Popular MLB YouTuber picks the Tigers to make the playoffs in 2024

MLB season predictions are starting to come in fast and furious. With Opening Day fast approaching, people are starting to offer their thoughts on how things could shake out in 2024. Even the Detroit Tigers are receiving some love.

One popular MLB YouTuber has the Tigers making the playoffs this season. GiraffeNeckMarc, a YouTube MLB content creator with about 262,000 subscribers, recently released his MLB predictions video for the 2024 season, and he has the Tigers finishing second in the AL Central behind the Twins, and making the postseason and the sixth seed in the American League.

Marc has the Tigers losing to the Twins in the American League Wild Card Series, but he says he likes the Tigers this year nonethless.

Should the Tigers actually make the postseason, it would be their first postseason berth since 2014. They are currently tied with the Angels for the longest playoff drought in the league, going on 10 years without a postseason appearance.

Marc said he is "drinking the Kool-Aid" on the Tigers. His rationale for picking the Twins over the Tigers largely has to do with Javier Baez. Here's what he had to say about Baez as it relates to the Tigers chances at winning the AL Central in 2024:

"Will Javy Baez be a major league baseball player, or will he be one of the worst players in the league? If he's a major leaguer, they can win the division easily. If he's playing like he has the last couple seasons — and how he has in spring — they are going to struggle. They need him."

- GiraffeNeckMarc

Having Baez bounce back in some way, shape, or form would certainly help the Tigers. Even if his OPS simply starts with a 7, that would be huge. But is he the end all, be all, for this team in 2024? Eh, I'm not convinced. After all, they won 78 games last season with him being the second-worst qualified hitter in the league. Nobody expected them to win that many games. They proved that they can be competitive in spite of him.

Marc is definitely hopping on the Baez hate train with this take. It's super easy to dunk on him with how bad he's been the last two years. But he's not going to be the key to a division title for the Tigers. It would help if he's serviceable, but he's not that important.