The Detroit Tigers got off to a slow start this season, as they had the unfortunate pleasure of facing the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in their opening series.
The Tigers were swept by the defending champs, looking increasingly overmatched as the series progressed.
It was certainly not the kind of start the team was hoping for after raising the bar for 2025 with last year’s unexpected playoff run.
However, it didn’t take long for them to find their groove after facing the Dodgers.
Detroit continued its road trip against the Seattle Mariners, winning two out of three games before returning to Comerica Park for its home opening series against the Chicago White Sox.
The Tigers swept the lowly White Sox, pushing their record above .500 for the first time this year.
With some positive momentum built, the team is on the cusp of a real breakthrough in the MLB.com power rankings, where they moved up one spot from No. 14 to No. 13.
“The crowd for the Tigers’ home opener was 44,735 strong, and if you watched that 7-4 win over the White Sox, you saw that the place was loud. The Tigers have been considered a sleeping giant for a while. The giant may be awake,” wrote Will Leitch of MLB.com.
What makes things so exciting about this start is that Detroit still isn’t close to clicking on all cylinders.
Center fielder Parker Meadows and second baseman Gleyber Torres are both on the injured list, as is Wenceel Perez and the versatile Matt Vierling.
Another free agent signing, Alex Cobb, has also been on the injured list since February with hip inflammation.
Getting zero production from their two major free-agent additions certainly isn’t ideal, but it hasn’t stopped the Tigers from getting the job done on the field.
Detroit still has room for improvement, especially with Tarik Skubal not yet in Cy Young form. Through his first two starts, he is 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA and -0.1 WAR.
Former No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson finding his way has been a nice story in the early going, and the hype around left fielder Riley Greene taking his performance to another level has come to fruition thus far as well.
If the Tigers keep it up, the AL Central could be theirs for the taking this year, especially with the rest of the division off to a sluggish start.
