Central Intelligence continues today with the division rival Detroit Tigers.
After years of being tortured by prime Miguel Cabrera, Nick Castellanos, Victor Martinez, and Justin Verlander, the Sox are likely looking forward to playing the Tigers this week. Detroit is entering a new era. With Cabrera at the tail end of his career and the only player of the above core still with the team, the Tigers will be led into their next era of contention by names like Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, and Spencer Torkelson. In the middle of their rebuild, the Tigers added names like C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop in order to remain competitive, while players like Christin Stewart, Spencer Turnbull, and Jeimer Candelario look to prove they can contribute to the next great run of Tigers baseball.
Don’t be fooled by the hot 8-5 start for the Tigers, however – this is a team with a lot of talent sitting in the minor leagues. The best days for the club are clearly in front of them, as they will likely be in a situation very similar to the White Sox’s in a very short time. For now, the Sox should be looking to capitalize against this rebuilding club.
Tigers Background
- 2019 Record: 47-114, Finished 5th in AL Central
- Last season’s splits vs. White Sox: 6-12 (86 runs scored to 113 runs allowed)
- 2020 Record Entering Series: 8-5, 2nd in AL Central (0.5 GB)
Inside Look
Rob Rogacki of Bless You Boys (@BlessYouBoys on Twitter) was kind enough to participate in this series’ version of Central Intelligence. Here’s what he had to say about Detroit’s expectations, his definition of a “successful” season, and who the White Sox and their fans should watch out for in this series.
Note: All questions were answered prior to Opening Day.
What are your expectations for the Tigers as we enter the 2020 season?
Back when we were all planning for a 162-game season, I was hoping that the Tigers would be much better than they were in 2019. While “better” isn’t a high bar for a team that lost 114 games last year, I was a fan of the moves they made during the offseason, specifically those meant to bolster a lineup that finished dead last in the American League in both home runs and runs scored. I hypothesized that their three big free agent additions — C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop, and Austin Romine — alone could represent a 10-win improvement, simply because the Tigers were so bad at those three positions last season. Getting back underneath the 100-loss threshold was the expectation, with a “pie in the sky” goal of somewhere around 70 wins if their prospects performed well in late-season call-ups.
Now that we are headed for a 60-game season, all expectations are thrown out the window. I hope that the improvements I noted above take hold, and that prospects like Casey Mize and Matt Manning show promise in the playing time they are given. But because the season is so short, any expectations for the team as a whole could be thrown out of whack by a single week — either good or bad.
Obviously, the Tigers are in the middle of a rebuild. Who are some of the young names
on the Tigers’ roster that other AL Central teams should be looking out for because of
their ability to make an immediate impact on games this year?
Unless something big changes, there aren’t many names on the Tigers’ roster right now that will factor into the team’s long-term plans. Players like Spencer Turnbull and Jeimer Candelario have shown flashes of potential at times, but both have posted inconsistent (at best) numbers with the big league club over the past couple seasons. Candelario, in particular, is in need of a strong year after falling into a tailspin around midseason 2018. Likewise, outfielder Christin Stewart is another player who could be around for a few years, but one who will need to take a major step forward after a lackluster rookie season. The lone “star,” if you want to call him that, is Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd. While Boyd isn’t particularly young, at 29, he has the potential to dominate an opposing lineup on any given day — so long as he can limit the home run ball.
The Tigers have some great young pitching prospects. Do you think we’ll see any in the
majors this year? If not, when should we expect them?
Barring injury, I think Casey Mize is a lock to make his MLB debut at some point this season. With Jordan Zimmermann all but out for the season and Daniel Norris behind schedule after testing positive for coronavirus earlier this month, the Tigers have space on their pitching staff for Mize already. Likewise, manager Ron Gardenhire has voiced his support for the Tigers’ top prospect. Mize won’t be on the Opening Day roster — the Tigers have already re-assigned him to the team’s taxi squad — but it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see him up in a few weeks.
