Detroit Tigers: 3 players who have stepped up in 2022 but are best suited for a part-time role

OF Willi Castro

Earlier this season, I wrote an article outlining why the Willi Castro in the outfield experiment needed to end. Up to that point, he had been just as bad in the outfield defensively as he was in the infield. Fast forward six weeks or so, and Willi Castro has somewhat improved in the outfield.

There’s been a noticeable difference in his throwing ability. He’s been much better at preventing runners from advancing on balls hit in his direction. He’s got four outfield assists so far, and he’s actually been better in CF and RF than he has been in LF.

Both of his errors have come as a left fielder. He’s got an outs above average of 0, which lands him in the 41st percentile according to Baseball Savant.

Offensively, he’s still the same old Willi Castro for the most part. While he has cut down on the strikeouts, he still chases way too much and whiffs at a pretty alarming rate while rarely taking a walk. He also never hits the ball hard, as he’s in the 1st percentile in hard hit rate and 5th percentile in barrel percentage.

He has come up with some timely hits, and his contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone is the highest of his career. There seems to be more of an emphasis on contact in his approach. But it hasn’t been enough to justify him playing every day.

At just 25 years old, there’s still time for Willi Castro to figure things out. The fact that he’s made some improvement in the outfield is encouraging. But nothing to this point has signaled a huge adjustment at the plate. Until that happens, he should be a bench guy.

OF Victor Reyes

Reyes showed some promise both in spring training and at the beginning of the season. It looked as though the former Rule 5 pick had finally learned the concept of launch angle, hitting more flyballs and hitting them hard as well.

Two quad injuries later, and he’s looking like the same old Victor Reyes again, slashing .278/.297/.347 and has yet to hit a home run in 22 games. He’s still very much the slap hitter he’s always been. He has just four extra-base hits on the year.

Still, some of his underlying numbers suggest that better results may be coming soon. He has career highs in hard hit rate (50%), average exit velocity (91.3 mph), sweet spot % (46.6 %), and average launch angle (12 degrees). He has an expected slugging percentage of .533.

The quad injuries have really put a damper on Reyes’ 2022 campaign. We could have a much better idea of the kind of hitter he is this year if hadn’t have gotten injured…twice. But as it stands, it looks like he’s the same guy.

The Detroit Tigers have enough singles hitters as it is. Reyes has always been a fine fourth outfielder anyway, but with the arrival of Riley Greene and the return of Austin Meadows on the horizon, Reyes should remain in that fourth outfielder role.