DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are back home this weekend after starting the 2025 season with a six-game road trip.
Detroit is 2-4 after a pair of series against the Dodgers and Mariners out West, and they’re looking to get back on track against the Chicago White Sox.
Here are four keys to this team getting back to the postseason in 2025.
Get healthy and stay healthy
The injuries the Tigers are dealing with are not season-ending, but they are significant.
Parker Meadows expecting to be out until May creates a major gap in center field. His defensive ability was on display late in the year, along with some timely at-bats in the postseason. Meadows had a hit in every single game of the playoffs.
The versatility of Matt Vierling could also be missed, especially for a team still searching for a consistent answer at third base. Last year, Vierling made 55 appearances (including the postseason) at third. His return could also help fill the void in the outfield until Meadows is back.
Missing new acquisition Gleyber Torres doesn’t help, either. The Tigers placed him on the 10-day injured list with an oblique injury after a home run last Friday.
Wenceel Perez and pitcher Alex Cobb are also injured, adding to the Tigers’ depth being tested.
Making a run often depends on availability. If the Tigers can get healthy (and stay there), that’s the first step of a successful season.
A second season of Skubal-mania
Tarik Skubal took the baseball world by storm last year on his way to winning the AL Triple Crown.
Skubal started the season 6-0 in his first nine starts in 2024. In 2025, the Tigers’ ace is already 0-2 in two starts against the Dodgers and Mariners. His ERA is 5.91. Last year, it never got above 3.00.
Is this a time to panic? Not at all.
In LA, Skubal faced the best lineup in baseball.
Against Seattle, he was a Colt Keith mistake at second base away from getting out of the inning before giving up a two-run hit.
Skubal will return to form, but can he be as consistent as last season? Players in the clubhouse often talked about how seeing Skubal on the mound gave them confidence for a game.
The rotation is beefed up with the return of Jack Flaherty, but the consistency of Skubal sets the tone for so much on this roster.
Production from former top picks
Is this year the one where the guys who went 1/1 can put it all together?
Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize each had great springs. If they can continue that in the regular season, it will be a huge boost for the Tigers.
Tork put in work down in Florida. He hit five home runs in 19 games. Out of the players who have played in all six regular season games, Torkelson’s .318 batting average is the best on the team. His patience at the plate is also showing, drawing five walks with the most total bases on the roster (12).
Mize has battled injuries in his career, but this year could be the year after what we’ve seen the last few months.
Mize dealt in spring training. In his first four appearances, he pitched 11.1 innings allowing no runs and four hits. That’s impressive.
In his first start of the season, Mize delivered again. He gave up a single in the first inning, but that was the only hit Mize gave up against the Mariners.
It’s a great start, but we’ll see if that duo can dominate their respective domains this season.
Get off to a fast start
It’s well known that the Tigers had a 0.2% chance of reaching the postseason last year before that late-season outburst to break that decade-long playoff drought.
Relying on that is not a formula for success. Taking care of business early can help pay off down the stretch.
With the exception of 2020’s short season, the 2024 season is the first time the Tigers finished above .500 in March/April since 2016.
It is a small sample size, but the AL Central has not been a juggernaut coming into the second week. Going into Thursday, all of the teams had identical 2-4 records.
The Tigers have not won the division since 2014. Could this be the year? We’ll see, but starting with a series win over the White Sox early would help the cause.