It was my birthday on Wednesday! As you might know, February 21st is a hallowed day in the canon of Baseball with Matt, as I usually try to devote the day’s article to something that happened on said day in baseball history. Usually, the topic revolves around my birthday buddy Alan Trammell, the longtime Hall of Fame shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. This post will be no different, but I won’t be talking about Trammell specifically. Instead, I will shift my focus to Trammell’s team, the Motor City Kitties, because there are many reasons to believe that the 2024 Detroit Tigers will win the American League Central division. Here are five of those reasons.
It’s the AL Mid: The 2023 Tigers only won 78 games, which would’ve been good for fifth out of six teams had they played in the AL East (which they did from 1994 to 1997 #FunFactsWithMatt), but ended up finishing in second place in 2023’s edition of the AL Central to the Twins. The AL Central is one of the weakest divisions in baseball and is chock full of teams that are either in the dumpster already or didn’t do enough in the offseason to delay their descent. The Royals committed over $100 million to free agents this offseason and locked up Bobby Witt, Jr. for the next more-than-a-decade, but still only won 56 games last year. The White Sox are on the verge of trading star pitcher Dylan Cease and didn’t do much to improve upon their 61 wins in 2023. And the Guardians and Twins are good teams that have holes in just the wrong places. The Tigers ended last season strong, which propelled them to make some key signings to prepare for the upcoming campaign, signings that I quite enjoy.
The new starters: The Tigers made some early statements this offseason to shore up a pitching staff that would eventually lose Eduardo Rodriguez in free agency (he signed in Arizona). Detroit brought in two pitchers that have had All-Star stuff before but are looking to reinvent their careers: Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda. Flaherty is perhaps the least risky of the two moves, as he’s on a one-year contract, but has the most to prove after a rocky last couple of seasons with the Cardinals and Orioles. Maeda, who was once signed by the Dodgers out of Japan, is entering his age-36 season after spending the last four years in the AL Central with the Twins. I have high hopes for both of them, but both of these signings could easily be flops.
The youth movement: When you’re bad for as long as the Tigers have been, you’re going to rack up a plentiful farm system. The lineup alone is chock full of youngsters. Colt Keith just signed a massive extension before ever professionally stepping onto a Major League field. Riley Greene came alive last year and is looking to repeat that success following an injury that cut his 2023 short. Spencer Torkelson hit over 30 home runs last year and is my sneaky pick to win the AL home run crown and finish top-5 in MVP in 2024. Kerry Carpenter and Parker Meadows should also lend significant helping hands. And what about Casey Mize and Reese Olson in the rotation? This team’s nucleus is all youth and if they can start blossoming, it’ll be free Detroit-style pizza for a long time.
The veterans: Javier Baez aside, you can’t look at this team’s veterans negatively. They brought in Mark Canha and Gio Urshela. They have Tarik Skubal, my sneaky AL ERA king for this year, as their #1 starter. Matt Manning mans the back of the rotation. They brought in Shelby Miller and Andrew Chafin this offseason to clear up the bullpen. It’s a good-looking group of journeymen, let me tell you.
How it all comes together: The Tigers are far from star-studded, but in a division full of dud lineups and rotations, the team just needs everyone to be a little bit okay, and they should be fine. I don’t think it’s a lock for the Tigers to win the division by any means; the Twins and Guardians will be formidable competitors. But if a little goes right, it’ll go a long way for this team. They’re my official pick to win the AL Central in 2024, and next week, I’ll talk about the other teams that I think will win their divisions in 2024. Until then, thanks for reading!
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