 slump over his last eight games.
Tigers hitters have the third-highest strikeout rate with Greene leading the American League in strikeouts, whiffing 42 percent of the time. The Tigers are hitting just .222/.329/.309 with runners on base, the seventh-worst OPS in baseball. They have just five stolen bases, tied for fewest in baseball.
All statistics from 2024
Last year Tigers starters had a 3.58 ERA, fourth-best in baseball, led by 2024 Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. The lefty did have some struggles against the Royals last year, going 2-2 with a 4.24 ERA in four starts. Skubal is off to another terrific start this year with a 2.66 ERA in four starts, with 25 strikeouts and just four walks in 23 2⁄3 innings. Skubal throws a 97 mph fastball with a sinker, slider, and a change up that nets a 46 percent whiff rate.
Reese Olson has failed to get out of the fifth inning in two of his three starts and has a 6.00 ERA with 8 walks in 15 innings. Olson is a sinker/slider/change up pitcher who induced a groundball rate of 50 percent last year. Right-handed batters hit just .220/.250/.310 against him last year.
Rookie Jackson Jobe tossed six shutout innings in his last start and has allowed just nine hits in three starts covering 15 innings. However he has struck out just 9 hitters while walking 8. He throws a 96 mph fastball with a plus slider, change up, and sinker. He has yielded a groundball rate of 46 percent this year.
Casey Mize has a 2.60 ERA this year, although he had his worst start his last outing against the Twins, giving up four runs in 5 2/3 innings. The Royals hit .389/.424/.519 in three games against Mize last year. His splitter had a 32 percent whiff rate last year, that has increased to 51.7 this year.
All statistics from 2024
The Tigers bullpen was a surprising success last year despite being a collection of cast-offs and no-name homegrown pitchers. They demoted closer Jason Foley in a surprise move and have turned over save opportunities to veteran free agent Tommy Kahnle, who has converted two save opportunities and allowed just one run in five innings.
Tyler Holton had the 12th-lowest walk rate in baseball last year and allowed lefties to hit just .153/.206/.263 against him last year. Opponents are hitting just .077 against John Brebbia this year. Will Vest had a 2.17 ERA after the All-Star break last year.
All statistics from 2024
The Royals will need to wake up their offense to face a Tigers team with a deep pitching staff and perhaps the best pitcher in the game. April is a loaded schedule for the Royals and this has been a tough road trip, but if they can at least get a split, that might give them some confidence they can turn things around.