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Jack Flaherty shines, but veteran trade chip scuffles as Detroit Tigers complete first half
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- Jack Flaherty shines, but veteran trade chip scuffles as Detroit Tigers complete first half
The first half of the season is over.
The Detroit Tigers played their 81st game Thursday in a brutal 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels , marking the halfway point in the 2024 season. The Tigers have a 37-44 record, sitting fourth in the American League Central and trailing the first-place Cleveland Guardians by 15 games.
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"I feel like it's been some ups and downs this first half," said outfielder Matt Vierling , who leads the Tigers with a .250 isolated power since mid-May . "Definitely got off to a pretty good start, but lately, we just got to keep on going, keep on fighting. I'm proud of the guys for keep on going."
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Here's how some players are trending — in our first stock watch since May 16 — with exactly 50% of the season in the books:
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Three up
OF Riley Greene
Greene is one of the best hitters in baseball this season.
For the season, Greene's 140 wRC+ ranks 18th among 146 qualified hitters . Since May 17, the 23-year-old has a .290 batting average with six home runs (giving him 15 overall) and an .893 OPS in 37 games, doing his best to carry the Tigers' offense in June with slugger Kerry Carpenter on the injured list .
RILEY ROBBED: No Tigers position players in first wave of All-Star voting, not even Riley Greene
Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers scores against the Milwaukee Brewers on a single by Gio Urshela during the first inning at Comerica Park on June 8, 2024 in Detroit.
Greene didn't get the All-Star votes he deserved. He didn't place in the top 20 for AL outfielders through the fan vote stage of balloting, even though his season-long 2.4 fWAR ranks sixth at his position .
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RHP Jack Flaherty
The Tigers signed Flaherty to a one-year, $14 million contract in December 2023 . After that, the Tigers helped him rediscover the best version of himself with adjustments to his body movements and tweaks to his pitch mix.
Flaherty, who has a 3.24 ERA in 15 starts, could win AL Comeback Player of the Year.
FLARE GAME: Tigers' Jack Flaherty finds elite version of fastball, slider by scrapping cutter
Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Guardians on Monday, May 6, 2024, in Cleveland.
Since May 17, Flaherty owns a 2.45 ERA with eight walks and 52 strikeouts across 40⅓ innings in seven starts. His ERA ranks 20th among 115 pitchers with at least 30 innings during that stretch. (He had an MLB-best 1.56 ERA in six starts since May 17 before allowing five runs Thursday to the Angels.)
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Flaherty is one of the most coveted pitchers on the trade market ahead of the July 30 deadline. The 28-year-old ranks third among 75 qualified pitchers with 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings in his 15 starts, behind only the Chicago White Sox 's Garrett Crochet (12.4) and the Los Angeles Dodgers ' Tyler Glasnow (12.2).
By trading Flaherty, the Tigers could bring some much-needed young hitters into their organization.
RHP Beau Brieske
In mid-May, the Tigers recalled Brieske from Triple-A Toledo to replaced injured right-handed reliever Shelby Miller , and although Miller has since returned from the injured list, Brieske remains with the Tigers as a multi-inning reliever.
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Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch takes the ball from relief pitcher Beau Brieske against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Brieske has a 2.35 ERA with five walks and 21 strikeouts across 23 innings in 13 relief appearances since joining the Tigers. The 26-year-old is one of 19 relievers with at least 20 innings since May 15 , and among the group, he ranks seventh with a 2.35 ERA and first with a 2.25 FIP. His four-seam fastball has held opponents to a .136 batting average.
He posted a 3.60 ERA (with a 4.00 FIP) across 35 innings last season. It'll be interesting to see if his career-best stretch this season is anything more than a fluke.
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Honorable mention:LHP Tarik Skubal , 2B Colt Keith , OF/3B Matt Vierling .
Three down
OF Mark Canha
The Tigers acquired Canha in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers in November 2023 , then picked up Canha's $11.5 million club option for the 2024 season. The 35-year-old, who has played 14 postseason games in his 10-year MLB career, is a trade candidate because of his expiring contract.
THE VET: Tigers' Mark Canha understands Spencer Torkelson, ready to help at first base
Detroit Tigers first base Mark Canha (21) gets ready to bat against Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, June 22, 2024.
Canha, an outfielder, is saving the Tigers with his decent defense as the primary first baseman after Spencer Torkelson's June 2 demotion to Triple-A Toledo . It's too bad he has been brutal at the plate throughout May and June.
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Canha is hitting .231 with zero (of his six) home runs and a .589 OPS since May 17, a span of 34 games. His 73 wRC+ during that stretch ranks 144 of 165 qualified hitters , but at least he is a (slightly) better first baseman than Torkelson. (Since May 1, Canha is hitting .211 with a .564 OPS.)
A better performance on offense would boost his stock on the trade market.
RHP Jason Foley
What happened to the Tigers' closer?
Foley, who has 13 saves in 15 chances, tossed 11 consecutive scoreless innings over his first 11 games, but since then, the 28-year-old has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) with three walks and 11 strikeouts across 17 innings in 20 games for a 4.76 ERA, dating back to April 27.
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Tigers pitcher Jason Foley high-fives third baseman Matt Vierling following the 6-2 win on Friday, May 24, 2024, at Comerica Park.
Since May 17, Foley owns a 4.22 ERA in 10⅔ innings.
Foley is struggling because opponents are hitting his elite sinker for the first time in his four-year career, with a .303 batting average and a .409 slugging percentage. His slider has improved significantly, but he doesn't miss enough bats to offset the usual abundance of hits against his sinker.
He relies on hitters making contact for most of his outs.
OF Wenceel Pérez
Since May 17, Pérez is hitting .248 with zero home runs and a .635 OPS in 35 games. That's a big difference from a .289 mark with three homers and an .841 OPS in his first 26 games.
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The Tigers have boasted about their success in developing Pérez, but in reality, the 24-year-old has cooled down since the red-hot start to his MLB career.
ROOKIE: Tigers' Wenceel Pérez is proving it's possible for rookies to hit in big leagues
Detroit Tigers right fielder Wenceel Perez (46) celebrates a run scored by third baseman Gio Urshela (13) against Washington Nationals during the seventh inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
In the outfield, Pérez — a former infielder — is worth minus-4 defensive runs saved in center field (175⅓ innings) and zero defensive runs saved in right field (292 innings). He is steady in right field, but he doesn't play left and isn't reliable in center.
The Tigers need to help Pérez figure out how to stick in the big leagues with his bat. He doesn't count as a developmental success story if he flames out.
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Honorable mention:UTIL Zach McKinstry , LHP Joey Wentz , RHP Casey Mize .
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Detroit Tigers close first half, Jack Flaherty shines as trade chip
