For the first time since Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer graced the mound at Comerica Park, the starting pitcher for the AL in the All-Star Game should be wearing the Old English D.
Phew, those were the days. From 2009 to 2015, the Tigers had at least three All-Stars each season (29 total in seven years).
The year Scherzer got the starting nod in 2013, Detroit was represented by six players at Citi Field.
But it’s been a long time since the Tigers were relevant participants in the Midsummer Classic.
Excluding Miguel Cabrera’s special “legacy” selection in 2022, the Tigers have only sent the obligatory one player to the All-Star Game five times in a row.
None of those selections — Joe Jimenez, Shane Greene, Gregory Soto (twice), and Michael Lorenzen — were likely to make it if not for the rule that every team must have a participant.
Now, here we are, midway through another season that certainly isn’t going how anyone hoped.
But this weekend came with a silver lining.
The Tigers didn’t get a participation trophy.
Detroit will send two players to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. It’s their first actual dual selection since Michael Fulmer and Justin Upton in 2017. And both players are undeniably deserving.
Riley Greene leads the Tigers in every major offensive stat (Kerry Carpenter hasn’t played enough to quality), from all three pillars of the triple stat line (.261 batting average/.356 on-base percentage/.500 slugging percentage) to his 17 homers, 17 doubles, and five triples.
His 3.7 WAR through 90 games has him on pace for nearly six wins above replacement — a benchmark reserved for the game’s elite players.
But he hasn’t even been Detroit’s most valuable player.
Tarik Skubal has evolved into, I believe, the best pitcher on the planet.
Through his first 18 starts, the Tigers’ lefty owns a 2.37 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
