By Staff Writer: Travis Waker
As of May 17, the Detroit Tigers are 26-12. The .684 winning percentage is the best in Major League Baseball. There are several reasons for this early successes. Perhaps the biggest is the addition of speed. Through 38 games this year, the Tigers have 36 stolen bases which is second in the MLB to only the LA Dodgers. In the 2013 season, the Tigers had a MLB worst 35 steals. Rajai Davis is a big reason for this new element of speed. The former Toronto Blue Jay stole 45 bases in 108 games last year which was more than the entire Detroit team.
Ian Kinsler, the former Texas Ranger, is also a big reason for the Tigers success. He is hitting .300 so far this season as the Tigers leadoff hitter. Austin Jackson, the Tigers’ leadoff hitter last year, hit only .272 from the leadoff spot. Jackson now bats fifth in the Tigers order on most nights, which puts much less pressure on him to lead the Tigers offense.
Another big reason for the Tigers great early start is the aggressive play of first year manager Brad Ausmus. Ausmus has done a great job of making sure everyone on the 25-man roster contributes. He plays guys in the right spots and gives guys days off when they seem to need it.
The Tigers have several other ways to win besides speed. They also have baseball’s most recent Triple Crown winner, Miguel Cabrera, along with one of the best switch hitters of all time in Victor Martinez. The team has by far the best starting rotation in baseball lead by defending Cy Young winner Max Sherzer. They also have the much improved Rick Porcello, who has really worked on and much improved his from a season ago and is off to a 7-1 start. The bullpen is also starting to come together for the Tigers, led by Joe Nathan, one of the best closers in recent history, and Joba Chamberlin, who has done a great job setting up for Nathan so far this season.
The Tigers have a 6.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins so far this season. That is the biggest lead of any of the division leaders.
