The 2026 Detroit Tigers have yet to live up to their preseason expectations, however a sweep of the A.L Leading Tampa Bay Rays have fans wondering, at 25-38, do the Detroit Tigers have what it takes to chase down the Guardians and get back into the American League playoff picture?
Dillon Dingers:
The offensive production the team has gotten from Dillon Dingler to this point in the season has been an enormous lift. From TigersPR on twitter, Dillon Dingler leads ALL MLB catchers with 2.5 fWAR, and contributed 3 long balls and 9 RBIs in the series against the Rays, the first Tiger to do that since Miguel Cabrera in 2016. With still a month to the all-star break, Dingler has mashed a career high 14 home runs already. Consistent offense from Ding will be crucial to this team throughout the summer.
Seeing Greene:
The terrible month of May that dropped the Tigers to 16 games under .500 has national baseball coverage sleeping on the season Riley Greene is having at the plate so far this season. So far in 2026, Greene has a .311 batting average, with an .864 ops, to go with a .403 OBP, through the Tigers slow start, Greene has remained red hot at the plate. Like Dingler, Greene tore up Tampa Bay Rays pitching this week recording 6 hits, 4RBI, and mashing 2 homers. For the Tigers to go on a winning streak Greene and Dingler need to remain productive at the plate.
Supporting Cast:
Kevin McGongile, Riley Greene, and Dillon Dingler are going to be the mashers in this lineup. The rest of the Tigers season will be determined by how much help they get offensively from Torkelson, McKinstry, Wencel Perez, and Matt Vierling. In the Tampa series, these 4 all had productive at bats and drove in runs for the team. None of these guys need to go win a batting title, but the month of May, all 4 had an ops under .500 and were contributing nothing offensively. If these 4 players can be even mediocre offensively, I thin Greene, McGonigle, Torres, Dingler, and Carpenter will do enough damage for this team to make a run.
ALDS Rematch on Deck:
The Tigers welcome the Seattle Mariners to town this weekend in an ALDS rematch from last October. With 99 games to go in the season, they currently trail the Guardians by 10.5 games in the A.L Central and are 5.5 back from the Rangers for the last wild card spot. The 6-22 record in the month of May has put Detroit in the back of the pack in MLB, but there is plenty of baseball to be played the rest of the summer, and I wouldn't write off the Tigers just yet.