5 Reasons You Should Care About the 2025 Detroit Tigers

Published On: February 25, 2025By 0 Comments on 5 Reasons You Should Care About the 2025 Detroit Tigers

Last season marked the first time in a decade that the Detroit Tigers played postseason baseball. 10 years of frustration had alienated a passionate fan base that was once one of the loudest in the sport. The team that finally reached October didn’t resemble the teams that last led the Olde English D to prominence. There weren’t any flashy free agent signings or franchise-altering trades. This magical run was built on the backs of homegrown stars and pitchers that sounded like randomly generated players from “MLB The Show.”.

The Tigers made it within one game of the ALCS but were ultimately undone thanks to the heroics of Lane Thomas for Cleveland. It was hard to be upset; just a few months earlier, the team had been given a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs. They had rallied around AJ Hinch and his plug-and-play strategy that was reminiscent of a grandmaster chess player. There were no hard feelings because it was a magical run that defied any expectations that fans had. That has all changed, because now there are expectations. With those expectations, it is time for fans to fully reinvest in this team. I’m here to give you 5 reasons why you should care about baseball in Detroit this summer.

5. Gleyber Torres Has a Beard and a Point to Prove

The weirdest thing about seeing a player leave or join the Yankees (until Friday) is the sudden emergence or disappearance of facial hair. The Tigers’ new second baseman is a fully bearded Gleyber Torres. He is coming off of a World Series appearance with the Yankees, the team that he spent his first 7 seasons with. Torres had a rough season in 2024. He saw some decline in his power numbers, and his strikeout percentage skyrocketed from 14.6% in 2023 to 20.5% in 2024. The Tigers were able to sign him to a 1-year deal worth $15,000,000. It’s a great deal for the Tigers and for Torres, who is looking to prove that last year was a fluke and work his way to signing a long-term deal next offseason.

Torres brings a right-handed bat into an infield that is full of lefties and a veteran presence that has seen a lot in his still-young career. He will bring stability at second base and to the lineup, where he should join a select group of everyday players. For all of the lows he had last season, a lot of his underlying numbers remained consistent from the year prior. His exit velocity and launch angle remained similar to the 2023 season (I know people are sick of hearing about those metrics, but it feels necessary here). Those aren’t everything, obviously, but they are values that directly correlate to power production.

Torres should bring a much needed presence to the Tigers’ clubhouse. On a 1-year, team-friendly deal, there is no risk attached in case he regresses even further. Even if he plays at the level he did last year, the Tigers will get a solid player that can guide some of the younger guys that are looking to take the next step. In the best-case scenario, Torres bounces back and returns to the form of being a very reliable and sometimes very good player. If he flops, the Tigers can deal him at the trade deadline or simply wash their hands of him after the season. It will be interesting to see how things play out; at 28 years old, he is still young enough to be a part of the team’s future if things fall into place correctly. Whether or not they do will be something to keep an eye on during the season.

 

4. Parker Meadows Is On the Rise

Parker Meadows had a bad start to the 2024 season. He was great defensively but a black hole at the plate. He had an abysmal .131 batting average and just a .247 on-base percentage in the first half of the season. After about 30 games, he was sent back down to Toledo to figure things out. He worked on an approach to shorten his swing and utilize his 6-foot-5 frame to get his bat to the baseball quicker. This did wonders for Meadows, who was very good throughout the rest of the season and during the Tigers’ postseason run. His batting average more than doubled to .296 in the second half, and he was getting on base 34% of the time. He had some huge moments at the plate in the playoffs and looks primed to officially break out in 2025.

Meadows is already an elite defender in center field; he makes difficult plays look routine and makes fans jaws drop on a regular basis with his glove work. He is looking to contend for a Gold Glove this summer and avoid taking the trip down I-75 to Toledo again. After his previous trip there last season, it seems like he’s unlocked something in his swing that can lead him to being more than just a defensive specialist. His frame gives him some raw power that could show itself this year. He has legitimate 20-home run, 20-stolen base talent.

If you had a soft spot for guys like Curtis Granderson and Austin Jackson, then Parker Meadows should be your Tiger for this year and beyond. Meadows has freakish speed and athleticism, and it feels like he is just scratching the surface of what he is capable of. He could be the key to the Tigers’ success this season. If I had to buy stock in one player heading into this season, I’m picking up as much Parker Meadows stock as I can.

