Detroit Tigers: Four Players Who’ve Carried Team So Far

Detroit Tigers players have had trouble sustaining success as a team so far this season. The streaky Tigers have been carried by a few players’ performances.

Detroit Tigers fans haven’t been thrilled with the start of the season. The team has been streaky at best, looking good for stretches, and then slumping for a handful of games.

To start the year, Brad Ausmus’ team won six of eight games. Following that stretch, which included series wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins, the Tigers lost six of nine against Houston, Kansas City and Cleveland.

Despite the losses, the team rebounded and won six of seven against the Athletics and Twins.

That brings us to the most recent grouping of games, which saw Ausmus’ club swept by both Cleveland and Texas.

One reason for the streakiness is that Detroit is having a hard time putting it all together. The Tigers’ offense has looked fantastic at times, and dreadful at others. In terms of pitching, Jordan Zimmermann has been the only constant. Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer have shown well in limited starts, but other than that it has been a struggle.

The bullpen has been solid, but the team has been unable to fire on all cylinders on a consistent basis. So far, the team has been carried by a few players off to strong starts. Here are four of those players.

Victor Martinez

Victor Martinez showed the world just how devastating of a hitter he can still be in 2014 when he posted a stellar .335 batting average and a league-leading .409 on-base percentage to go along with 32 home runs, 103 RBI and a second place finish in the MVP voting.

However, things took a turn for the worse in 2015 for Martinez. Limited by injuries, the veteran’s numbers took a significant hit. His batting average dropped all the way .245, while his on-base percentage plummeted to .301. The designated hitter only hit 11 home runs and drove in 64 runs.

Heading into this season, Martinez wasn’t a lock to rebound. However, he’s done just that. The 37-year-old has been one of the team’s best hitters so far, posting a stellar .311 batting average.

V-Mart’s .311 clip would’ve led the team if it weren’t for the torrid start Nick Castellanos is off to. Additionally, Martinez has seemingly regained the power stroke that helped him achieve so much success in 2014.

In 113 plate appearances, the former Boston slugger has five home runs and a team-leading 10 doubles. All told, he’s driven in 18 runs—which is also second on the team to Castellanos.

To top it all off, Martinez has continued his trend of limiting strikeouts and making contact. In 30 games, he has gone down on strikes just 11 times, which is the fewest among Detroit regulars.

Jordan Zimmermann

We interrupt this hitting program to bring you an impact pitcher. Yes, an actual pitcher.

Jordan Zimmermann has been everything the Detroit Tigers have wanted and more. In six starts this season, the former National has consistently flashed ace stuff, going 5-1 with a 1.10 ERA in 41 innings pitched.

Many will remember the pitcher’s scoreless innings streak for a long time. Zimmermann racked up 24.1 scoreless innings to start his career with the Tigers, and wasn’t charged with a loss until last Friday.

The Tigers are clearly glad they inked the starter in the offseason, as he’s been key so far. In addition to pitching at a high level, Zimmermann has also ended losing streaks. He snapped a two-game slide in Kansas City with a victory on April 20^th, and followed that up by beating the A’s on the 25^th to prevent a four-game losing streak from turning into a five-game losing streak.

It is unlikely that Zimmermann will maintain a 1.10 ERA (which leads the league) throughout the season, but don’t expect him to stop pitching like an ace anytime soon. Should the Tigers qualify for the postseason, there isn’t a doubt who would pitch Game One.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Like Zimmermann, Saltalamacchia signed with the Tigers in the offseason. Also like Zimmermann, he’s made a significant impact.

Originally viewed as a slugging alternative to James McCann, Salty stepped into the starting lineup when McCann went down injured.

The former Diamondback was excellent as a fill in, and looks to have carved out a role with the team—even with McCann healthy again.

In just 70 at-bats, Saltalamacchia leads the team with six home runs. He’s also added 17 RBI, which is bested only by Nick Castellanos and Victor Martinez. What’s more, the backstop has added four doubles and a triple.

His .214 batting average isn’t anything to write home about, but there’s no denying that Salty has been clutch.

So far this season, the slugger is hitting .313 with a double, a pair of home runs and 10 RBI with two outs and runners in scoring position. He’s also putting up a robust .429/.500/1.500 slash line (albeit in a small sample size) when the game is tied.

With his ability to hit for legitimate power, Salty has extended an already dangerous Detroit lineup.

Next: Now is Not the Time to Fire Brad Ausmus

Usually hitting towards the bottom of the lineup, the slugger brings more power than the likes of Jose Iglesias, Anthony Gose, McCann and Tyler Collins. This provides opposing pitchers with yet another challenge after facing the likes of Cabrera, Martinez, Castellanos and Justin Upton.