Detroit Tigers: Five Ugly Stats to Make You Cringe

Detroit Tigers Stat: .558

This stat may take some explaining, but trust us, it’s ugly. It’s the On-base Plus Slugging (OPS) against Detroit Tigers pitchers this year after an 0-2 count, which should generally be death for hitters. The league-wide OPS after 0-2 counts this year is .419. If you’re unfamiliar with OPS, here’s a quick explanation from FanGraphs:

"On-base Plus Slugging (OPS) is exactly what it sounds like: the sum of a player’s on-base percentage and their slugging percentage…OPS has value as a metric because it is accepted and used more widely than other, more accurate statistics while also being a relatively accurate representations of offense."

Detroit Tigers pitchers have gotten ahead 0-2 to 114 batters this year, and they’ve then gone on to give up 21 hits (5th worst batting average), 5 walks (5th worst OBP), and 4 home runs (4th worst slugging percentage). The Tigers also have the 3rd worst strikeout rate after getting ahead 0-2. The pitching staff isn’t putting batters away the way they should be.

Who are the biggest culprits? Matthew Boyd has given up seven hits and one walk after getting ahead 0-2 this season. Casey Mize has allowed a walk and two hits, including a homer, and Tarik Skubal has given up two doubles. But the biggest issue seems to be coming from the veteran relievers. Tyler Alexander, Buck Farmer, Joe Jimenez, and Daniel Norris have combined to get ahead 0-2 on 14 hitters this year. They’ve gone on to allow 5 hits (including 2 home runs) and 3 walks. That’s a great recipe for producing the worst run differential in baseball. Maybe Shane Greene would help?