Detroit Tigers: Offense May Be Turning Things Around

Return of Cameron Maybin

Upton’s offensive outburst was undoubtedly the significant story of Sunday’s game, but the return of Cameron Maybin shouldn’t be overlooked.

The centerfielder returned from the disabled list and settled back into the second spot in the batting order. Maybin collected a hit in four at-bats, plating a pair of runs in the process.

While Tyler Collins and Andrew Romine did a commendable job as temporary center fielders, neither can quite match the offensive impact of Maybin. So far this season, the former Marlin has accumulated a 119 wRC+.

That number is especially significant when you consider that it is equal to Nick Castellanos’ wRC+ stat, and slightly ahead of Ian Kinsler’s wRC+ of 118. Maybin has seen just 261 plate appearances, which pales considerably in comparison to Castellanos’ 432 and Kinsler’s 539.

Of all center fielders with at least 250 plate appearances, only seven players have a higher wRC+ than Maybin. In just the American League, only Mike Trout, Tyler Naquin and Jackie Bradley Jr. have higher numbers in that statistic.

That means, at least where wRC+ is concerned, Maybin has outperformed a number of impact players. These include the likes of Ian Desmond who made the All-Star team and has the third-highest WAR of any center fielder in baseball. Maybin’s wRC+ also checks in ahead of fellow standouts like Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Lorenzo Cain, Denard Span and Randal Grichuk.