No, the
problem has come from the core of Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta, Brennan Boesch
and Ryan Raburn who have hit a combined 32 HR so far this year, down from a combined 70 HR a year
ago.
All in total,
the Tigers have hit a combined 141 HR so far this year, 10th out of
14 teams in the American League, the lowest total of any team still in contention, 2
fewer than the Tampa Bay Rays. The
Tigers are currently 4th in the AL in OPS at .758, however they are
7th in R/G, right at league average at 4.45.
The lack of
HR power isn’t just limited to certain situations. With runners in scoring position, the Tigers
are currently tied with the Rangers and White Sox with the best AVG at .281 and
tied with the Rangers for the best OBP at .362.
However, they are 10th in the AL home runs with 29.
RISP:
Ok, so most
of their HR have been solo shots, currently at 86. But this number ranks 9th in the
American League.
Bases Empty:
Recently, the
Tigers have been losing a lot of 1-run games.
One theory is that the Tigers can’t manufacture runs. Which could be true, there are more than one way to score runs and
utilizing small ball is certainly one way.
Hitting home runs is another way to score runs too, and the Tigers as a
whole are not doing well in this category.
Good write up Jeff. The Tigers are not a small ball team for the most part. The lack of Home Runs the past few weeks is a big part of the lack of runs.
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