The Detroit Tigers have established themselves as one of the top teams in the Majors this season. Entering June with 43 wins in their pocket has put them on track to win the American League Central, as well as potentially go deep into the postseason. The team has been the beneficiary of some dominant starting pitching as well as timely hits.
The Tigers’ record can be attributed not only to those factors but also to their ability to bounce back from a loss. The Tigers have lost three games in a row this season twice, once against the World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers at the beginning of the season, and the Cleveland Guardians over Memorial Day weekend.
While the Tigers have shown resiliency in being able to bounce back from losses and get overall series wins against teams, their offense has been feast or famine most of the season to this point. That said, they are still a top-five offense in the entire league with a +87 run differential, one of the best in recent memory.
Checking into Statmuse and looking at the last 10 games as a minimum sample size. The Tigers’ record has them at six wins and four losses over that span, their biggest offensive production being against the Chicago White Sox when they posted 13 runs on the Sox pitching. The next highest run total they posted was five against the same White Sox two days later, following a loss, at five runs.
When the Tigers win a game, their offense is potent. In the last 10 games Detroit has played, they have a batting average of .236 in those seven wins. That number is not very impressive despite showing the ability to win tight games, as evidenced by their low-scoring affairs. The worst offensive showing they had in a win over the last 10 was hitting a woeful .161 in a win against the Kansas City Royals on June 1st.
The exact opposite can be said about the offense in a loss. Anemic, tired, lazy, and non-existent are superlatives that can be used to describe Detroit’s hitting in these instances. Using the same 10-game sample size, in the previous four losses, the Tigers’ hitters have collectively hit well below the Mendoza line at a .172 batting average. Their best day at the plate in a loss was hitting .222 against the White Sox.
This 10-game sample is only a small portion of a cooled offense. Examining as far back as two weeks ago during the Cleveland Guardians series, the hitting was not there. While they managed to post six runs in the three losses, five coming in one game, the batters hit a collective .163 in those losses.
What can be done to inject some life into this offense? There are no easy answers in fixing hitting. A guy like first baseman Spencer Torkelson, who played in Toledo last season, has changed his approach and leads the team in home runs. Despite his 15 home runs, Torkelson is hitting for an average of .237 in 64 games played this season, with 65 strikeouts so far. His approach has been more aggressive, with him seeing the ball a little better. Evidenced by his 29 base-on-balls, second on the team behind Gleyber Torres; however, he is also second on the team with those 65 strikeouts.
Speaking of the team leader in strikeouts this season, sitting at 86 total in 2025, left fielder Riley Greene could be considered a good example of the ‘feast or famine’ mentality of the hitters. Greene has shown improvement at the plate this year in terms of his batting average and slugging percentage; however, his on-base percentage is down slightly, either with defenders familiar with his hitting patterns or trying to knock the cover off the ball. While he is tied at 13 home runs with fellow outfielder Kerry Carpenter, Greene only has one home run in his last 15 games, signs of a struggling slugger.
The walk/strikeout ratio among a handful of hitters is eye-opening when examined. The trio of Carpenter, Javier Baez, and Dillon Dingler are all sitting within the single-digit column in walks on the season, with each player having played at least 50 games.
The only consistent plate presence in the Tigers’ offense over the majority of the 2025 campaign has been second baseman Gleyber Torres. Torres has only played in 54 games so far this season; however, his walk-to-strikeout ratio is impressive, standing at 33 walks to 29 strikeouts as of June 10, 2025. He is consistently on base either through a timely hit, sitting at a .269 batting average, or by displaying great patience at the plate.
There is no easy fix to a slumping offense, either through call-ups, demotions, or trades. The sky is not falling in Detroit, though it is easy to want to overreact. The Tigers are still playing good baseball through defense and pitching, and have shown the ability to win close games. Detroit still sits in a good position to win the AL Central outright come October.
It is easy to overreact and say trade the farm for a big bat. Get a rental guy for the playoff push, get another arm for the bullpen, or call up a random prospect. In the Tigers’ organization, there are a lot of young prospects up and down from single-A to Triple-A that could probably make an immediate impact; however, they are still raw talents. Which prospects are worth giving up for a chance to win now?
If a move were to be made, there are some spots defensively that would need to be addressed, most notably the left side of the infield. Trey Sweeney hasn’t necessarily been a consistent bat in the lineup, and the lack of a true third baseman is glaring, though Zack McKinstry and now Colt Keith platooning that position can help alleviate that issue as well as keep the Tigers’ more potent hitters in the lineup.
It would depend on how committed the Tigers’ front office and coaching staff are to going all-in on this season’s playoff push and what players would be shopped come the trade deadline. Who knows, maybe all the Tigers need currently is to face this struggling Baltimore Orioles pitching staff, the series’ starters all sitting at a 5.00 earned run average or higher.
The season is a marathon, not a sprint, and the Tigers should be fine, especially if they can maintain their winning ways up through the All-Star break.
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