 

3. Even More Young Guys

A big part of that magical run last year was the infusion of youth into the clubhouse. The team was already relatively young, but after the trade deadline, the organization went all in on getting a glimpse into the future. They called up players such as Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney, Dillon Dingler, Ty Madden, and the number 1 prospect in the organization, Jackson Jobe. Each of these players had moments down the stretch for the Tigers that led to their eventual postseason berth. They brought an energy and a passion for the game that seemed to be lacking in prior years. To me, the turning point of the season was in August at the Little League Classic. Jung and Sweeney were fresh off of their major league debuts, and Parker Meadows was starting to find his footing at the big league level after returning to the big league roster. The Tigers won that game against the eventual American League Champion Yankees in walk-off fashion, with all of the young players’ fingerprints all over the win.

The attitude of the team changed after that. These guys were having fun and playing like they were kids (because they were). There was a noticeable difference upon all of these arrivals, not to say that they were superstar contributors, but they each had distinct moments that you can point to on that magical run. Parker Meadows hitting a go-ahead grand slam in San Diego to bring Detroit back from a 3-0 deficit with 2 outs in the 9th inning. Jace Jung sacrificing himself on a slide in Kansas City and screaming at the top of his lungs to his teammates afterward. My personal favorite is Trey Sweeney diving without a care in the world and making an unbelievable catch in Baltimore that led to the Tigers winning a game that seemed to already be lost. These guys were playing with house money and were well aware of it. They developed a “why not us?” mentality, and it worked. They brought little league fun and joy for the game to the Major League level.

The good news is they are only going to get better, and they are not alone. With the Alex Bregman saga finally concluded, it seems that there is a real opportunity for Jace Jung to get a lot of time at third base. Sweeney and Dingler should be splitting time with their veteran counterparts. Parker Meadows and Colt Keith seem to be everyday write-ins on AJ Hinch’s lineup card. There are also names you might not have heard of that could find themselves on your television at some point this year. Infielder Hao-Yu Lee has been the talk of spring training up to this point and has proven himself at every level he’s played at so far. He will most likely start the year in Toledo, but don’t be surprised if you see him at Comerica Park this summer. There is also a whole other generation of Tigers that are forcing their way through the minor leagues. Top prospects Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle burst onto the scene last year, working their way up to the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps. Thayron Liranzo was acquired in the Jack Flaherty deal (welcome back, Jack); he has shown serious power and has a chance to stick at the catcher position.

A lot of people have called last year’s run a fluke. These young guys are looking to prove that wrong. The players on the roster look to be here for a long time, and there are players right behind them knocking on the door. That competition and constant influx of youth is a sign of a healthy baseball club.

 

2. Riley Greene is Detroit’s Next Superstar

Riley Greene is the guy for the Tigers, plain and simple. This is who (alongside Tarik Skubal) will hopefully be the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future. He made his first All-Star appearance last season and began to show the baseball world why he was so highly coveted by the Tigers organization. He got on base at a rate of .348 and saw a nice uptick in his power numbers. This power stroke put a new view on what Greene’s ceiling could be. He hit 24 home runs last year and had a slugging percentage of .479, up from his 2023 number of .447. If you don’t care about numbers, then simply watch Riley Greene play. He is one of the most exciting outfielders in the sport, building up a career-long highlight reel in just his first 3 years. Superman catches, home run robberies, and even a Derek Jeter-esque dive into the crowd at Comerica Park. There is a high chance of seeing Riley Greene do something cool every time he takes the field, and that becomes even better when you factor in that he is really good at Baseball.

Riley Greene is the first Tiger’s hitter in a long time that gives me the feeling that has been missing from this team during the last decade. Every time he steps up to the plate, I expect him to get a hit. Obviously he doesn’t do it every time (he had a .262 batting average in 2024), but the feeling I have when he steps to the plate is one of comfort. I don’t want to compare him to players that he isn’t even close to, but I will say that the feeling I have when he is at the plate is similar to the feeling that I had as a kid when I watched Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Victor Martinez in the batter’s box: they are going to get a hit. Again, Greene is nowhere close to the hitter or player that these guys were yet. I’m simply saying that there is an expectation of greatness on him that we haven’t had on a Tiger since Miggy was still himself. He seems to come up big when needed most. Greene’s first career home run came on a walk-off to dead center field at Comerica Park. He is a player that fans have been praying for since the last great era of Detroit baseball.

Riley Greene is ready to take that next step from an All-Star to a Superstar. He has steadily improved throughout his first 3 years in the league and seems poised to continue that trend. He is ready to join athletes like Jared Goff, Aidan Hutchinson, Cade Cunningham, Dylan Larkin, and his teammate Tarik Skubal in becoming the face of a new generation of athletic success in Detroit. All of the tools are there: he is an elite defender, has shown a power stroke that should only continue to rise, and to quote a line from the greatest sports film of the 21st century: “He gets on base.”. I started every paragraph of this section with his name, and I will end this section with it because 2025 could very well be the year of Riley Greene.

