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Detroit Tigers probably won’t be this bad next season

By Ben Rosener

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 31: Michael Fulmer #32 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees on July 31, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 31: Michael Fulmer #32 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees on July 31, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Tigers
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 9: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers hits a two-run home run in the first inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 9, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Offensive improvements

While the Detroit Tigers pitching staff has struggled mightily in September, the team’s offense hasn’t been nearly as ineffective.

Despite regularly relying on the likes of Andrew Romine (65 wRC+), Tyler Collins (.283 on-base percentage) and Efren Navarro (54 wRC+), the Tigers are 18th in WAR among offenses in the month of September.

Detroit also ranks near the middle of the pack in ISO (15th), wRC+ (16th) and wOBA (17th).

If the Tigers can get Miguel Cabrera back to being his old self at the plate next season, they should improve on those numbers significantly.

A full season of Victor Martinez in the lineup in 2018 certainly won’t hurt matters either.

In addition to Martinez, seeing Jeimer Candelario play on a consistent basis should help the Tigers significantly.

The centerpiece of the Justin Wilson trade, Candelario has arguably been Detroit’s best player in September.

In 84 plate appearances, the third baseman has clocked a 1.0 WAR to go along with a 169 wRC+, a .426 wOBA, a 14.3 walk percentage and a .181 ISO.

Candelario is also hitting .361 with a .452 on-base percentage and a .542 slugging percentage.

He’s not going to sustain those numbers for an entire season, but he looks like he’ll be an above-average contributor at the plate.

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