Detroit Tigers: 4 players with something to prove the rest of the season

The Detroit Tigers are at the stage of the season where it's time to find out what you have for next year. Despite taking three of four from the division-leading Twins this past week, they are still not really in contention.

The Tigers have plenty of players that are playing for their jobs next season. Several players need to end the season with a high note in order to have a chance at making the team in 2024.

Here are 4 Tigers with something to prove the remainder of the season

UTIL Zach McKinstry

It's been quite the rollercoaster for Zach McKinstry this season. When he was acquired right before the season, nobody took him seriously as a player. Then, starting in the middle of April, he went on a six-week heater.

For a brief period of time, McKinstry looked like an absolute steal. He was the quintessential leadoff hitter — or so we thought.

McKinstry has plummeted back down to earth. He's slashing .203/.234/.315 since the start of June. He's completely forgotten how to walk, which was a strength of his even when he was struggling to start the season.

Teams have figured out that he can't lay off breaking balls low and in, and they just spam that pitch. He just can't lay off. He needs to make that adjustment quick, or he could be out of a job by next spring.

Thankfully, he's off to a good start in that regard. He was 6-for-15 in that series against the Twins, including a three-hit game on Wednesday. That's the first good series he's had in a while. Hopefully that's the start of a turnaround.

C/OF Eric Haase

We've gone over Haase at length before, so we won't spend too much time here. But Haase has completely forgotten how to hit this year.

He was so good the last two years. He hit 22 home runs in 2021 and had a 112 wRC+ in 2022. He was always a threat to do damage at the plate, but that hasn't been the case this year.

He had 1.3 fWAR last season but is worth -1.2 fWAR this year. It just doesn't seem like he's going to be here for the long haul.

Haase has the rest of this season to figure things out, or he'll find himself a non-tender this offseason.

SP Matt Manning

Another guy we just touched on recently, Manning is so frustrating. He'll have stretched where he looks like the guy we all thought he would be, but then he'll go right back to getting shelled. He's wildly inconsistent.

The walks have come down a bit, but he still gives up way too much hard contact and makes way too many mistakes. His sequencing is still very questionable at times as well.

He's still 25, so it's too early to give up on him, but he has a career 4.86 ERA and 4.54 FIP in 40 career starts. He hasn't exactly lit things up so far.

Manning needs to have a good stretch to end the season. He's been in the big leagues far too long now to still be this inconsistent. Yes, he's had his fair share of injuries, but has more than a full season's worth of big league experience. It's time to see what he's made of.