Detroit Tigers: Future Award Winners

Silver Slugger Award

Willi Castro, 2B, 2023

Willi Castro’s impressive 2020 was largely driven by luck and small sample sizes, but he did show some useful tools, including above-average speed, the ability to barrel the ball, and surprising raw pop. This Silver Slugger award was driven by luck, too, though not all from his .365 BABIP. Castro got lucky because of a lack of competition at second base. Gleyber Torres missed half of his games in 2023 with a hamstring tear, and D.J. Lemahieu and Jose Altuve started showing their age. That didn’t stop them from getting All-Star bids ahead of Castro, though.

Gold Glove Award

Marcelo Mayer, SS, and Carlos Correa, 3B, 2026

After ten years without a Gold Glove award winner, the Tigers took home two in one season with an infield tandem that was the envy of baseball. Marcelo Mayer was considered a bit of a reach when the Tigers took him 3rd overall in the 2021 draft, but the team thought he had the best hit tool in the class, and Al Avila had an existing relationship with Mayer’s Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, CA, where Adrian Gonzalez went to school when Avila and the Marlins drafted him first overall in 2000.

Mayer didn’t quite live up to his lofty offensive projections early in his career, but his defense ended up better than just about anyone expected thanks to terrific instincts. Correa signed his big deal with the Tigers in December 2021, and though he capably manned shortstop for several seasons, by the time Mayer debuted in late 2024 it was obvious he was the future of the position. Correa agreed to move to third base the next year, and truth be told, both should have won a Gold Glove in 2025, but it takes time for people to recognize such things. Instead they won in 2026, when Tigers pitchers led the AL in ERA.

Rookie of the Year Award

Spencer Torkelson, 1B, 2022

Every so often the chosen one arrives and does exactly what was foretold. Such is the case with Spencer Torkleson, who was held back in Toledo for a few months “to work on his defense at third base” before coming up to Detroit and immediately moving back to first. After a rough couple of weeks getting adjusted, Tork dialed in and raked for the rest of the season. He finished the year with a 12.2% walk rate, a 24.7% strikeout rate, and nearly half of his hits going for extra bases. He wasn’t a unanimous winner though, as the first-base penalty kept his WAR at just 2.4, but he won the award anyway thanks to the cachet of being the first overall pick, and an added narrative bonus of leading the Tigers in RBIs despite missing 60 games.

Reliever of the Year Award

Matt Manning, 2026

Matt Manning’s inability to find a consistent third pitch and get through the 6th inning led to three years of middling ERAs as a starter and a handful of return trips to Toledo. After a particularly rough stretch in 2024 the Tigers decided to send Manning to the bullpen. The early returns were promising, with Manning’s fastball sitting at 96 mph instead of 94, but it was a chance encounter that really changed his fortunes. Former Tigers closer Todd Jones, in town to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the last game at Tiger Stadium, made a grip suggestion to Manning, leading to a devastating new cutter. He learned to master the pitch over the course of 2025, moving into a setup role, and then dominated as the closer in 2026, earning the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award.

Cy Young Award

Tarik Skubal, 2025

The swiftness of Tarik Skubal’s rise to the majors put a bit of a cap on his prospect ranking, but it became clear relatively early on that he was the best of Detroit’s impressive arms. Casey Mize certainly had his moments, but it was Skubal who became the workhorse of the staff, and eventually a true Ace. The planets seemed to align for him in 2025, with defensive gems from Carlos Correa and Marcelo Mayer aiding him during an early season no-hitter of Kansas City, and the burgeoning dominance of reliever Matt Manning helping him rack up wins. The biggest feather in his cap was probably a dominant, 14-K shutout of the White Sox in early September that kept Detroit in the thick of the division race.

MVP Award

Riley Greene, OF, 2027

Riley Greene debuted in late 2022 and spent the next four years as a very productive hitter. In 2024 he threatened to break the franchise record for doubles in a season, and he earned All-Star bids in both 2025 and 2026. But it was a pre-season swing changed suggested by new hitting coach J.D. Martinez that led to Greene transforming into Christian Yelich. It looked ugly at first, with Greene hitting just .163 with 2 home runs in April, but then it all clicked and he batted .361 the rest of the way. He led the league in opposite-field home runs, played average defense in right field, and even added 14 stolen bases to become the first Tigers batter to surpass 7 WAR in a season since Miguel Cabrera in 2013.