MCB Staff Predictions for the 2022 Detroit Tigers season

The crew here at Motor City Bengals got together and came up with some over/under and predictions for the 2022 Detroit Tigers season.

Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers is just a day away. There is optimism in the air and baseball fans all around today are celebrating Opening Day in their own, unique ways. This is the time for fans to call their shots and make some bold predictions.

New for this season, we are adding an over/under besides our staff predictions. Here are the categories and feel free to add yours to our Twitter post or leave them in our comments section.

We will revisit them later. Let’s start the staff predictions on where the season will take the Detroit Tigers:

Yooper: I’m at 78-84 while acknowledging this appears to be being a very high variance team. It’s built on a young core of starting pitchers which we know can be volatile and they’re going to rely heavily on at least two rookies in the everyday lineup…we know growing pains can be attached to that.

But if enough of these young guys progress and the vets produce, it won’t be stunning if they win 7 to 10 more than my prediction.I like the off-season moves in total after this Meadows deal. They’re a better overall club on paper than last season, but that’s not a guarantee for more wins. I felt they over-achieved last year.

Brendan Burke:   I think the Tigers will go 88-74. It’s enough to compete this year, especially with all the off-season acquisitions. I think once Riley Greene comes back, he and Akil Baddoo will split playing time this season. They’ll probably move on from Grossman after his contact ends up this year.

I think Baez will pan out just fine and Tork will be in the top 3 voting for Rookie of the Year. Skubal is going to take a big step forward. I think with ERod, Mize and Skubal all of their ERAs will be under 4 this season. In the bullpen, I think they’ll have a cumulative ERA of 3.00 and under. The Tigers are close to being relevant again, and I can’t wait.

Kurt Mensching (FanSided Sports Director):   I think they’re a little above .500 as a team. Which means they could be a playoff contender — especially under the new rules this year — if they over-perform by a bit, or they could still disappoint fans by not being able to build on last year’s record because they took such a big step forward last year.

But with the prospects, the young players, and the offseason moves the front office made, I think this team should give fans the most fun they’ve had in quite a few years. I’m looking forward to seeing how they do.

Jacob Boes:  For the season prediction I’ll go 80-82. I know that the morale of the tiger fan base is high right now with the addition of Austin Meadows, but this team remains imperfect. Specifically, I’m concerned about the bullpen.

Injuries to Funkhouser and Chafin already burns some of their depth; now we’re hearing of a possible IL stint from Cisnero. Fulmer’s velocity has been down, which could be nothing, but is a situation worth monitoring too.

If they can weather the injury storm with their pitching, they should be able to add this trade deadline for the first time in a long time, which would help a stretch run coupled with Riley Greene’s return.

Chris Brown:  I’m going to go with a prediction of 83-79. I had the team at .500 before the Meadows move, but I think he lengthens the lineup and adds power and more platoon options for A.J. Hinch, and I think that’s worth a couple of wins. I think Eduardo Rodriguez is going to be a very dependable starter who puts up a 4 WAR season, and I think we see incremental improvement from Mize and Skubal.

I think there’s a strong chance Matt Manning pitches himself back to the minors, though, and I’m terribly concerned about the bullpen and early season injuries. The bullpen can theoretically be fixed on the fly, but I’m afraid the compressed spring training and slightly more compact season will test this pitching staff, and I worry things could unravel in a big way.

Michael Critchley: I think the Detroit Tigers will finish the 2022 season with an 85-77 record. For large portions of the season last year they over exceeded many expectations and ultimately came away with 77 wins, and I think the moves they made this offseason will push them to that 85 win mark. Adding a pitcher like Eduardo Rodriguez will do wonders for this young staff both on and off the field, and E-Rods stuff will play well in Comerica Park along with a steady defence behind him.

Adding quality bats such as Baez and Meadows will help balance out the lineup and allow for more run producing opportunities, and specifically the addition if Meadows will play well against the heavy right-handed pitching in the AL Central.

It remains to be seen how players like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning develop this season, along with how well Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene (when healthy) produce at the big league level. But I feel that they have enough proven talent on the roster, and if you couple that with a productive season from a few of these young players, I think they can get to the 85 win mark.

Me: I went back and forth about this for the last several days. The bullpen issues with Jose Cisnero, Andrew Chafin, Kyle Funkhouser all on the IL to start the season, hurts. However, we all remember last season when we saw Funkhouser come up. We all had our doubts, but he ended up being clutch last season when the Tigers needed him to step up the most. The same could be said about Cisnero. With Elvin Rodriguez making the team, it raises a lot of eyebrows for a pitcher who spent a majority of the season down in Erie. However, as Trevor Hooth of Bless You Boys pointed out below, Elvin, with the help of pitching coach Chris Fetter and others, could be a strength.

