Detroit Tigers Tapping Into 2024 Mantra With Increasing Playoff Odds
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The Detroit Tigers get a well-deserved off day following a road trip filled with success. Going into Yankee Stadium, sweeping the New York Yankees, practically with ease, then into Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers, taking two of three from them, and Detroit now holds a 40-50 record.
Yes, the record isn't where the franchise wants it, but since June, the Tigers have been performing like the team everyone thought they would be entering the 2026 campaign. Holding an 18-12 record since June 1, Detroit has been the best team in the American League over that stretch.
Trying to claw out of the hole they created for themselves in May, where they went 6-22, the Tigers have a lot of work still to do to make doubters into believers. Crazier things have happened, and Detroit knows firsthand what it's capable of, especially when relying on the 2024 mantra.
"Don't Let the Tigers Get Hot" 2.0?
The 2024 Detroit Tigers were a remarkable story, finding themselves as sellers at the trade deadline, yet finding a way to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014 with a 0.2% chance as the lowest mark. The saying that backed that remarkable run? "Don't let the Tigers get hot."
The 2026 Detroit Tigers aren't that far back when it comes to playoff odds, yet find themselves in a similar position to that of the 2024 campaign, with the trade deadline looming. Ten games back of a .500 record and 7.5 games out of first place in the AL Central, the front office has some decisions to make.
Tarik Skubal is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and Detroit knows the kind of team they are when he is on the mound. Keeping him would mean that this team believes they are a World Series contender, but trading him might be the best option for the franchise, despite playoff odds climbing.
Letting the Tigers get hot now is more complicated than it was back in 2024. They hold a 25.1% chance of making the playoffs and a 13.8% chance of winning the AL Central division, according to FanGraphs. Those numbers might entice Scott Harris to keep Skubal, should their winning ways continue.
However, trading Skubal wouldn't put out the fire that Detroit is trying to build; it would only make it dimmer. The starting pitching staff has been elite, not just Skubal, so if another miracle happens and the Tigers find their way to the playoffs, it's a testament to the room, not one player.
Detroit has six games left before the end of the first half, meaning if they went 5-1 again, they'd be 45-51 going into the second half of the season. The odds aren't in their favor, but that's what makes the Tigers thrive, at least in the past.
If the Tigers' All-Stars and company can tap into the 2025 first-half offense of themselves, things could look a lot different in the AL Central by the end of July.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.