How Are Tigers Being Viewed After Their Middling Week of Play?
In this story:
After a 4-2 week, the Detroit Tigers have risen to third in MLB.com's weekly power rankings.
In last week's iteration, they sat at fifth.
With a trio of wins over the now manager-less Colorado Rockies and a series loss to the Texas Rangers, the Tigers' record now sits at 26-15, which leads the American League by 2.5 games.
Detroit's 7-3 record over its last 10 contests is tied for the second-best in baseball behind only their division rival Minnesota Twins.
The Tigers have struggled on both sides of the ball over the past week, though, allowing a 4.25 ERA, tied for the most home runs (10) and collecting a .680 OPS with only three long-balls.
Tarik Skubal's must-watch performance on Friday against the Rangers was the lone bright spot outside of a mid-week sweep over the historically bad Rockies team.
Detroit as dealt with a flurry of injuries dating back to before the start of the season, most recently losing Casey Mize to the injured list with a hamstring strain. Expected lineup regulars Jake Rogers, Matt Vierling and Parker Meadows are expected to make their way back to the active roster at the end of the month.
Meadows has yet to make his 2025 debut after suffering an injury to his right bicep and has only taken part in hitting drills and some long-toss programs.
Pitchers Alex Cobb, Ty Madden and former top prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long, who has not pitched in an MLB game since 2023, could make their way back at the end of May or early June.
Cobb, who signed a one-year, $15 million pact with the Tigers in December, has yet to make an appearance at any level after undergoing offseason hip surgery, but he did throw live batting practice this past weekend.
Detroit will host the Red Sox for a three-game series starting Monday before heading north of the border for a set against the Blue Jays.
Skubal is projected to toe the rubber on Wednesday in the series finale at 6:40 pm EST.
More From Tigers On SI
Dalton Rice covers multiple MLB teams as well as Tulane and Clemson for On Sports Illustrated. He graduated from Quinnipiac University with a bachelor’s in journalism in 2022 and is a passionate Red Sox fan.
Follow daltonrrice