Detroit Tigers: Three players to watch in series against Kansas City Royals

Ian Kinsler

It remains to be seen if the Detroit Tigers will deal Ian Kinsler this offseason.

Regardless, however, it should be noted that the second baseman has done a solid job of padding his trade value as of late.

With just a 92 wRC+ and a .313 wOBA in 598 plate appearances, Kinsler hasn’t enjoyed the best overall season at the plate.

That being said, he’s made a habit of launching long balls lately

In 101 September plate appearances, Kinsler has crushed eight home runs to go along with 13 runs scored, 12 RBI and a stolen base.

He’s hitting just .213 with a .267 on-base percentage during the span, but that is likely in part due to an unfortunately-low .174 BABIP.

Like Castellanos—or perhaps even more so—Kinsler has found plenty of success against Kansas City pitching.

He’s hitting .359 (23-for-64) against Jason Vargas with eight doubles, seven RBI, three walks, two home runs and two triples.

Kinsler also has two home runs against the respective starters on Wednesday and Thursday in Jason Hammel and Danny Duffy.

The All-Star second baseman has been particularly efficient against Hammel, with six hits, two RBI, two walks and the two aforementioned home runs in just 17 plate appearances.

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What’s more, Kinsler is also four-for-nine with three RBI against reliever Peter Moylan and three-for-10 with a double against former Detroit Tigers pitcher Joakim Soria.