Surprise!!! The Tigers Are In A Playoff Chase!

This article would have been laughed at when your Detroit Tigers were 39-48 on the season earlier this summer (July 4th, actually).  And especially after the team was in "sell" mode at the trade deadline.

Remember, the team sent starting pitcher Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers for SS Trey Sweeney (who's on the Tigers now) and minor league catcher Thayron Liranzo (who tore it up for the West Michigan Whitecaps after getting traded).

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The team also moved relief pitcher Andrew Chafin to the Texas Rangers and utilityman Mark Canha to the San Francisco Giants.  And the team also released infielder Gio Urshela, and lost pitcher Joey Wentz to waivers to Philadelphia.  Oh yeah, they moved catcher Carson Kelly to the Texas Rangers for two minor leaguers.

Ever since then, the Tigers have woken up.  They are 40-25 since July 4th, and have gone from eight games out of the American League Wild Card race to 1 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the 3rd and final Wild Card spot with (as of this writing) 10 games left in the regular season.  This is remarkable.  Here are the reasons why:

DUMPED VETERANS IN FAVOR OF YOUNG PLAYERS

The Tigers decided at the trade deadline, and in August, to let go of veteran players in favor of youngsters.  That has paid off.  Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney, Dillon Dingler, Brant Huerter, and Sean Guenther have all contributed in this run.

GUYS HAVE STARTED HITTING

The team batting average is still only .235.  But that's improvement from what it was earlier in the season.  Parker Meadows is hitting above .240.  That's not great, but he was sent to Toledo earlier this year because he was below .100.

The return of Kerry Carpenter (pictured above) from injury has been huge. Spencer Torkelson's return from the minors has been huge.  And guys like Riley Greene and Colt Keith have been consistent for most of the season.  Wenceel Perez also shows major promise.

Even though I've been critical of manager AJ Hinch, he deserves some credit for "MacGuyvering" the lineup to his advantage.

THE BULLPEN HAS BEEN EXCELLENT

Jason Foley has regained his closer role and has been great.  Tyler Holton has been lights out in long relief.  And other guys have stepped up their play.  Too many to mention here.  Hinch has been over-reliant on it (to the team's detriment), but they have responded.

THE SCHEDULE

Tim Staudt isn't completely wrong when he says that the schedule is a factor in the Tigers turnaround.  They have played legitimately bad teams in this stretch (Chicago White Sox, Colorado, Oakland, etc.).  But they've also beaten good teams in the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yes, the Tigers have beaten the bad teams.  But they're playing and getting better, too.  Both are true at the same time.

WILL THE TIGERS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

Maybe.  And that was unthinkable 2 1/2 months ago.  Once they finish the Kansas City series, they have a huge three game series at the Baltimore Orioles this coming weekend.  And then they finish with six home games at Comerica Park.  Three with Tampa Bay and three with the AWFUL Chicago White Sox.

They might not make the playoffs, but isn't it nice to see and hear the Detroit Tigers playing meaningful September baseball again?  It's been awhile.