A.J. Hinch Earns Solid Marks in 2025 as Tigers Continue Their Climb
In this story:
The 2025 year was supposed to define the rebuild of the Detroit Tigers, whether it did or not is controversial in itself. Flashes of greatness kept showing up. At one point, the Tigers held a 15-game lead in the American League Central. One that they would ultimately end up blowing.
The pitching staff seemed to continue to develop into one of the AL's most promising units. While so many things were going positively, consistency kept eluding the team.
Somewhere between development and results lies the answer, but the question is can manager A.J. Hinch find it?
Looking back over the 2025 season let's take a look at the areas of Hinch's responsibilities and how they graded out.
Game Management and Strategy: B+
Certainly, one of Hinch's strengths is his ability to manage a game. His bullpen handling has improved markedly over the past few seasons. He used relievers in defined roles and certainly maximized matchups.
Detroit's relief ERA ranked among the AL's top 10 for a majority of the season. This was a noticeable improvement. Hinch also managed innings strategically for starters like superstar Tarik Skubal and right-hander Reese Olson. The effectiveness of his decisions allowed the starters to be effective deep into the season.
The downfalls came in consistency. Runs scored with runners in scoring position seemed to be a struggle. The team ranked in the lower third of the league. Possibly, some strategic adjustments and discipline could have been the difference.
Player Development and Culture: A-
Hinch and his surrounding staff absolutely excel in this category. Players like Colt Keith, Parker Meadows, and Justyn-Henry Mallory made noticeable advancements under Detroit's development guidance.
Throughout the season, veterans credit Hinch for keeping morale high even when the team started a serious downward spiral and hovered around .500 late in the season. The culture in the locker room is positive and supportive.
Hinch is willing to expose young players at-bats in meaningful innings, which sends a clear message to the team. The future matters just as much as the present to Hinch and he is willing to take the chances necessary to keep moving forward.
Adjustments and Leadership: B
When the Tigers started to slide during the season, from the outside looking in, changes and adjustments didn't seem to come fast enough. Hinch's leadership remained steady but possibly not adaptive enough at the time.
His communication with the front office and his ability to keep the faith of the young core in him, shows great leadership. His strengths and decisive nature kept the Tigers competitive through September and well into October.
Final Grade: B+
The 2025 Tigers didn't live up to their expectations. The season fell short of what they believed they could accomplish. Regardless, A.J. Hinch deserves a lot of the credit for developing a young core that kept the Tigers strong in the standings.
Hinch built a foundation with solid pitching, tough defense, and accountability when things went wrong. If he can get the offense to catch up, Hinch may be able to lead this team into title contention sooner rather than later.
More Tigers On SI
Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NFL, and WNBA. Laura covers the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com