Detroit Tigers Have Surprising Veteran Fueling Team's Offense

The Detroit Tigers are the best team in the American League, and they have an unlikely veteran leading the charge.

Detroit Tigers right fielder Zach McKinstry (39) bats against San Diego Padres during the eighth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tarik Skubal joined an exclusive list as the Detroit Tigers shut out the Baltimore Orioles to complete the three-game sweep Sunday afternoon. They now have the best record in the American League and look like a legitimate World Series team.

The pitching staff has led the way all season. They own an ERA under 3.00, they have the second-best WHIP in the MLB and opponents are hitting just .211 off of them.

However, the offense has a lot of bright spots. Spencer Torkelson is finally living up to the hype he had when he was the top draft pick and Kerry Carpenter is having another good year.

However, the Tigers have one veteran on the team that is having a career-best year.

Zach McKinstry went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the win on Sunday. Even with the .250 batting average on the day, the left-handed hitter is slashing .321/.426/.476 on the season. He leads the team in both batting average and OPS. His .426 on-base percentage is fourth-best in the entire MLB.

McKinstry had struggled to get anything going in previous years. Prior to 2025, the best season he had at the plate came in 2023. He slashed .231/.302/.351 with an OPS+ of 81 and a 1.3 WAR that year.

The 29-year-old is already at a 1.3 WAR through 25 games this season. Along with that, his OPS+ is 165. He is on pace to have multiple personal records broken with the way he has began his sixth full season in the bigs.

Why is McKinstry so good this year?

The former 33rd-round pick is showing a lot of patience at the plate. His walk rate is in the 94th percentile, per Baseball Savant, while his chase rate is in the 74th percentile. He is refusing to expand his zone, which is forcing pitchers to attack him with strikes. He has done a good job taking advantage of that.

The start he had to the year might not be sustainable, though.

McKinstry has a low average exit velocity (87.2 mph), a low barrel percentage (5.0%) and a low hard-hit percentage (35.0%). Additionally, the lefty has one of the slowest swings in baseball with a bat speed of just 66.4 mph.

At some point, the stats are going to start to even out because of his slow swing and low average exit velocity. His lack of barrels is also going to hurt him in the long run.

For now, McKinstry is doing enough to be one of the best hitters in Detroit's lineup. He is batting in the middle of the order and the Tigers need him to keep producing if they are going to keep winning.