The Detroit Tigers have wrapped up a successful first month of the season and the team has had a few surprises early on.
Coming into the year, expectations were high for the Tigers. This was a franchise that was able to not only shockingly snap a lengthy playoff drought in 2024, but also win a series in the postseason.Ad
In 2025, the expectations are now much higher than they have been in recent campaigns, and Detroit is living up to them so far.
With a 19-12 record at the end of April, the Tigers are in first place in the American League Central and are proving to be one of the best teams in the league.
As Detroit heads into May, here are some of the top surprises from the first month of the season.
Casey Mize Leading the Way
Coming into the year, the starting rotation had the potential to be one of the best in the league. While having Tarik Skubal certainly helps, there was also a lot of young talent around him.
Even though Jackson Jobe might have received most of the attention coming into the campaign, Casey Mize is a former first-overall pick by Detroit. Even though he has missed time with injuries to begin his career, he has flashed some of the potential early on.
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While the Tigers have the reigning AL Cy Young on their team, it is Mize who leads the rotation with a 2.12 ERA after the first month.
McKinstry Stepping Up
With injuries to key players in the outfield, it has been Zach McKinstry who has stepped up to fill in. The veteran outfielder has slashed .323/.414/.473 with one home run, 14 RBI, and five doubles so far.
This type of offensive production is something that he hasn’t been able to accomplish yet in his career, but it has been a welcomed sight for the Tigers in 2025.
Torkelson Living Up to the Hype
Coming into spring training, it didn’t appear like Spencer Torkelson was going to be with the Tigers for much longer. However, he had an excellent spring and forced his way onto the Opening Day roster. Since then, all he has done is produce in the middle of the lineup.
So far, he has slashed .241/.359/.537 with eight home runs and 24 RBI. Detroit needed a right-handed slugger in the middle of the order this winter, and it has been a shock to see Torkelson fill that role.
Baez Being Productive
Since signing with the Tigers, there haven’t been too many positives from the play of Javier Baez. However, after getting a hip procedure done last year, he has come back in 2025 and performed very well.
So far, he has slashed .296/.337/.407 with one home run and 11 RBI. While the power numbers might not be there, he has been getting on base and playing very well in center field after the position change.
For a player that was seemingly written off, positive production has been a massive surprise.
