Detroit Tigers have scary reality: When do they actually plan to be good?
“Days of Roar” podcast on June 9, 2024 talks through comments from Tigers president Scott Harris. How far away are they from having an established core and what does the timeline look like? Subscribe to listen to new episodes weekly.
ATLANTA — The Detroit Tigers don’t have any position players in the running for the 2024 All-Star Game in the first update of balloting, which lists the top 10 players at the five infield positions, 10 players at designated hitter and 20 players in the outfield.
MLB released its first update of fan voting Monday afternoon, but there isn’t a single Tigers player listed among the 80 position players from the American League, not even outfielder Riley Greene.
Twenty position players from each league make the All-Star team, with at least six outfielders. Fans can vote on MLB.com, but Phase 1 of the voting concludes June 27 at noon ET. (Fans cannot vote for pitchers.)
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Greene is by far the Tigers’ best position player, especially with fellow outfielder Kerry Carpenter on the injured list.
“He’s a hell of a player,” said Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, seemingly on track to be the AL’s starter in the All-Star Game. “I don’t think that embodies him as a player. I’m about as big of a 31 fan as there is. I love the way he does everything. Watch the series he just had, too. That kind of speaks to who he is as a player.”
Other teams in the AL Central have multiple players on the leaderboard, including nine players from the Cleveland Guardians and six players from the Kansas City Royals, though the Minnesota Twins have just one player — shortstop Carlos Correa — on the 80-player leaderboard.
Among AL outfielders, Greene ranks 10th in fWAR (1.9), fifth in wRC+ (133), fifth in OPS (.824), 11th in batting average (.252) and tied for fifth in home runs (14). The 23-year-old, who plays all three outfield positions, also ranks sixth in plate appearances (301) and tied for 10th in games played (70).
“The fans obviously have the power in this to do what they see fit,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think Tarik is well-positioned, one way or the other, Jack (Flaherty) has had a really good year, Riley, I would love to see him get some love. It’s not something I pay huge attention to, but it’s fun for the guys and fun for the fans.”
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In fWAR, which is the number of wins a player adds to his team compared to a replacement-level player, Greene’s 1.9 trails only Aaron Judge (5.0), Juan Soto (4.5), Kyle Tucker (3.2), Jarren Duran (2.9), Daulton Varsho (2.2), Colton Cowser (2.1), Willi Castro (2.1), Yordan Alvarez (1.9) and JJ Bleday (1.9) on the list of 25 qualified AL outfielders.
Castro played for the Tigers from 2019-22, but he was cut loose alongside third baseman Jeimer Candelario and utility player Harold Castro in November 2022 — exactly two months after Scott Harris took over as the president of baseball operations — because the Tigers didn’t think he was worth paying a projected $1.7 million in his first year as an arbitration-eligible player.
Castro, a 27-year-old switch-hitter who plays infield and outfield, has turned into an above-average player for the Minnesota Twins over the past two seasons, making $3.3 million in 2024.
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Meanwhile, Greene is hitting .310 with five home runs across his last 18 games, dating to May 29. He set career highs in Saturday’s 13-5 win over the Houston Astros with four hits and six RBIs, delivering his second multi-homer game of the season.
The Tigers selected Greene with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft. He has never made the All-Star team in his three MLB seasons, hitting a combined .266 with 30 home runs and a .761 OPS in 262 games.
Tarik Skubal, a win-first player
Skubal is the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award. He’s also shaping up to be the AL’s starting pitcher for the 2024 All-Star Game, which is scheduled for July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
But Skubal isn’t focused on the All-Star Game (or the Cy Young Award).
“I’d much rather win a lot of games than be in the All-Star Game,” Skubal said. “That’s kind of how I’ve always felt. I think winning cures everything. Think about every team that wins a World Series. What happens with their guys after that?”
Skubal, 27, has a 2.20 ERA with 16 walks and 98 strikeouts across 86 innings in 14 starts this season. His 2.7 fWAR ranks second among AL pitchers, trailing only Tanner Houck (3.2).
The Tigers have 10 wins in Skubal’s 14 starts.
There hasn’t been an All-Star starting pitcher from the Tigers since Max Scherzer in 2013.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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