 

1. This Pitching Staff Rules

It’s hard not to be optimistic about your pitching staff when you finished with the 4th-best team ERA in all of baseball last year, have the reigning AL Cy Young award winner, and the top pitching prospect in the sport. That doesn’t even scratch the surface of how good this staff can be. The Tigers made some additions throughout the offseason that could help push a great group even further.

They brought back starter Jack Flaherty, who revived his career in Detroit last season before winning the World Series with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers. If he can pitch the way he did last season Detroit has a great number 2 starter to pitch behind Tarik Skubal. The other free agent starter the Tigers brought in is Alex Cobb, who looks like he will start the year away from the team with a hip injury. If Cobb is able to get healthy, he could be a serious contributor to this team and a veteran presence on a staff full of youth. With Cobb not being ready for Opening Day, that has left 2 open spots in the starting rotation. There are a whole lot of fun ideas you can come up with on how to fill out that starting rotation.

Number 1 prospect Jackson Jobe got his feet wet in the Majors last season before being thrown into the deep end in the team’s first postseason appearance since he was 12 years old. He has electric stuff: a dynamic fastball and breaking pitches that make professional hitters look like beer league softball players. He came out of the bullpen last year in his limited time, but the organization has insisted that the long-term plan is to have him starting games. This seems like a prime opportunity to see that play out. Jobe could be a game changer right out of the gate if he were to be given a shot, and it would be appointment television every time he takes the mound. Whether it be right out of spring training or later in the year, Jobe should find himself in the rotation, and when he does, it will be electric at Comerica Park.

There are other names to be excited about in the rotation; Reese Olson looked unhittable at times last season but also had some rough outings. He ended the year with decent numbers despite some ERA-inflating performances. You add him into the mix again with Flaherty and Skubal, and that is a top 3 that has the potential to once again be one of the best in the sport.

Casey Mize is someone (much like fellow number 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson) who is heading into a make-or-break year. Mize struggled last year after returning from an injury that kept him out almost 2 years. His pitches didn’t look as dynamic as they did when he first came onto the scene, and he once again struggled with injuries during the season. It was a bad year for Mize, who watched his teammate (who was taken 254 picks after him in the same draft) win the Cy Young award and become the best pitcher in the world. The runway that was rolled out for Mize as a number 1 pick and future ace is running short. Mize’s back is against the wall, and he has no choice but to prove that he belongs. I look forward to seeing what this version of Casey Mize, coming off of a healthy offseason, looks like.

Lastly, we have to talk about the bullpen and the “pitching chaos” mantra that the team rode all the way to game 5 of the ALDS last season. The bullpen became home to names that didn’t even seem real. “Brayan Sammons,” “Sean Guenther,” and “Brennan Hanifee” were names that not even the most die-hard Tiger fans could tell you before last season. Yet, these guys were pitching shutout innings in the postseason and a huge reason for the team making it that far. The Tigers organization has become something of a pitching rehabilitation center. Pitchers like Michael Lorenzen and Jack Flaherty signed as free agents and found greater success than they had for most of their careers. Then there are guys like Tyler Holton, Jason Foley, Beau Brieske, and Will Vest who seemingly came out of nowhere to become lockdown forces coming out of the bullpen. It’s pretty ironic considering how many people blame the bullpen for the team’s failure to win a championship in the 2010s. Well, there is a great bullpen in Detroit now that will support what looks to be a great starting rotation.

Injuries happen, especially with pitchers in the modern era of the game. In recent years, Detroit has seen that firsthand. However, heading into the season, this looks like one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. Injuries will happen, but as the team proved last year, they can weather the storm and find productive innings in the most random places. There is an overflow of talent both on the Major League level and in the Minor leagues, and the arms will be lighting up Comerica Park all summer long (not an intentional Kid Rock reference).

This Tigers team could be very good; obviously, nothing is set in stone, but this is the most optimistic that Detroit has felt going into a baseball season in a decade. The pieces are in place, and there are even more on the way. If you haven’t followed this team in that span of time, I can’t blame you, but now is the time to hop back on board. There is some fun to be had watching this team this summer, whether it be at Comerica Park, at home, or sneaking games at your desk at work. This team is ready for your attention and support. I hope these 5 reasons help you give that to them and make you care about the boys in the Olde English D.

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