Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Maddy Dickens | Last updated Apr 18, 2026 7:59 PM ET
The Detroit Tigers have one of the best all-around pitching staffs in baseball, led by the most dominant starter, Tarik Skubal. The starting rotation is lethal this season, but the team is still barely keeping its head above water. Why?
Well, the Tigers’ offseason was nonexistent regarding the batting order. The lineup was begging for another bat or two, but the front office chose to ignore those pleas, and that is currently not going over well with the ballclub. After the Tigers’ latest victory over the Boston Red Sox, the team has won seven of its last eight, which puts them back over .500 for the first time since they were 2-0. Finally, a start from Skubal was not wasted.
The biggest issue, however, was highlighted in the lone loss recently against the Red Sox as the Tigers were shut out in an extra-inning showdown against the AL foe, which is the third of this season, which doesn’t complement well with the five other times that the team has scored two (or fewer) runs.
Detroit doesn’t have a win against a team that is over .500 yet this year, which isn’t shocking with how they are doing as a whole. If the Tigers want to make the playoffs, let alone make a deep run in October, then the entire batting order has to be firing on all cylinders.
Tigers Hitting Rankings
This team is by far from one of the worst all-around offenses in baseball; it isn’t even close. That isn’t the point. The Tigers want to win a World Series.
With Skubal, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander in the starting rotation and Gold Glove players playing alongside Silver Sluggers, the team needs to be in the top-third, not bottom, with both its pitching staff and offense.
- Homeruns- tied for 28th
- RBI- 18th
- Runs Scored- 15th
- Doubles- 4th/5th
- Triples- tied for 8th
- Strikeouts- 14th most
- Batting Average- 13th
- On-Base Percentage- 14th
- Slugging Percentage- 20th
- OPS- 16th
As a unit, the Tigers have an OPS under .700. The reigning world champs? .863.
The Tigers will finish up this short road stint at Fenway Park before returning to their home field to take on the Milwaukee Brewers. They are starting to really find a groove, and with as good a pitching staff as the Tigers have, the offense either needs to really find itself or the front office needs to look at making a trade.
