Tigers Notes: Focus Areas for Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson in Royals Series
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It was a rough week at Comerica Park for the Detroit Tigers as they look to improve their brand of baseball on the road against the Kansas City Royals beginning Friday night. So far this season, Detroit holds a 6-14 record on the road, an area in which they succeeded more in 2025.
Things couldn't get worse for the Tigers this weekend, given the week they've had, but it could if the players and coaches don't attack this road trip seriously. The best way for the Tigers to get back on the right track is by getting production from all of their stars.
Riley Greene and Kevin McGonigle have been leading the Detroit offense recently, though McGonigle has started to cool off after an impressive month of April. For the franchise to succeed with its current roster, both Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter must begin contributing more consistently.
What's A.J. Looking for From Tork & Carp?
On the off day, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch spoke with 97.1 The Ticket Thursday morning to talk about the status of the team going into the series on the road. One of the topics brought up was what Hinch is looking for from these two Detroit sluggers, for which Hinch provided quality answers.
"I think they're a little bit different; for Carp, it's about controlling the strike zone, he's got to get better pitches," Hinch said. "I see him some time during the at-bat expanding his zone quite a bit, chasing pitches pretty high."
Entering the weekend, Carpenter holds a .210 AVG with six home runs and 17 RBIs, along with a .746 OPS, 40 strikeouts, and 11 walks. Altogether, Carpenter has been a -0.1 WAR player thus far in 2026.
"Tork, I know the last week has been a little bit rough. It feels like it's a walk or a homer, and there's been a little bit of indecisiveness from my angle. He's had some deep and long at-bats that are going to create some walks and some swing and misses with the nature of the sport."
Torkelson had that surge of five home runs in five games to help get the Tigers out of a semi-slump before the slump they're enduring now. When both Torkelson and Carpenter are hitting, this Detroit lineup is one of the more feared in the American League. Without them, they're beatable.
Fully expect both hitters to take different approaches at the plate this series; Carpenter staying within his game plan and Torkelson attacking more pitches, confidently.
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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.