2 Tigers With the Best Chance to Hit 40+ Home Runs Since Miguel Cabrera
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The Detroit Tigers play at one of the more pitcher-friendly ballparks in all of Major League Baseball. Comerica Park has a wide open outfield and dimensions that make it very hard to send balls over the wall. However, when it came to Miguel Cabrera's time in Detroit, this was never an issue.
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Cabrera has gone down as one of the top power hitters for the Tigers in franchise history. Hitting 373 home runs as a Tiger and over 500 in his MLB career, safe to say the two-time AL MVP didn't care what the dimensions were.
However, since 2013, Detroit hasn't had a hitter surpass 40 home runs in the regular season, last accomplished by Cabrera in back-to-back seasons from 2012 to 2013. But just because it hasn't happened in over a decade doesn't mean the Tigers don't have two candidates most likely to reach the goal.
1. Riley Greene
Riley Greene is the most obvious choice here, and while it might be too obvious to include him on the list, we're going to do so anyway. The former first-round pick had a career season in the power department, hitting 36 home runs in 157 games played.
Greene's 36 home run season placed him in a 17th-place tie for most home runs hit in the regular season by a Tiger, joining the likes of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg and 1968 World Series Champion Willie Horton.
The Tigers knew that Greene would be an above-average hitter when they drafted him, but he's proven to be a player with a plus power stroke and a bright future ahead of him. If he can decrease the number of strikeouts from last season, this goal feels very possible for the two-time All-Star.
2. Spencer Torkelson
The best friend to Greene, Spencer Torkelson, is the second option, who has enough power to reach 40 home runs in a season. Torkelson has hit 31 home runs in two seasons of his career thus far, proving he has what it takes to send the ball out of the ballpark.
Similar to Greene, Torkelson will need to decrease his strikeout rate if it means him having the best chance at achieving this goal. Detroit drafted Torkelson with the hopes that he would fill the power spot vacated by Cabrera nicely, and he's shown glimpses of being able to do so.
While he may never be a hitter with a high average, if Torkelson is sending balls over the wall and or ripping doubles down the third base line, the Tigers won't have an issue with his production at the plate. Perhaps this is the season that Torkelson puts it all together for the first time in back-to-back campaigns.
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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.