Writer: Gage O'Leary
Twitter: @Deep_Shot_Gage
Twitter: @DeepShotSports
It has been a year of disappointment for the Tigers, having come into the season with playoff aspirations. Their hopes grew bigger after landing Free Agents, Javier Bàez and Eduardo Rodriguez as well as acquiring Outfielder Austin Meadows from the Rays, however after a horrendous start to the season, the Tigers have found themselves in a hole they simply can't climb out of. As of now Tigers fans have a few things to look forward and of course continuing to watch MLB Pipelines #1 prospect Riley Greene in Centerfield is one of those things to look forward to, but aside from that Detroit won't have just one, but two players representing the city at the All-Star game, July 19th at Dodger Stadium...
Miguel Cabrera selected to 12th career All-Star game:
No Tigers hitter is more deserving to play in the All-Star game than Miggy. He's hit above .300 for most of the 2022 season, 3 tough games has Miggy batting .291 but what he's accomplished at age 39 is remarkable and he continues to make his case as the greatest Right-handed Hitter of All-time. Cabrera will join Shoei Ohtani of the Angles and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros as the 3 DH's on the American League All-star team roster, he was selected to the game by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the commissioner also selected Miggy's good friend Albert Puljols to represent the Cardinals in the National League.... Another fun headline to look at is the fact that this will be the first time since 2017 that Miggy and Justin Verlander have played on the same team...
Gregory Soto selected to 2nd straight All-Star game:
For the 2nd year in a row Gregory Soto is going to the All-star game as the Tigers closer but this year it caught most of us off guard compared to last season. I underestimate Gregory Soto sometimes, he does find a way despite it being stressful to get the job done most of the time. He is 2-4 with 17 saves, 2 blown saves, a 2.67 ERA in 30.1 IP, 31 K's, 1.25 WHIP, he's allowed only one HR this season. Sometimes stats can be a little misleading though and I believe Soto wasn't the most deserving Tigers relief pitcher, I don't believe he was the biggest contributer, most efficient or consistent pitcher in Detroit's pen this season...
Tigers pitchers who were more deserving of All-Star nod:
Michael Fulmer started the year as arguably the best relief pitcher in Baseball, he went until the Houston Astros series on May 5th without giving up a run. All season when Fulmer has came out of the pen I've felt much more confident as he's been solid and consistent all year in the set up role, keeping the score as is setting it up for Gregory Soto in the 9th inning. Fulmer is 2-3, with 2 saves, a 1.93 ERA in 33 games played, he has pitched 32.2 innings, has struck out 32 batters and has a 1.04 WHIP, he's allowed just one HR this season... Fulmer along with former Tigers OF' Justin Upton, represented the Tigers in the 2017 All-Star game, he'll have to wait another year before getting another shot at playing in the midsummer classic...
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Alex Lange has been simply incredible for the Tigers out of the Bullpen this season. The former Cubs, 1st-round pick in 2017 is in his 2nd season. The Tigers acquired Lange in a trade that sent former Tigers 3B/OF Nick Castellanos to Chicago. Alex Lange can come out of the Bullpen anytime A.J Hinch needs him to making him a very reliable player to have in your back pocket. He's 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 37 games played, he's pitched 33 innings, has struck out 43 batters, with a 1.09 WHIP. He, much like Soto & Fulmer has allowed only one HR this season. It would have been a great story if Lange got the All-Star nod, in my opinion he was definitely deserving and the numbers prove that...
Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your week.
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