Detroit Tigers' offense in 2024 can be summed up in one word: Volatile

Detroit Tigers offense summed up in one word: Volatile

It may be early to sit here and make brash statements about the Detroit Tigers 2024 season, but they have laid the groundwork to have some expectations before the spring even gets underway. In one of the Tigers mailbags done by Cody Stavenhagen on The Athletic ($), he used the term "volatility" in a paragraph about the Tigers' offense.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be spot on. I want to be optimistic with the Detroit Tigers and try to avoid the negative Nancy and Debbie downer attitudes that have plagued so much of this fanbase, but it has to be said. The year will be full of ups and downs, swings in the direction of "they may have figured things out," followed by periods of "just tank and hope for the best in the draft lottery."

The inconsistency is always impressive when it comes to the Tigers teams of late, but once you look at the rosters' makeup, things start to look clearer and clearer. But, when you look ahead to 2024, a volatile offense is likely to be the cause of joy and also anger along the way.

As Detroit tries to navigate another season of the rebuild, they're hoping the offense can sustain itself, but that's where the unexpected changes come in, and the team goes from high to low. While every year has waves of highs and lows over 162 games, the inconsistency makes these swings larger in either direction, giving some of these "lowest lows."

It's hard to expect consistency when you look at the players headlining the Tigers lineup. At this point, they may be great talents, but the big pieces are still young, for the most part. Spencer Torkelson has a ton to like about him, and I still think he's going to be great for this team for years to come, but he's still trying to find a balance and settle in with consistent performance after a bit of a breakout in 2023.

Riley Greene had to undergo Tommy John surgery and has had injuries along the way, but he's another promising talent in this Tigers lineup. But again, there are inconsistencies between injuries and his youth, leaving him with room to still settle in.

Similarly, Kerry Carpenter has been quite impressive in his young big-league career. However, he's still proving himself to be consistent from where he was, improving his swing and reaping the benefits in 2023.

Javier Báez put in a ton of work this offseason on his abilities at the plate, and while he has been a bit lackluster in his time with Detroit, he's got a track record of being a benefit to offenses on competing teams. Again, he's another bat who can be volatile. Baez is hoping the off-season work will help him get back on track.

The point being, the Tigers have a group of bats who can be boom or bust. A group of bats who can click at the right times and produce together, or fall together and seemingly not be able to hit the water while falling out of a boat. While some may throw consistency out the window, the best way to describe this Tigers offense is to list it as a volatile one.

Hopefully, for Tigers fans, these youngsters will be able to start digging in some roots and putting together a year where they will start to really figure things out and carve their roles out, but that's the optimist in me talking.