3 reasons to be excited about the Tigers and 2 reasons to temper expectations

The Detroit Tigers are an exciting team right now, but can they maintain this level of success?

The Detroit Tigers are playing some good baseball right now. They were off to their best start through 50 games since 2016 before walking off the Chicago White Sox on Sunday to take three of four from the South Siders.

We live in unprecedented times right now. The Tigers are currently still one game below .500, but are still just one game out of first place in the American League Central. That's how bad this division is.

Nevertheless, the Tigers are technically in contention right now. It may just be Memorial Day, but there's a lot of reasons to feel good about the team right now.

But with that being said, this team still isn't very good on paper. They lack a lot of talent and they still have one of the worst offenses in the league. Can they keep going and go for the division title?

We're going to attempt to answer that question today. Here are three reasons to be excited about the Detroit Tigers, followed by two reasons to temper expectations.

Three reasons to be excited: the AL Central is the worst division in baseball

The AL Central is horrible. It has been given the nickname the "AL Comedy Central" in some circles because of how bad it is. The Twins are 27-26—one game above .500—and lead the division. They are the only team in the division with a winning record.

However, they are still the best team in this division on paper. They are built to win. Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Pablo Lopez, and Sonny Gray headline the talent that team has.

The lineup was projected to be one of the best in the AL, but it is their pitching that has carried them. Their offense is just above league average in terms of runs per game, but they have the second-best team ERA in the league.

One area where the Tigers have an advantage is their record in one-run games. The Twins are just 4-10 in that area this season, whereas the Tigers are 9-4. The Tigers have definitely had a flare for the dramatics this season, while the Twins have not.

The rest of the division is a disaster. The Guardians can't hit, the White Sox are a mess, and the Royals are just plain awful. This is a very winnable division, to say the least.

The Tigers have an opportunity here. They can take advantage of a weak divison and make the playoffs for the first time since the Obama administration.

3. This team doesn't back down

The Tigers could have easily bowed down and surrended after giving up the lead on both Saturday and Sunday. Past Tigers teams have done that very thing. But they didn't. They rallied back and won both games.

Even in some games where they could have been blown out, they came back and got some runs to make things interesting. Last year's team would have certainly rolled over after being down by a bunch of runs early, but not this year's team.

A.J. Hinch has said he wants his team to play all nine innings, and boy do they do that. They don't quit, and that is a very admirable trait, even if they were a worse team.

2 reasons to temper expectations: Their run differential

Let's address the elephant in the room: the Tigers are significantly outperforming their run differential, which currently sits at -48. On average, that should equate to a record of roughly 21-30. That makes a huge difference.

They would be six games back if they were 21-30, instead of one. This again speaks to how good they've been in one-run games.

One way to improve that number is to score more runs. That would obviously help a ton. If they could even be slightly below average with runners in scoring position, their run differential would look a bit better, and they'd probably have a few more wins to go along with it.

Can the Tigers sustain this little run of success and keep this negative run differential? Well, it's not unheard of. The 2021 Seattle Mariners went 90-72 with a run differential of -51. That team also had an insane record in one-run agmes. So, it's possible, but very improbable.

2. They simply lack talent

While players are getting better, this team simply doesn't have the talent to keep up with Minnesota. If they get healthy and get players like Correa and Buxton going, they will run away with this division.

When you lack talent like the Tigers do, a lot of things have to go right, and a lot has so far. They've stayed relatively healthy (knock on wood), their bullpen has been much better since the start of the season, and the rest of the division is a dumpster fire.

A.J. Hinch is proving once again that he can take a team with little talent and make them interesting. Imagine if he had some star power, Sure, Greene and Tork could reach that some day, but imagine if this roster was more well-rounded. They could be the ones running away with this division, not the Twins.

It would be amazing if the Tigers went on a run this summer and won the AL Central, but it's really hard to see that happening with the lack of quality talent on this roster.