Tigers Are on Pace to Far Surpass Preseason Expectations This Year

Despite a little bit of a slip to start the second half of the season, the Detroit Tigers are back to playing some fantastic baseball of late. 

Overall, it has been a great year for the Tigers. This is a team that was able to prove quickly that the success in 2024 was no fluke and has gone about it in a bit of a different way. In the last campaign, this was a team that relied heavily on their bullpen down the stretch. A.J. Hinch managed things perfectly for a short time, but it was never going to be sustainable long-term. 

Fortunately, the team has seen an improved starting rotation in 2025 despite some injuries, and their lineup is also much better. Having some surprise players step up in the lineup to reach their potential has been key in this unit becoming a contributor to the success of the franchise. 

Even though they are having a great season, they weren't projected to be nearly as good as they are now. As the year comes to a close, it is clear that the preseason expectations for them were misguided. 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Tigers being on pace to pass their preseason expectations by quite a bit, with the team being on pace for 94.9 wins as of now. 

Despite making the playoffs and coming just one game away from making the ALCS, Detroit didn't get a lot of love coming into the 2025 campaign. That was surprising to see, considering they brought back nearly their entire team from 2024 and also made a couple of veteran additions during the offseason. 

So far, they have been able to prove most people wrong. The Tigers were one of the best teams in baseball to start the season, and despite a little slip-up of late, have been red-hot the past couple of weeks. 

How Good Can the Tigers Be?