Tigers' young core steps up in most noteworthy manner yet after Royals sweep

The Detroit Tigers just had a season-defining series against the Kansas City Royals. Fans have been hard on this team and this organization all year, but for the first time, we saw something we haven't seen since the mid-2010s.

We saw passion, fight, and love of the game. The cover image of this article was picked for a reason. Jace Jung, who is presumably the third baseman of the future in the organization's eyes, hustled around the bases to stretch the lead in Wednesday's game and celebrated like he did just that. The raw emotion shown during that run were truly inspiring. The kid loves baseball, and so do his teammates.

During this series, Wenceel Perez was often shown celebrating after coming up with multiple clutch hits. Riley Greene has been hitting absolute bombs. Parker Meadows has shown hustle. Colt Keith continues to produce. Matt Vierling has been making the most of his at-bats. The offense has been impressive. Not many teams can allow a third-inning grand slam, and then come back to win the game 7-6. Resilience is the word we would use for the Tigers in this series.

The Detroit Tigers have proven that they are ready for high-stakes baseball

The stakes are high. The Tigers have the second-youngest roster in the MLB right now. They are inexperienced in MLB but clearly posess an edge. There is nothing like playing meaningful baseball games in September. These boys embrace every second of it.

The pitching has been pretty good as well. Tarik Skubal is who he is. He is a soon-to-be Cy Young award winner and the leader of the starting rotation. Casey Mize had a nice outing which is helpful afer his lengthy absence. Despite a rough third inning, it was nice to see Reese Olson get back on the mound in hopes of getting him to return to form. The bullpen was simply lights out: 17 2/3 innings and only two earned runs. Everyone contributed. Even Shelby Miller and his inconsistency had a shutout inning.

We're not saying that they are ready for the World Series, but after taking five of six from the Orioles and Royals, it's clear these youngsters are prepared to show MLB who they are and that they can be a force in the American League. The way that they are winning has not been conventional, but it's been working.

There is nothing like playoff baseball, especially in Detroit. It is time to keep the pedal to the metal and get into the playoffs. Much like the Arizona Diamondbacks of last season, anything can happen.