Two Reasons Why Tigers Are Poised to Enjoy Success in 2026 Season
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The Detroit Tigers had a fairly quiet offseason up until a mere two weeks ago when they made a few additions to their pitching staff. Even with a pair of new faces, it is clear that the Tigers' 2025 roster is mainly what will be the supporting cast for this season, and that is in no way a bad thing.
Detroit was easily on track to being the best team in baseball in 2025, but a demise of historic proportions kept them from reaching the ultimate goal that is a trip to the World Series. Even though their year didn't end the way they wanted, they proved one thing: this team can compete.
By the time all of the 2025 accolades were handed out, the Tigers had a pair of first-time Silver Slugger Award winners as outfielder Riley Greene and utility man Zach McKinstry both heard their names called.
On top of that, the man behind the plate, Dillon Dingler, as well as the man on the mound, Tarik Skubal, both took home some hardware. Dingler was acknowledged for his excellence defensively and Skubal won his second consecutive Cy Young.
With an eerily similar ballclub, there are a couple of reasons as to why the Tigers will find success and push over the hump that has been the American League Divisional Series the past two seasons.
1) The starting rotation now features Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander, 2) Dillon Dinlger is poised for a monstrous season at the plate.
Reinforced Starting Rotation
The pitching staff has easily been highlighted by Skubal in the last two years. If someone thinks of the Tigers in general, they think of Skubal. For Detroit's sake, however, let's hope some of that limelight is shared by some of his new teammates
The starting rotation now appears to be a five-man split, which will take some of the heat off of Skubal.
- Tarik Skubal
- Framber Valdez
- Jack Flaherty
- Justin Verlander
- Casey Mize
Both Valdez and Flaherty were within striking distance of each other in strikeouts last season (188 and 187) while Mize finished the year with more wins than Skubal. While Verlander's postseason experience could make all the difference when October rolls around.
Monstrous Year for Dillon Dingler
Dingler already had quite the campaign for himself in his initial season taking on the majority of the reps at catcher for the team, but don't sleep on him as a hitter. In the second half of 2025 Dingler hit nearly .300.
The 27-year-old might not start in the cleanup spot in the hitting rotation, but he will work his way up there and will be crucial to the Tigers not only taking back the division, but advancing to the World Series.
Big things are to come for Detroit's organization. Opening Day is looming and that marks the start of the marathon that is getting back to playing in October.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.