Detroit Tigers offense will be much-improved next season
Detroit Tigers fans saw the team’s offense struggle mightily down the stretch last season. However, the unit could improve by the time next season rolls around.
Detroit Tigers batters didn’t have the best month of September at the plate.
The Tigers finished 29th in WAR and on-base percentage, 25th in wOBA, 24th in ISO and wRC+ and 20th in slugging percentage.
That being said, the lineup featured a hobbled Miguel Cabrera, no Victor Martinez and was still reeling from the trades of J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Alex Avila.
That same lineup routinely featured some combination of Efren Navarro (.299 wOBA), Tyler Collins (.269 wOBA, 62 wRC+), JaCoby Jones (.229 wOBA, 34 wRC+), Bryan Holaday (.236 wOBA, 39 wRC+) and Andrew Romine (.274 wOBA, 65 wRC+) as well as John Hicks, who turned in a .501 OPS and a 33 wRC+ in September.
Moving forward, Detroit might just be improved offensively in 2018.
Not only are the bulk of the aforementioned players who struggled no longer on the 40-man roster.
However, some of the team’s incumbent players should bounce back.
Hicks will rebound, while a healthy Miguel Cabrera is a prime bounce-back candidate.
There’s also Nicholas Castellanos, who looks set to continue his development as a middle-of-the-order run producer after mashing 26 home runs to go along with a .218 ISO, a 111 wRC+ and an .811 OPS in 665 plate appearances last season.
The middle of the order
Likely joining Cabrera and Castellanos in the heart of the order will be Jeimer Candelario, who was a revelation down the stretch.
The former Cubs farmhand posted an .874 OPS, a .379 wOBA and a 137 wRC+ in 106 plate appearances.
Obviously, his production was impacted by a sky-high .392 BABIP.
However, Candelario showed a solid plate discipline with an 11.3 walk rate and consistently sprayed the ball to all fields.
Throw in steps forward from Mikie Mahtook (107 wRC+, .335 wOBA) and James McCann (.733 OPS, .162 ISO) offensively, and the Tigers have the makings of a solid offense.
The offense will only improve more if the likes of Christin Stewart and Mike Gerber make early impacts in the Majors, providing more offensive alternatives to Jones in the outfield.
Even if the Tigers end up parting with veterans like Jose Iglesias or Ian Kinsler, the offense should be able to stay productive.
Shortstop
In Iglesias’ case, Detroit has a ready-made replacement in Dixon Machado, who posted similar offensive stats last season in an admittedly smaller sample size. Iglesias logged 489 plate appearances, while Machado checked in with 181.
Still, for comparison’s sake, the production is similar.
Jose Iglesias: 71 wRC+, .283 wOBA, .255 batting average, .288 on-base percentage, .369 slugging percentage, 4.3 walk rate, .114 ISO, a .285 BABIP and a 13.3 strikeout percentage.
Dixon Machado: 64 wRC+, .273 wOBA, .259 batting average, .302 on-base percentage, .319 slugging percentage, 5.5 walk rate, .060 ISO, a .311 BABIP and a 17.7 strikeout percentage.
Dixon Machado
If Machado can take a step forward offensively—after all, 2017 was his first extended run of action in the Major Leagues—he has a chance to surpass Iglesias’ 2016 production at the dish.
Kinsler is a bit more difficult to replace, but Detroit does have an interesting prospect waiting in the wings in Kody Eaves, who notched a .200 ISO as an infielder in each of the last two seasons at Double-A Erie.
Should the Tigers opt for a free agent veteran on a short-term deal, offensive options like Howie Kendrick or Brandon Phillips could provide a boost to the batting order.
It’s also possible Detroit could find a suitable offensive replacement at second base for Kinsler in the Rule 5 draft next month.
That being said, if the veteran second baseman isn’t traded, there’s a very real chance that he could rebound next season.
Kinsler’s offense was bogged down by a considerably-low .244 BABIP last season.
However, that didn’t stop the former Ranger from swatting 22 home runs to go along with 90 runs scored, 52 doubles and 14 stolen bases.
Next: Potential second base options if Ian Kinsler is traded
Even if Kinsler is traded or doesn’t rebound, the Detroit Tigers offense should just fine next season—or at the very least much improved over the putrid stats the team put up in September.