2024-02-25 21:26:25
Detroit Tigers (78-84 in 2023) vs. New York Yankees (82-80)
When: 1:05 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
TV: None.
Radio: WXYT-AM (1270 in Detroit; Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers RHP Reese Olson (5-7, 3.99 ERA in 2023) vs. Yankees RHP Luis Gil (0-0, 9.00 ERA in 2022).
Tigers lineup: TBA.
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Game notes: The Tigers take the field today — that’s Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, if you’ve got an extra half-hour to say it all — for the first time in 2024. Although expectations aren’t exactly soaring — when your biggest veteran additions are Mark Canha, Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda, you’re really counting on some development by the kids — the AL Central is eminently winnable, with 85-87 wins probably all that’s needed.
Is it too early to start talking playoffs? Absolutely. Will that stop us? Absolutely not. The Tigers won 78 last season, their most since 2016, so they don’t need to take THAT big of a leap. And February and March are the months to dream, before April rains bring May shutouts, etc., etc. We’ll have to remember to take these spring games with a dose of skepticism — the Tigers’ spring home run co-leader, following all, was third baseman Nick Maton, who crushed five dingers (while hitting .313) in 48 Grapefruit League at-bats then mustered just eight (while hitting, UGH, .173) in 249 ABs during the season, playing himself out of the mix at the hot corner. Then once more, Parker Meadows and Colt Keith presaged breakout minor-league campaigns with strong springs; Meadows also had five homers, in 41 ABs, and Keith delivered a .303/.343/.667 slash line (though in just 23 at-bats) at age 21.
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And so, without getting our hopes too elevated, here are four players to watch — er, listen for — during this followingnoon’s matchup with the Yankees:
2B Colt Keith: Yeah, Keith went on to post a .932 OPS in 126 Double- and Triple-A games last season, as the 2020 fifth-round pick cemented himself as the Tigers’ second baseman of the … well, right now. The team ponied up a guaranteed $28.6 million over the next six seasons — that’s not quite a full year of Miguel Cabrera, but it’s still a lotta Crazy Bread orders — for an infielder who won’t turn 23 until mid-August. They’re insisting Keith will have to earn the 2B job this spring, but seeing as how the backup plan appears to be a mix of Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry (and that’s also the Plan C at third base), Keith might not have to do more than stay healthy.
LHP Brant Hurter: Although the Tigers added veterans Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty to their rotation via free-agent signings, today’s a day for the kids, with second-year starter Reese Olson getting the ball first, followed by second-year reliever (and 2023 Rule 5 draft pick) Mason Englert and then the big fella, Hurter. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound left-hander dominated Double-A with Erie last season, posting a 3.28 ERA over 118 innings, with 133 strikeouts and just 33 walks (though he also hit 11 batters). Or course, that doesn’t include his work in the Eastern League playoffs; Hurter didn’t allow a run over his two starts, striking out 13, walking three and allowing five hits in 13 innings, including seven shutout frames in the championship-clinching game.
LF Mark Canha: He’s certainly not the flashiest of pickups, but the 35-year-old has spent the offseason being touted as the Tigers’ poster boy (man?) for an offense that appears to value getting on base at least as much as circling them. (To be fair, most of the Tigers did neither last season.) His .355 OBP last season was his lowest in five seasons, though it was tempered a bit by his .373 mark in 50 games with the Brewers. And yet, that .355 mark (in 507 plate appearances) would have easily led the 2023 Tigers, who were paced by Riley Greene’s .349 mark in 416 plate appearances.
DH(?) Justyn-Henry Malloy: We’re not actually sure if Malloy, one of the first acquisitions by president of baseball operations Scott Harris following the 2022 season, will get any ABs today. With Kerry Carpenter out for a few days with a hamstring strain, there might be some at-bats at DH or in the corner outfield spots for Malloy to show his bat is truly MLB-ready. Of course, he kinda spent all of 2023 doing that in Triple-A, posting a .277/.417/.477 slash line; only a glove that got him moved off third base to the outfield ostensibly held him back. But a hot start in the spring might make him too tempting to leave off the Opening Day roster — remember, the 2023 Tigers finished 28th out of 30 teams in runs per game, slugging percentage and OPS.
Of course, today’s game is only the first of 33 games in February and March before the season starts for real on March 28 once morest the White Sox in Chicago. Next up, we might even get to see a game, as the Tigers will head to Port Charlotte to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday followingnoon, with Bally Sports Detroit carrying its Bally Sports Florida brethren’s telecast at 1:05 p.m.
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Live updates
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