Detroit Tigers: The homegrown WAR project Part 1

The Detroit Tigers have several homegrown players who have contributed to the team’s success under manager AJ Hinch. So how important is that to win a title?

Back when I started the Detroit Tigers Minor League Report, I spent time looking at World Series winners and the core of teams I grew watching.  Since the Tigers have drafted high in the last four seasons, there is a good chance a good amount of a potential World Series-winning team would be built with homegrown talent.

What may help is the news that the owners are talking about expanding the playoffs to 14 teams as part of the collective bargaining agreement in the off-season.

While I am not thrilled personally with the idea, it got me thinking since if Detroit adds in the off-season, they could be close to a playoff spot. Before you laugh me out of the room, there have been teams that won from the wild card spot.

There is a core that so far in the 2021 Detroit Tigers squad that has not spent the same amount of time in the minor leagues together as their 1984 counterparts but it is a different era. At one point, it was fashionable to carry three catchers on the roster and have one or two fewer arms in your pitching staff.

The 1984 Detroit Tigers to start

I looked at the 1984 Detroit Tigers squad. I kept it simple and used the WAR of the players they had that drafted by the team or from international signings for that season. The one constant for this list as the Tigers will be the only one I will break out the entire list of players for is that each player had to be a starter (min 100 games) or for pitching, a min of 10 starts, and for any reliever, anyone who appeared more than 20 games. For example:

Lance Parrish. WAR 2.8: Stats: 33 HR 98 RBI .237/.287/.443
Lou Whitaker.  WAR 4.3  Stats: 13 HR 56 RBI .289/.357/.403
Alan Trammell  WAR 6.7 Stats:  14 HR 69 RBI .314/.382/.468
Howard Johnson WAR 1.0 Stats: 12 HR 50 RBI .248/.324/.394
Kirk Gibson       WAR 5.1  Stats: 27 HR 91 RBI .282/.363/.516
Barbaro Garbey WAR 0.6 Stats: 5 HR 52 RBI  .287/.325/.391
Tom Brookens WAR 2.0   Stats: 5 HR 26 RBI   .246/.306/.397
Jack Morris WAR 2.5 Stats: 240 IP GS 37 19-11 ERA 3.60 WHIP 1..25
Dan Petry WAR 3.5 Stats 233 IP GS 35 18-8 ERA 3.24 WHIP 1.27
Dave Rozema WAR 0.5 Stats: IP 101 GS 16 7-6 ERA 3.74 WHIP 1.26
Total WAR= 30

For the Willie Hernandez & David Bergman deal, Willie Hernandez won the MVP & Cy Young and was the last Tiger pitcher to do so under Justin Verlander in 2011. His WAR was 4.8 and Dave Bergman was 2.0. The Tiger who was traded that was the homegrown prospect, Glenn Wilson? -.0.7 WAR in 1984. He was an All-Star in 1985 with 14 HR and 102 RBI’s and batted .275/.311/.424

The core of that team was fueled by the mid-1970’s drafts in which Morris, Parrish, Whitaker, Petry, Gibson, and Trammell were drafted and developed. The 2021 Tigers do have elements of a homemade core with 14 players that were either signed internationally or drafted and played in the farm system.

While the 1980s was a completely different era in team builds, I went ahead and started looking at other teams, starting from 1997 because I was curious to see how the World Series winners faired with homegrown talents.