Should Detroit Tigers let Tarik Skubal pitch deeper into games?
The Days of Roar podcast breaks down the caution around Tarik Skubal’s pitch count, plus thoughts from Justin Verlander on pitching deep into games.
The Detroit Tigers possess the best record in baseball at 43-24, solidifying their status as a top contender.Most national media outlets rank the Tigers as the No. 1 team in baseball.
More than one-third of the way into the MLB season, the Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball at 43-24.
They also solidified their status as a top-tier contender after taking two of three games against the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs over the past weekend. The Tigers also sold out all three of their home games against the Cubs, the first time this season they have sold out every game of a home series.
Spirits are high for Tigers fans, and now the national media is starting to recognize Detroit as MLB’s premier team. This week’s power ranking roundup shows a clean sweep of the Tigers in the top position—with the exception of one outlet (we’ll get to them in a second).
Here is a roundup of power rankings from MLB analysts and where they place the Tigers:
USA TODAY listed the Tigers as the No. 2 team in baseball in last week’s power rankings, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. But with more Dodgers pitchers landing on the injured list and the team going 5-5 in their last 10 games, they cede the No. 1 spot this week to Detroit.
MLB.com has the Tigers as their No. 1 team for the second week in a row, with Will Leitch highlighting the team’s expanding lead in the American League Central:
“A whole bunch of teams in the AL Central have been losing enough games lately that the Tigers may well put this division away here in the next couple of weeks. They are now all the way up to a seven-game lead, which is actually already more games than the Guardians won this division by last year.”
CBS’ Matt Snyder has the Tigers ranked as the No. 1 team in baseball for the second week in a row, giving praise to the team’s ace (and Cy Young favorite):
“Tarik Skubal in 83â…“ innings has 105 strikeouts and seven walks. That is just absolutely stupid.”
Here’s the one holdout, with Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter listing the New York Mets over the Tigers in his most recent power ranking.
Much like Snyder, Reuter also praises Skubal and another key member of the team’s pitching staff:
“Tarik Skubal (7.2 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 6 K) and Jack Flaherty (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 9 K) pitched the Tigers to a series victory over the Cubs with a pair of terrific starts, and that could be a glimpse into what awaits in October if they maintain their fantastic start.”
Even before the Tigers took two of three games against the Cubs (as ESPN’s power rankings were published on Thursday, June 5) the Tigers were listed as the No. 1 team in baseball. And even before Flaherty’s strong start against the Cubs, ESPN was singing his praises:
“After serving up four home runs to the Rangers on May 10 and seeing his ERA rise to 4.61, Jack Flaherty has reeled off a 2.22 ERA over his past four starts. He is looking much more like the pitcher the Tigers had in the first half of 2024 before they traded him to the Dodgers then re-signed him as a free agent over the winter.”
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com