Spring training has some definite patterns, particularly when watching from afar. First, there\u2019s the huge enthusiasm for a few days as pitchers and catchers report and the sound of baseballs popping into gloves and off of bats rings around the Tigers\u2019 Lakeland complex. Then there\u2019s first full squad workout day, which takes place on Sunday for the Tigers. Then the anticipation of the first Grapefruit League games. Typically, what follows is a growing mixture of annoyance and impatience as many games aren\u2019t televised and March arrives and the proceedings start to drag. Injuries occur, and typically by mid-March everyone is just desperate to get the show on the road as the starting pitchers start to get fully stretched out for the beginning of the regular season.<\/p>\n
This season, we\u2019ll get some big events to break things up at least. The World Baseball Classic will have pool play underway from March 3 to March 11. Those early games are fun, but it\u2019s not until the quarterfinals start on March 13 that full attention will start being paid. From that point until the championship game on March 17, the WBC will take center stage, and the last two editions have been an absolute blast. We\u2019re all looking forward to that, if only to break up the monotony of the middle period of spring camp.<\/p>\n
On Friday, March 20, the final week of camp will kick off with the Tigers-Pirates matchup in the Spring Breakout series. The Tigers prospects will square off against the Pirates farm system in what has become a really fun event now entering year three. Tigers shortstop prospect Bryce Rainer announced his presence in the 2025 edition, drilling a couple of high velocity line drives in the first at-bats we\u2019d seen from him since the Tigers took him with their first round pick of the 2024 draft.<\/p>\n
So the calendar is pretty full, with more to look forward to than the usual Grapefruit League action. For once, we might actually be in danger of losing sight of the key questions that need answers in spring camp for the Tigers. There will be all kinds of smaller issues to keep an eye on. How is Riley Greene moving in the outfield after losing a step and appearing pretty banged up at times in 2025? How is 43-year-old Justin Verlander moving and throwing in camp? Is Matt Vierling finally past the shoulder issues that cost him pretty much all of the 2025 season?<\/p>\n
We can go on and on, but the overall theme circles around health. We all know a big spring at the plate or on the mound doesn\u2019t necessarily mean anything, but a few players will get us excited, while a few will look like they\u2019re struggling.<\/p>\n
Beyond the ever present injury risk, there are five big issues on the table all throughout camp to keep tabs on.<\/p>\n
Can Parker Meadows turn things around?<\/p>\n
The status of center fielder Parker Meadows is obviously a crucial point of concern. When he\u2019s healthy and making good contact, he\u2019s one of the most dynamic outfielders in the game. Gifted with power and speed, and high end defensive ability, the 26-year-old center fielder doesn\u2019t even need to be that good a pure hitter to be a very valuable player for the Tigers this year. Still, he\u2019s been incredibly streaky so far in his major league career, with some abysmal slumps mixed in, and the strange nerve injury in his right biceps suffered on the first throw he made in Grapefruit League action last spring set him way back and he never got right once he was back on the field full-time.<\/p>\n
Through 656 plate appearances, basically one full season spread out over parts of three seasons from 2023-2025, Meadows has 16 home runs, a 95 wRC+, and a slashline of .232\/.308\/.386. As long as he can continue to give the Tigers that much, he\u2019ll be in center field most days as a 3-4 WAR player because his defensive ability is so valuable. But with his raw power and speed, we\u2019d love to see more.<\/p>\n
Without Meadows, this is a signficantly worse team defensively, and they don\u2019t really have any great options to replace him until top outfield prospect Max Clark is ready, presumably later on this summer. A good, healthy camp for Meadows would go along way to boosting confidence in the position player group to start the season.<\/p>\n
How does Colt Keith look at third base?<\/p>\n
Colt Keith has shown himself to be a productive hitter through his first two seasons in the league, but certainly nothing special. He put up above average numbers in his second year, but basically in a strong side platoon role where he rarely faced left-handed pitchers. He also hasn\u2019t really found a steady position. He broke in as a second baseman, but Gleyber Torres has taken that position for 2025-2026. Keith was told to work at first base more last offseason, but Spencer Torkelson finally put together a more consistent season, leaving Keith with only third base and some DH days as options for playing time.<\/p>\n
Now 24 years old, still younger than many players who will debut this season, but now a third year player, it\u2019s time for Keith to seize the day. His work at third base last year left plenty of room to be desired, but perhaps finally knowing where to focus his offseason work will help him settle in at third base, the position he was drafted at out of high school. We\u2019ll be looking for greater comfort and fluidity in handling pop-ups on the other side of the infield, and how his arm looks making those longer throws.<\/p>\n
It would also be nice to see a little more power from him at the plate this year.<\/p>\n
Which of the Tigers depth starters will move to the bullpen?<\/p>\n
The signings of Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander, along with season-ending shoulder surgery to Reese Olson, shuffled the deck for the Tigers rotation already. At the same time, nothing has changed for their depth options. Troy Melton, Drew Anderson, Keider Montero, Sawyer Gipson-Long, and a finally healthy Ty Madden will all be trying to find their role in spring camp. Gipson-Long\u2019s quest to return from 2024 Tommy John surgery is already setback by an oblique strain, illustrating the attrition that usually occurs in February\/March as pitchers start ramping up their workload.<\/p>\n
