The Detroit Tigers have been surprisingly good this season, with a 13-10 record that is good enough for third in the AL Central.
One of the most shocking developments has been their excellent pitching.
Tigers hurlers have a collective 2.85 ERA, which is among the best in baseball and surprising, considering Detroit posted a 4.24 ERA in 2023.
To be more specific, the bullpen has been a top unit this year.
It has been one of the reasons they have been so competitive, and have won more games than people expected.
“The Tigers’ bullpen has a 1.70 ERA through the team’s first 23 games. Jason Foley, their closer, hasn’t allowed a run in 10 innings pitched!” MLB Network tweeted.
Granted, it’s not the largest sample size, but a 1.70 ERA in 23 games is thoroughly impressive.
Foley has been a reliable source of clean innings, even from last year.
In 2024, the closer has an immaculate ERA in 10 innings, with six saves in six opportunities.
But the Tigers’ early success has many more contributors.
For example, Joey Wentz has a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 frames, and former closer Alex Lange is at 1.23 in 7.1 innings to this point.
Tyler Holton (1.50 ERA in 12 innings) and Will Vest (1.64 ERA) are also behind the excellent unit.
If you look at the Tigers’ pitching staff throughout the season, 14 pitchers have logged at least one inning.
Of those 14, 12 have an ERA of 3.80 or better.
That’s not a coincidence: there is some serious work behind the scenes that we have all been missing, and it should be encouraged and recognized.
