Why Tigers will still win AL Central despite Tarik Skubal’s injury

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Why Tigers will still win AL Central despite Tarik Skubal’s injury

Chris Spiering, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, May 7, 2026 ·

4 min read

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Why Tigers will still win AL Central despite Tarik Skubal’s injury appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Detroit Tigers are going to have to move on from the sudden injury to star pitcher, Tarik Skubal . Seeing one of the best pitchers in the game go down makes the game worse, but the Tigers still contain a very good roster worthy of winning the AL Central division once again.

Entering Thursday, Detroit is currently in second place in the division with an 18-20 record. After starting the season playing well down in San Diego with a series win, the Tigers have responded with a 16-19 record since then, dealing with a ton of injuries to the starting rotation. Not only is Skubal out for a few months after surgery, but Justin Verlander and Case Mize are both on the injured list as well. The hope is that the Tigers can make a trade for another starting pitcher to fill the void that Skubal has left. Not to mention, Framber Valdez is suspended for throwing at Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story .

The AL Central is much more competitive than it has been for years. The division has seen a few different teams step up and take over; however, nobody from this division has made a run to the World Series since the Guardians lost one year in 2016 to the Chicago Cubs after the Kansas City Royals won the entire thing in 2015. The Minnesota Twins have had a few good teams make the postseason, but they were never really a threat. The Chicago White Sox have not been good for a long time, but the team they have now seems to be heading in the right direction.

This article will explain why the Tigers are still the best team in the division and why they will win the AL Central by the end of the season.

Why Tigers will still win AL Central despite Tarik Skubal ’s injury

The Tigers’ lineup is very deep. Riley Greene is coming off an impressive 2025 season and is already on pace to duplicate it again in 2026. Greene is batting .296 with four home runs, 19 RBIs, 10 doubles, and has an OPS of .854. He’s in the Top 35 in both average and OPS. Greene will continue to be the leader of the lineup. He is now alone in production, either.

Rookie Kevin McGonigle is becoming a household name in The Motor City. The rookie is hitting .299 with two homers, 16 RBIs, 11 doubles, two triples, and an OPS of .845. He can play shortstop and third base and will be in contention for AL Rookie of the Year by the end of the campaign. The Tigers are going to thrive off the production from those two all season long.

Spencer Torkelson , Gleyber Torres , Kerry Carpenter , and Dillon Dingler are all capable of smashing a home run at any time while being clutch hitters at the plate late in games. Torkelson, Carpenter, and Dingler all lead the team with six home runs each.

The next core of players will really determine how the Tigers do this season. The reason why the Tigers won the AL Central last year was that every player on the roster did something well when needed. The Javy Baez’s of the world, Colt Keith , Matt Vierling , Zach McKinstry , and Wenceel Perez. If those five players can duplicate what they did or at least come very close to that production from 2025, then the Tigers should easily take the division. They would have run away with it last year if it hadn’t been for an ultimate collapse in September.

Many are counting on the Tigers to make a trade for a starting pitcher. That should help give the team a boost until the rotation is healthy again. The good news is that Skubal isn’t expected to miss more than two months with his injury, according to the latest reports. If this is the case, then the Tigers will have a healthy Skubal, Valdez, Jack Flaherty , and potentially another big name as they make a run back to the postseason.

The only real threat the Tigers have right now is the Guardians, who are in first place in the division with a 19-19 record. The White Sox and the Royals may be a few games behind them for the majority of the season, but it seems as of now that the Guardians may be the only threat to take the crown. Chicago and KC don’t have the talent to be able to keep up for all 162 games unless they make some needed trades for talent. Detroit is also the only team in the division with a positive run differential on the season at (+6).

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