Sports
Are The Detroit Tigers The Best Team In The American League?
Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports. This led to an interest in research and stats and writing betting analysis for a variety of sports. James has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.
Get to know James Boutros betterPublished02 May 2025
Currently, the Detroit Tigers are first in the American League.
As of May 2nd, the Tigers’ record is 20-12, and they have won seven of their last ten games.
They continued their hot run at the end of last year, pulling off what seemed to be an impossible run in August, and made the playoffs.
Detroit almost made it to the ALCS last year, losing in five games against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS. The Tigers had a 2-1 lead in the series but lost the final two games of the series.
It was a historic run last season for Detroit. On August 11, 2024, FanGraphs gave the Tigers a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs. They were nine games back from a wild-card position at the time. To finish the season, Detroit won 31 of its final 44 games.
This season, the Tigers have picked up from their excellent run at the end of the season.
The Detroit Tigers Are Off To A Great Start
We discussed the importance of pitching coach Chris Fetter in this article.
He has tremendously helped the pitching rotation and bullpen excel in Detroit.
As of May 2, the Tigers’ starters are fourth in the league in ERA, sixth in strikeouts and WHIP, and eighth in batting average against.
Detroit’s relievers rank fourth in ERA, fifth in WHIP, and sixth in batting average against as of May 2.
What has been a nice surprise for the Tigers is how well their offense has performed this season.
As of May 2, the Tigers are top 10 in the league in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, walks, OBP, SLG, and OPS.
Spencer Torkelson has taken a big step forward this season. He has nine home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .902 OPS.
Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry, and Gleyber Torres have all been off to a very good start this season.
Are The Tigers The Best Team In The American League?
Detroit is first in the AL and is top 10 in a lot of batting and pitching categories.
Some other top teams in the AL are the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Guardians, and Houston Astros.
The Yankees do not have the pitching staff or bullpen that the Tigers have. Gerrit Cole will not pitch this season for the Yankees. Their offense is better than Detroit but if the Tigers can continue to perform the way they have offensively, Detroit can keep up with New York on offense, especially with a better pitching staff.
Seattle is off to a great start this season. The Mariners’ offense is red hot, but considering their lineup, it feels unsustainable. Detroit has some good young batters in Greene, Torkelson, and Carpenter, and is in a better position to see continued success than Seattle’s offense.
Cleveland’s pitching staff has not been good this season. The starters rank 27th in ERA and WHIP. Detroit has a much better pitching rotation, which positions the Tigers to see more success than Cleveland.
Houston’s pitching staff has been very good this season, but its offense is off to a slower start. They rank in the bottom 10 in the league in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, SLG, and OPS. The Astros do have a good offense, and it is a matter of time before they get rolling. Detroit’s pitching staff is deeper than Houston’s, and both offenses should be good all season.
With an excellent starting rotation, bullpen, and a much-improved offense, the Detroit Tigers are the best team in the American League.
