Even the worst of years see good individual performances, here were the top three performers for the Detroit Tigers in the 2019 season.
The Detroit Tigers were the worst team in the league in 2019, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a few strong individual performances. Here are the top three performers from the 2019 season for the Detroit Tigers.
1. Matthew Boyd
Matthew Boyd had the highest WAR (3.5) of any Tiger this year, even including Nicholas Castellanos and Shane Greene, who were both traded at the deadline. Boyd pitched 185.1 innings over 32 games and struck out 238 batters. While his 4.56 ERA and 9-12 win-loss record weren’t amazing, he was easily the MVP for the Tigers. Watching him pitch, especially in the first half of the season, was special. Hopefully, he can step it up even more next season.
2. Niko Goodrum
Niko Goodrum had the highest WAR (1.6) among any position player for the Tigers this year. An unfortunate injury towards the end of the season made him miss some of August and all of September, but he was still one of the most reliable bats, baserunners, and gloves for Detroit. He hit .248 with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs, he also had 12 stolen bases on the season. In addition to this, Goodrum was a great utility player, filling holes all over the field on defense when needed.
3. Victor Reyes
Victor Reyes was the only Detroit hitter with an OPS+ over 100 at the end of the season. Despite the fact that he didn’t play the entire season in the big leagues, the end of the season was so good for him he managed to pull his average up over .300. Reyes was a consistent average hitter that was reliable on defense. He is bound to have a bright future if he can continue performing as well as he did in August and September.
There were plenty of other players for Detroit who performed well this season, but these three stood out amongst the rest. All three of them are set to return to the Tigers’ organization next year, so it will be exciting to see their growth and development. With any luck, at least one of them can become an all-star at some point in the future.