I’m not sure if we will see anyone else, though. Right hander Matt Manning and infielder Isaac Paredes are the other likely candidates to be called up, but there are more roadblocks in place for those two. Manning has looked shaky at times during intrasquad games, and is still fairly raw, even though his excellent stats from last year suggest otherwise. Paredes is the more MLB-ready player right now, but the Tigers will want to get looks at players like Jeimer Candelario and Dawel Lugo, both still battling for playing time at third base, as well as Niko Goodrum, who will want to prove he can hold down an everyday job at shortstop. Additionally, Paredes was a late arrival to camp after previously testing positive for coronavirus.
Did the Tigers make any offseason moves that you particularly liked because of how they
will impact the team now/in the future?
Just about every move the Tigers made this past offseason was with 2020 in mind. All of the free agents they signed received one-year contracts, which isn’t the worst plan when you aren’t expected to be any good. I like the moves they made, particularly in picking up C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop. Both players are far better hitters than anyone that stepped to the plate in a Tigers uniform last season, and will help anchor a Detroit lineup that was simply abysmal to watch in 2019. Neither player will have much effect on the team in 2021, but they should make the 2020 Tigers much more fun than they were last year.
What’s the main topic Tigers fans are discussing that maybe isn’t obvious to other teams?
It’s no surprise that Tigers fans have at least one eye on 2021 already, with many of their top prospects expected to finally spend a healthy amount of time in the major leagues. But before we get there, a lot of Tigers fans want to see owner Chris Ilitch open up the checkbook and spend on the major league roster. These additions don’t necessarily need to come in the form of the mega-contracts Chris’ late father used to hand out — though I wouldn’t say no to a shiny new Mookie Betts on Christmas morning — but it’s time for the team to do more than pick up a couple of cast-offs on one-year deals. During their four-year run atop the AL Central, the Tigers enjoyed a significant payroll advantage over the other four teams in the division. I, and many other Tigers fans, hope that they will again flex that financial muscle and add a couple of key pieces over the next couple years. Even a modest two- or three-year deal to fill a hole in the lineup would be a nice step in the right direction.
What are you most looking forward to about the coming season?
I’m interested to see how Michael Fulmer looks in his return from Tommy John surgery. Fulmer was the Tigers’ second-best pitcher in 2016 and 2017 — remember, Justin Verlander was still around in those days — but fell off quite a bit in 2018 before succumbing to injury during spring training last year. He has suffered numerous injuries throughout his career (most of them during his days with the Mets), but has looked like an above-average starter in two of his three healthy seasons with the Tigers. If he can regain his previous form, that will bode very well for the Tigers in 2021 and beyond.
What would you consider a successful season for the Tigers?
It seems like a bit of a cop out to say this, but getting through the season with everyone healthy — both in terms of catching COVID-19, as well as avoiding injury — is all anyone can really hope for. It would be nice if the Tigers could catch fire and make the playoffs after this 60-game sprint, but certainly not expected. Likewise, landing the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft — potentially Detroit’s third in four years — would soften the blow considerably if the team were to fall into a tailspin.
Probable Starters
- Monday: Dallas Keuchel, LHP (2-1, 2.55 ERA) vs. Michael Fulmer, RHP (0-0, 13.50 ERA), 6:10 PM CT
- Tuesday: Gio Gonzalez, LHP (0-1, 7.71 ERA) vs. Tyler Alexander, LHP (1-0, 1.17 ERA), 6:10 PM CT
- Wednesday: Dylan Cease, RHP (2-1, 4.05 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd, LHP (0-1, 9.20 ERA), 12:10 PM CT
On behalf of everyone at Sox On 35th, I’d like to thank Rob for taking the time out to give such thoughtful answers that provide us with a better look into the 2020 Detroit Tigers. You can find him on Twitter (@BYBRob) and Bless You Boys (@BlessYouBoys) or at BlessYouBoys.com. Make sure to check out all of their fine work over there!
Featured Photo: Detroit Tigers (@tigers) /Twitter