The core of the Tigers\u2019 bullpen is currently Will Vest, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Holton, and Brant Hurter. So there are already three jobs available from the start. Probably one or two at most will go to a dedicated relief only option, and the Tigers have collected a big pool of relievers on minor league deals to compete for those spots. But the starters who don\u2019t end up in the rotation will play a big role there as well. Who ends up back in Toledo to stay stretched out as reserves for the rotation? Who slots in best as a relief option?<\/p>\n
Drew Anderson is here on a major league deal, so if everyone is healthy, he\u2019s almost certainly starting the season in the pen. Melton is the best arm among the group, but hasn\u2019t quite mastered his splitter as a third pitch yet. The Tigers won\u2019t want to give up on him long-term as a starter, but he may fit best in the bullpen from the start. He has all his options remaining, while Montero has just one left and showed out somewhat in saving the Tigers\u2019 bacon last fall and in the postseason when options were running scarce. Gipson-Long and Madden both have options remaining as well, but after the injuries they\u2019ve suffered, stretching out in Toledo might be best for both until they find their footing and the Tigers have a better idea of their long-term utility to the club.<\/p>\n
However it shakes out, pitching depth is hugely important, so this group will be worth tracking throughout spring camp.<\/p>\n
Can Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark make a big impression?<\/p>\n
The most fun part of this spring camp is the fact that the Tigers have the best hitting prospect in baseball in camp, along with the consensus best outfield prospect in the game. McGonigle and Clark are good friends at this point, drafted in the same year and moving up through the minor leagues together along with fellow top 100 prospect, C\/1B Josue Brice\u00f1o. None of the group has spent much time at the Double-A level yet, and the Tigers probably would like to see them both exposed to the ABS challenge system and a more experienced brand of pitching at the Triple-A level before they arrive. Still, they\u2019re not far away, particularly McGonigle, who looks like he could adapt to major league pitching with only a month or two of experience.<\/p>\n
Clark is waiting in the wings to take over in center field later this year should Meadows struggle. Ideally, Meadows does fine and Kerry Carpenter spend a lot more time in the DH role while Clark provides plus defense in the corners, particularly in right field where his strong, accurate arm would play nicely.<\/p>\n
The big question in camp for this pair is where McGonigle fits into the roster. A shortstop by trade, who has repeatedly said he\u2019s doing everything possible to improve and stick there, his modest arm strength and occasional difficulty making plays to his right side means he\u2019s got to convince the Tigers to play him there. McGonigle played some third base in the Arizona Fall League, and is taking balls at both positions so far this spring. We\u2019ll see if the 21-year-old\u2019s offseason work to improve his footwork and release pays dividends, both in terms of how he looks in both positions, and where the Tigers seem to be emphasizing his role in Grapefruit League action.<\/p>\n
The fun part, is going to watch McGonigle facing major league pitching a lot more in camp than he did last year. The most precocious young hitter the Tigers\u2019 farm system has boasted since at least the 70\u2019s, he\u2019s still pretty young and has some things to learn. Still a monster camp is going to have A.J. Hinch begging the front office to take him north. The dynamic duo have some boxes to check yet, and scrutiny will be fierce this time around, but they\u2019re going to be a lot of fun to watch this spring.<\/p>\n
Battle for the final roster spot<\/p>\n
While not the most exciting feature of spring training, the fight for the last spots on the bench is always a crucial component of spring camp. Things often get a bit overwrought, as who lands the final spots is often fiercely debated, only to change mere weeks into the regular season anyway. Still, with much of the roster pretty well set for now, it\u2019s only natural for the roster battles to get a lot of attention.<\/p>\n
Right now, the Tigers have a group of 10 players who are pretty well locked in.<\/p>\n
Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres, Javier B\u00e1ez, Zach McKinstry, Colt Keith, Dillon Dingler, Jake Rogers.<\/p>\n
That leaves three more spots up for competition. Sure, a really bad camp from Meadows or even Keith could force the Tigers\u2019 hand, but it would have to go pretty badly to alter that top 10.<\/p>\n
Wenceel P\u00e9rez and Matt Vierling will both be fighting for time in the outfield, with Vierling probably still getting some work at third base as a possible pinch-hit alternative at the position for Keith. Jahmai Jones was the Tigers lefty masher of choice last season and should have an inside track to that role once again.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s your most likely starting 13 on the active roster. That doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re locks, however.<\/p>\n
Minor league deals brought Austin Slater and Corey Julks in as right-handed hitting outfielders to try and compete for one of those spots. Tigers farmhand Trei Cruz is a versatile switch-hitter who can play anywhere, including center field and shortstop in a pinch. Infielders Trey Sweeney and Jace Jace will be trying to position themselves to find a role again after failing at the major league level in their first looks. Finally, infield prospects Hao-Yu Lee and Max Anderson are currently at the Triple-A level, trying to crack the roster at either second or third base.<\/p>\n
It may take an injury to really open a spot for any of that group, but we\u2019ll have to see how the next six weeks plays out. A big camp for someone, and a real struggle for one of the likely starting 13, could certainly change the equation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spring training has some definite patterns, particularly when watching from afar. First, there\u2019s the huge enthusiasm for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,72746,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-572315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-detroit-tigers-discussion","10":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116069589824657521","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}