Detroit Tigers: Midseason Awards

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DENVER, CO – AUGUST 30: Nicholas Castellanos #9 of the Detroit Tigers watches the flight of a third inning solo homerun against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 30, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Team MVP – Nicholas Castellanos

This is the breakout the Detroit Tigers have been waiting for. Through 85 games, Castellanos is slashing .310/.357/.524 with 13 home runs, 53 RBI, a 138 wRC+ and a 2.1 fWAR. He has been the undisputed leader of this team, and should get heavy consideration for his first All-Star nod.

Castellanos has long been a sabermetrics darling, but has taken that to a new level this season. He sports a career-high 49.2% hard-hit rate, along with a career-high 29.5% line drive rate. Those rank fifth and third in all of baseball, respectively.

His strikeout rate of 21.9% is about on par with what he did last season, and is down significantly from his previous three campaigns. His 5.6% walk rate is a bit disappointing, as that would represent a career-low for the 26-year-old.

It couldn’t have gotten any worse, but it’s been encouraging to see Castellanos’ defense in right field improve this season. He has looked much more comfortable out there, and although advanced metrics still peg him as below average, the improvements have meant his fWAR is nearly already as high as last season, despite only playing in 82 games.

Castellanos is Detroit’s best player. He could work his way into ‘face of the franchise’ territory if the Tigers choose to retain him going forward.

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