DETROIT – As I watched the Detroit Tigers get shut out by another mediocre starting pitcher last night, I couldn’t keep one dark thought out of my head -- and I know most other fans have probably thought the same thing.
“They’re gonna waste this pitching staff, aren’t they?”
We’re all familiar with Michael Lorenzen, the pitcher who played so well for the Tigers last season that he was coveted by contenders at the trade deadline. Lorenzen is solid, but he’s by no means an ace, and Monday was his first outing of the year because he was signed so late in the offseason.
But he had no problem shutting out the Tigers for five innings. Heck, he even gave them five free passes and they still couldn’t scrape across a single run.
This is nothing new for the 2024 Tigers. Let’s update the trusty list of starters who have shut them down: Garrett Crochet, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser, Jose Butto, Paul Blackburn, Joe Boyle, Mitch Keller, Martin Perez, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, Bailey Ober, and Lorenzen.
That’s 12 of the 16 starters they’ve faced this season, and none of them are dominant pitchers.
The reason this offense is so frustrating is that pitching situation couldn’t be more different.
Earlier this month, I wrote about how the Tigers -- for the first time in decades -- finally have a deep and dominant bullpen. This group is incredible, from Will Vest in the middle innings to Jason Foley in the ninth.
Detroit’s bullpen is so good that Beau Brieske -- a guy who throws 99 mph for multiple innings and didn’t allow a single run in spring training -- couldn’t even make the team.
Of the eight relievers currently in Detroit, Vest has the worst ERA, at 2.35. Only one has a WHIP north of 1.17.
In total, the Tigers have gotten 60.2 innings from those eight relievers through the first 16 games. The bullpen has a cumulative 1.78 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and .167 opponent average while striking out more than a batter per inning.
The starting rotation hasn’t been bad, either. Tarik Skubal is one of the pitchers in baseball, and both Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson look like worthy No. 2 starters. Kenta Maeda and Casey Mize look a bit shaky, but Maeda improved in his third start and Mize has shown some encouraging signs.
If Mize continues to struggle, the Tigers can always turn to Matt Manning, who has filled in admirably during two doubleheaders.
It’s not just that the Tigers have great pitching at the MLB level -- they also have tremendous organizational depth. It’s the kind of pitching depth that can carry a team to the postseason, especially in this wide open AL Central.
But none of it will matter if the Tigers can’t score runs.
Detroit is averaging just 3.5 runs per game, and that’s despite playing seven extra innings (with a free runner on second base in each of them). In 12 nine-inning games, the Tigers have been held below four runs seven times.
Here’s another way to look at it: The Tigers allowed seven runs in the 12th inning against the Twins on Saturday, and that’s more than they’ve scored in 14 full games.
Detroit is bottom five in MLB in runs, hits, homers, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They have the 11th fewest walks and the ninth-most strikeouts.
It’s so hard to put together a pitching staff this complete, especially with how arm injuries are spreading across the league. It’ll feel like a real shame if this season is wasted by a terrible offense.
I think that’s the greatest fear for many Tigers fans.