High-Flying Detroit Tigers Get Top Grades in Midseason Report Card

The Detroit Tigers are officially halfway done with the 2025 season.

It's one that started with higher expectations than this franchise has faced in years, as a surprise playoff run that made the team the darlings of MLB in 2024 raised the bar.

The team has answered the call so far, quickly staking out a sizable advantage in the American League Central and expanding it as hot starts in Cleveland, Minnesota and Kansas City have given way to frustrating losing spells.

With 81 down, a 50-31 record and 81 to go, here are the Tigers' grades in the performance of each category of the roster, how well they have managed to overcome the injuries they've faced and an overall grade.

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Offense: A-

The Tigers rank 10th in MLB in both batting average and on-base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage and sixth in team wRC+.

This offense is not among the elite of the elite, and a B-plus was in play here, but with how far the group has come from last year when it ranked 21st in team wRC+, the rosier outlook wins out.

Bounce back seasons from Javier Baez and Spencer Torkelson have played a major role in the team's ability to produce runs, but star outfielder Riley Greene has continued to ascend as an offensive force. He's on pace for a career high in home runs, and he's upped his OPS by 63 points.

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Starting Rotation: A

What an unbelievable job the team's starters have done this year. Detroit's rotation ranks fourth in MLB with a starter ERA of 3.38 and with a K/9 rate of 9.27.

Tarik Skubal looks ready to compete for a repeat as the American League Cy Young award winner, and Casey Mize has found a level befitting of a No. 1 overall draft pick. Reese Olson looked great before his injury, and rookie Jackson Jobe was showing considerable promise before his Tommy John surgery.

Veteran Jack Flaherty has not been quite where the team would like, and injuries have blurred the lines between starter and reliever, with manager A.J. Hinch deploying his unique tactics to piece together outs.

Maybe right now on paper this rotation would grade lower, but the results speak for themselves, and when Olson returns, it's a great top four.

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Bullpen: B

There's a bit of waffling back and forth here, because the results are not outstanding. The unit ranks 14th in ERA and 28th in K/9, suggesting an inability to miss bats that could become problematic when the level of competition rises in the playoffs.

But this grade is what it is because of how much of a burden this group shoulders. Only three teams have gotten more innings from relievers all season, and even that is deceptive because of the way injuries to starters have forced relievers to serve as openers.

Brant Hurter, Will Vest, Tommy Kahnle and Chase Lee have been great, each with ERA marks of 2.75 or lower. If Tyler Holton (4.46 ERA, 7.4 K/9) returns to his 2024 form, this unit starts to look formidable.

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Injuries: B-

This is more about how well the team has overcome injuries than how it's avoided them, and it's a tough one because the Tigers have not had a single major offensive contributor miss significant time this year.

The same cannot be said for the pitching staff. As mentioned before, Olson has been out for a while and Jobe is done for the season. Depth options like Alex Cobb and Wilmer Flores are also sidelined. As laid out above, the results have not really suffered for the starting rotation, but the strain that's been placed on the team's top relievers is concerning.

Overall: A

It's hard to look at this any other way, and they're really not far off from an A-plus. There are a few areas for improvement, but the Tigers are multiple games clear of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees for the best record in the AL. Any fan would have signed on for that through 81 games on Opening Day.

The question now is what the front office can do to supplement this group. All options should be on the table. A high leverage bullpen option here, an inning-eating starting pitcher there and another defensively versatile player to level up the lineup a bit would all go a long way toward solidifying the Tigers' status as a favorite to win the World Series.

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