This surging Detroit Tigers team is encouraging for the future — playoffs or not (2024)

It was bound to happen, sooner or later.

After winning six straight games, the Detroit Tigers lost on Thursday to the Los Angeles Angels, 3-0.

But the progress of this team — namely, the growth of several youngsters — cannot be denied.

What a strange season this has been, with three distinct phases.

First, the promising start — featuring a peak at five games over .500 on May 1.

Then, the ugly middle — dropping nine games under .500 on the Fourth of July.

And now?

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We are in the midst of a surprising, fun-filled surge, as the kids have propelled this team to a 68-67 record with 27 games to play. After Thursday's game, the Tigers were five games back of the third and final American League wild-card spot.

Which makes you wonder: Can this young team keep it up and get to the playoffs?

The odds are heavily against them, obviously. But their schedule is not exactly daunting, and I’m not putting anything past the new version of this team.

I mean, did you really think they could get back to .500? Even just two weeks ago?

Who knows what the next two weeks will bring — I wouldn't be surprised if it went either way.

And besides, just playing some games that matter in September would be a refreshing change.

“We're a good team — I've said that since the beginning of the year,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “We joke around saying we've had a couple different teams — one at the start of the year, another one at the trade deadline, and now here we are with a bunch of young guys.”

Young? That’s an understatement. There are 20 players on the 40-man roster who are 25 or younger, which is just astonishing.

“There is a running joke in the clubhouse how little service time everybody has,” catcher Dillon Dingler said. “With that being said, to see everything come together at the highest level, this is a really cool way to finish out the year, and a huge stepping stone for next year.”

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Give credit where credit is due

Give manager A.J. Hinch all kinds of credit. After the trade deadline, it looked like this team was headed for a dumpster fire. But Hinch got super-creative, using relievers as starters (and then bringing in more relievers to eat innings) and finding a way to win. Meanwhile, several key players — including Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene — got healthy.

Hinch has managed this team with a deft touch: giving the youngsters room to grow, subtly teaching them how to be big leaguers, allowing them to struggle at times but not allowing them to be crushed.

“Everybody loves the positive results we're getting,” Hinch said Wednesday. “I think the youthful vibe that we have is always fun. And these guys have done it together. When guys come up together, it seems like there's always a faster chemistry that's built on a team. So it's been good.“

Give Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris some of the credit, too. His long-term contract for Colt Keith — before he'd even taken a big-league swing — looks smarter every day.

And think of something else.

Harris entered this season facing pressure from some fans to sign some veteran bats, but that would have prevented some of these youngsters to climb into the lineup. Harris stuck to the long-term plan and it’s paying off.

At the same time, Harris was hamstrung by the Javier Báez situation. But he found a shortstop via a deadling deal wiht the L.A. Dodgers. Then, Báez's season-ending injury this month opened the door to give Trey Sweeney some run at short. Simply put, when the opportunity was there, Harris was positioned perfectly to plug in a new player.

Will Sweeney be the long-term answer at short? Nobody knows yet. But it sure beats the alternative of watching another swing and miss.

“It's a fun clubhouse, for sure,” Sweeney said. “I was really blessed to be able to get called up and then join this team. Everybody's having a great time, and teams playing well and playing good baseball. So it's been really fun to be a part.”

Another thing that’s important: Give some credit to the coaches in Toledo.

How many times this season have guys struggled in Detroit, gone down to Triple-A and then came back better?

Spencer Torkelson looks like a new player, as does Parker Meadows.

“It just getting a breather when you go down,” Ryan Kreidler said. “Tork, Parker and I have had conversations about it. When you go down — almost everybody goes down — you get a chance to reevaluate and just figure out, 'OK, what actually just happened? How were guys attacking me?' ”

Finally, there is somebody else who needs mentioning.

Some of the credit has to go to former Tigers GM Al Avila and his staff.

On Thursday, the Tigers rolled out a lineup that featured seven players drafted by Avila.

So give him some props.

This rebuild has seemingly lasted forever — but most of these homegrown players were acquired by Avila.

Learning to win together

There is something else to like about this group.

The chemistry is undeniable.

Some of this has been by design. Hinch made sure all of these prospects spent time around this team in spring training, which has made the transition even easier.

“It's definitely more comfortable,” rookie third baseman Jace Jung said. “Everybody knows who I am. I know who they are. It's been fun. Winning is fun.”

As for the rest, the core has been together for years.

Think back to 2021 and the Erie SeaWolves, the Tigers' Double-A affiliate. That squad's roster included Carpenter, Greene, Torkelson and Dingler. After some of those prospects moved to Toledo, that team missed the playoffs, but they finished 64-55 for their second straight winning season. It was just the second time in franchise history that Erie finished with back-to-back winning seasons.

That’s significant. This group isn’t surprised about winning, because it already learned how to win together in the minors.

“All of us coming up together, it definitely helps with the chemistry and energy and makes it easier to go out on the field and perform,” Meadows said.

Winning matters.

So this surge matters, no matter how this season ends — playoffs or not.

“Obviously that .500 mark is a goal we wanted to reach and now here we are,” Rogers said. “The next step is getting as far above .500 as we can and get into the playoffs. When you have winning seasons, you can get a new playoff.”

You wanna know what else is encouraging?

All of this bodes well for the future. This is more than a hot streak at the end of a season. This is young players developing before our eyes.

“I really like this team,” Torkelson said. “This organization's in an amazing spot. I think we got a really good culture. Obviously, you need really good players. You need a complete team, but if you have a culture, you can do a lot of special things.”

No matter where this team ends the season, this is progress.

Every day these youngsters are in the majors, every day they are learning — whether they're struggling or finding success — every day they are getting experience, this organization is winning.

Even on a day when they lose.

Contact Jeff Seidel:jseidel@freepress.comor follow him@seideljeff.

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