Five Leading Building Blocks for the Tigers’ Future

The Detroit Tigers have had an up-and-down go of it during this ongoing season, with injuries and poor development of key players hindering their quest for a playoff berth. The ups of the season have been the team identifying which players to keep building around for the future.

Four of these five players have been sensational on a sub-.500 team, cementing themselves into the lineup and rotation for years to come. Meanwhile, the fifth player has already started making a name for himself, and he’s only in Double-A.

Stats updated prior to games on August 17.

Tarik Skubal

What is there to say about Tarik Skubal that hasn’t already been said?

Skubal is the consensus best player on the team. He’s on track to win his first Cy Young, leading the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA. He’s been arguably the best pitcher in baseball up to this point, and there aren’t many near him.

For the Tigers, Skubal gives them some stability at the top of the rotation. After all these years, they have finally found Justin Verlander’s replacement.

The only issue comes with Skubal’s contract status. He will be arbitration-eligible for the second time in 2025, and he is set to reach free agency after the 2026 season. Following his breakout campaign, he’s going to be seeking a big payday if the Tigers want to talk about an extension.

And did I mention who his agent is? Of course, it’s Scott Boras. So, we know they will drive a hard bargain when it comes to the 27-year-old’s next contract.

From an outside view, the Tigers’ unwillingness to trade Skubal at the deadline this year could mean they want to extend the lefty fireballer. And if they do, they will have a stalwart ace for years to come and a guaranteed quality start every five days.

Riley Greene

The other All-Star on the Tigers has been great – when he’s been on the field. Riley Greene has found his power stroke in 2024, hitting 17 big flies compared to his 11 last year in a similar number of games. He boasts a 136 wRC+, which is a 16-point increase from his sophomore season.

The problem with Greene is his health. He played a mere 99 games in 2023 and has played only 101 this year. He only just returned from a stint on the IL with a hamstring strain.

When Greene is not on the field, this offense loses one of its most potent bats and a top-of-the-order hitter. He is paramount to this team’s success, and without him, there isn’t much to love offensively.

The good thing for the Tigers is that Greene is young. The 23-year-old lefty still has much more left to his career, and if his game power continues to develop, he could be a formidable force at the top of this lineup for years to come.

Colt Keith

The Tigers have had many rookies come up and down from the active roster this year, but Colt Keith is the only one to make the team out of spring training and stick around all year.

After a rough start, the freshly turned 23-year-old has made an impression on Tigers fans in the second half. He’s inserted himself into the middle of this lineup, slashing .249/.302/.378 on the season.

As much as that isn’t a super impressive slash line, there have been many times that Keith has started to prove why he is worth the extension he signed before the season.

There aren’t many things to complain about when it comes to Keith’s game. The only issue is his consistency. He has had unbelievable stretches of hot play and then comes back down to earth and struggles.

But that’s the roller coaster you run with rookies. It’s a tough transition to MLB pitching, and not everyone can be Yordan Alvarez and blow the door down as soon as they are called up.

Keith has been a welcome addition to this core, and if his play straightens out, there is a bat that can win you ball games at second base.

Kerry Carpenter

Kerry Carpenter has had a tough go of it this year, being sidelined for nearly three months due to a lumbar spine stress fracture. But, similar to Greene, when on the field, Carp has been the Tigers’ biggest bat. Through 54 games this year, he’s crushed 11 homers and is hitting .286 with an OPS of .941.

Like I said at the beginning, the Tigers have been dealt a lot of injuries this year, and losing Carpenter was a big one. Before his injury, he was the team’s best hitter.

Now coming back to the team, he’s still their best hitter. There’s no doubt in my mind the Tigers want to keep Carp around for the long haul. He’s the three-hole hitter they thought they had with Spencer Torkelson, and now that he has lived up to that spot, he’s a guy they can build around in this lineup.

Jackson Jobe

Our No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball is the final piece of this puzzle. Jackson Jobe is a pitcher who can gas you up at 100-101 mph and then drop in his devastating slider, which was a selling point back in his draft year.

This season, Jobe has a 2.01 ERA and 66 strikeouts over 62.1 innings between High-A and Double-A.

If it wasn’t for some guy named Paul Skenes, Jobe would’ve been the best pitching prospect in the league to start the year. Nevertheless, Jobe has been on fire in the minors and it’s only a matter of time before he makes his move to Detroit.

The problem here is Jobe hasn’t touched an MLB field yet. We have to see how he performs versus the best hitters in the world before we can fully lock him into this nucleus. But considering how well he is pitching now and how much this organization trusts in him to form a one-two punch with Skubal, it’s hard not to put him on this list right away.

For now, Jobe is a really good prospect, but in the future, he could be as good (or better!) than Skubal.

The Tigers have so much to look forward to when it comes to their pool of prospects and their MLB talent. Now, it’s all about putting it together and keeping these players on the field so the league can see the brand-new Detroit Tigers.