There is a mentally here that I believe Hinch has set with the ball club. They will find someone else to step up and play a role in the bullpen. The addition of Austin Meadows for Isaac Paredes was needed. Meadows hits right-handed pitching well and with the lack of lefties in the AL Central, it can benefit the Tigers from a division perspective. The play of Ryan Kreidler made the trade for Paredes easier to process.

Overall, Torkelson and Greene are not only talented but it gives Detroit a youth core in the likes we have not seen from the positional standpoint. I believe Tarik Skubal will have a year in which he opens up a lot of eyes across baseball. I will have the “hot take” he will make the All-Star team this season in a very talented American League.

I will go with 82-80. If they are still hanging around the AL Central race after the All-Star break, Detroit Tigers fans will be stoked. A lot of injuries to overcome but if their starting pitching can keep them in games, I think it will help when the offense is not clicking. The buzz about this team is fantastic and rightfully so. There is a lot of talent here.

Detroit Tigers Over/Under predictions

Michael Critchley:   

How many Tigers hit 25+ HR (2, Meadows, Baez)
How many Tigers hit 20+ HR (4, Tork, Schoop, Grossman, Candelario)
Does anyone steal 20+ bases? (Yes)
Over/under HR for Torkelson at 23.5 (under)
Over/under games for Greene at 120.5 (under)
Over/under wins for E-Rod 14.5 (over)
Over/under wins for Mize 12.5 (over)
Over/under Ks for Skubal 195 (under)
Over/under starts for Manning 19.5 (over)
Over/under saves for Soto 20.5 (over)
Over/under team hits leader 170 (over)
Over/under team RBI leader 100 (over)

Brendan Burke:

How many Tigers hit 25+ HR 2 (Meadows and Baez)
How many Tigers hit 20+ HR 5 (Baez, Meadows, Tork, Schoop, Baddoo)
Does anyone steal 20+ bases? Yes Hill
Over/under HR for Torkelson at 23.5 Under
Over/under games for Greene at 120.5 under
Over/under wins for E-Rod 14.5 over
Over/under wins for Mize 12.5 over
Over/under Ks for Skubal 195  over
Over/under starts for Manning 19.5 under
Over/under saves for Soto 20.5 under

Jacob Boes:

How many Tigers hit 25+ HR (1, Meadows)
How many Tigers hit 20+ HR (4, Baez, Meadows, Tork, Schoop)
Does anyone steal 20+ bases? (1, Baddoo)
Over/under HR for Torkelson at 23.5 (under)
Over/under games for Greene at 120.5 (under)
Over/under wins for E-Rod 14.5 (over)
Over/under wins for Mize 12.5 (over)
Over/under Ks for Skubal 195 (over)
Over/under starts for Manning 19.5 (under)
Over/under saves for Soto 20.5 (under)
Over/under team hits leader 170 (over)
Over/under team RBI leader 100 (under)

Yooper:

How many Tigers hit 25+ HR (2 Baez/Torkelson)
How many Tigers hit 20+ HR (5 add Schoop/Candelario/Meadows )
Does anyone steal 20+ bases? (1 Baddoo)
Over/under HR for Torkelson at 23.5 (over)
Over/under games for Greene at 120.5 (under)
Over/under wins for E-Rod 14.5 (under)
Over/under wins for Mize 12.5 (over)
Over/under Ks for Skubal 195 (under)
Over/under starts for Manning 19.5 (over)
Over/under saves for Soto 20.5 (over)

Chris Brown:

How many Tigers hit 25+ HR (1, Baez)
How many Tigers hit 20+ HR (4, Baez, Meadows, Tork, Schoop)
Does anyone steal 20+ bases? (No)
Over/under HR for Torkelson at 23.5 (under)
Over/under games for Greene at 120.5 (under)
Over/under wins for E-Rod 14.5 (over)
Over/under wins for Mize 12.5 (under)
Over/under Ks for Skubal 195 (over)
Over/under starts for Manning 19.5 (under)
Over/under saves for Soto 20.5 (under)
Over/under team hits leader 170 (over)
Over/under team RBI leader 100 (over)

Me:

How many Tigers hit 25+ HR (2, Baez and Torkelson)
How many Tigers hit 20+ HR (5, Baez, Torkelson, Meadows, Schoop, Grossman)
Does anyone steal 20+ bases? No
Over/under HR for Torkelson at 23.5  (over)
Over/under games for Greene at 120.5 (under)
Over/under wins for E-Rod 14.5 (over)
Over/under wins for Mize 12.5 (under)
Over/under Ks for Skubal 195 (over)
Over/under starts for Manning 19.5 (under)
Over/under saves for Soto 20.5 (over)
Over/under team hits leader 170 (over)
Over/under team RBI leader 100 (over)