Detroit Tigers: Our best guess on when Miguel Cabrera will get hit 3,000

Detroit Tigers slugger and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is now just six hits away from 3,000

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera, after a three-hit performance Thursday night, finds himself with 2,994 career hits and inching closer to the magic 3,000 hit milestone, which would tie him with Roberto Clemente for 32nd on the all-time list and just seven away from fellow Tiger legend Al Kaline.

Cabrera’s stellar career is currently in transition; going from a full-time first baseman, to a part-time first-baseman, to a full-time DH over the past few seasons. The DH role arrives more to keep Cabrera as fresh as possible than his defensive play itself. Early results have been promising, too: he’s hitting .318/.360/.364 over his brief seven-game season thus far.

Cabrera has been pretty easy-going regarding the impending accomplishment, telling the Freep’s Evan Petzold in an article recently:

“I’m just trying to focus on every at-bat, every pitch. Just don’t try to put pressure on myself and go from there. Just go out and make something happen.”

Considering his current trajectory, when (and where) might Cabrera achieve his milestone knock? The Tigers have three games left in Kansas City before an off day on Monday. After that, they’ll begin a six-game homestand, starting with a three-game series against the Yankees on Tuesday.

Cabrera would need to continue his onslaught of Royals pitching to hit 3,000 there — especially considering he likely gets a day off on Saturday or Sunday. His current batting average suggests he will pick up another 2-3 hits over those two games in KC; lining him up to achieve hit number 3,000 at home against the Yankees or Rockies.

If we assume he gets four at-bats per game on average, and maintains his current .318 batting average pace, the numbers suggest that Cabrera would achieve hit number 3,000 in five games, which, assuming only that single off day, would have him getting it on Thursday, April 21st in the final game of the Yankees series — a day game.

Some other variables could alter this timeline, of course, but between their opponent and the anticipation that comes with Cabrera’s feat, Comerica Park might be a bit more crowded during their upcoming homestand. As it should be.