Horrific Greene-Carpenter-Torkelson stat has Tigers fans pulling out receipts on Scott Harris

The Tigers' 10-9 win over the Rays on Monday night marked the first time they scored double-digit runs since April 16, and only the third time they've done it all season. Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter, and Riley Greene were at the forefront of the offensive outburst, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs in the third.

Carpenter and Greene finished the day with three hits and multiple RBI apiece (two for Carpenter, three for Greene), and Dingler went 4-for-5 with four RBI.

Ignoring the fact that the bullpen almost blew another lead, it was the kind of game that fans want to be able to look back on in September, point to, and say, "This is where it all started to turn around." The Tigers went on to sweep the best team in the American League.

... But is anyone fully convinced that it's all up from here?

Despite the massive power on display during the series, the Tigers are still in the bottom half of the league in home runs with 61. There's a steep drop-off from team leader Dingler (14) to runner-up Spencer Torkelson (8), who still has a .398 slugging despite the bombs. Carpenter has seven, Greene has six.

Greene, Carpenter, and Torkelson were supposed to be the power-hitting threats at the heart of the Tigers' order. This year, they're barely on pace to hit half of the homers they hit last year.

Scott Harris' promises that the Tigers offense would improve should be haunting him right now

When Scott Harris defended his decision not to sign or trade for a single offensive addition in the offseason, he promised that while the names in the Tigers' 2026 lineups might look identical to the ones in 2025, the players themselves were changing and would continue to improve.

In some ways, Greene certainly has. He's the Tigers' best hitter by average and OBP. He's walked 33 times through 63 games this year, versus 18 times through 63 games in 2025. His plate approach just looks more mature.

But his power has almost vanished, apart from the odd surge. This is a guy who some national outlets were predicting would hit 50+ homers this season. He's on pace for less than 25.

Carpenter has been hurt for a while, so we can't be too critical there, but there's simply no excuse for Torkelson. Outside of the occasional outburst — his five-game homer streak was awesome — he is one of the least valuable players in any given Tigers lineup. By bWAR, he's the second-least valuable of any Tigers hitter who's appeared in more than 50 games behind only Matt Vierling.

Greene, Dingler, and Kevin McGonigle have come together to form a new go-to trio this year, yes, but part of the reason the Tigers have struggled so much is because not a single hitter outside of that trifecta seems capable of staying healthy and/or contributing meaningfully.

Harris bet too much on what could be flash-in-the-pan 2025 seasons. He got complacent, and now the Tigers are paying for it.

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