Game of the Week: April 10: DET @ KC

[Commissioner Erick]

Detroit Tigers (3-6) @ Kansas City Royals (5-3)


DET: Griffin Canning (0-1, 11.57)
KC: Dakota Hudson (0-0, 1.50)


Tigers 5 Key Stats


.118: DeMario Pacheco’s average: Pacheco missed Detroit’ playoff run last year with shoulder issues, and the rust appears to still be affecting him. He has a home run and a double so the shoulder issues may have cleared up, but he hasn’t walked, indicating rust issues. Pacheco hit .272 last year and .291 the year before, and Detroit can really use that version of him.

9: Strikeouts for Roderick Dalton: Detroit’s superstar only whiffed 55 times last year with 85 walks, an absurd stat. Naturally, Dalton hit .365 with that kind of plate coverage. He whiffed seven times in 37 Plate Appearances for Australia in the WBC, and has nine strikeouts in 34 Plate Appearances thus far. He has four doubles, a home run, and five walks so far, so if he makes better contact, he should be back to performing like an MVP again.

6: Runs allowed by Griffin Canning against Kansas City earlier this year: Canning tore his UCL in a disappointing season with Philadelphia last year, and may not be the same pitcher he was in his first stint with Detroit. Kansas City is a tough team to pitch against, so we may not know if Canning is compromised until he faces a different team.

.635: Detroit’s OPS: The Tigers have the worst OPS in the league. Dalton’s struggles with strikeouts and Pacheco’s rust are big issues. Another reason is that Detroit has only faced Cleveland and Kansas City so far. However, in a stacked AL Central, Detroit will need to find a way to hit against these teams to win the division. So far they haven’t passed the test.

.286: Nick Gordon’s average: Gordon is a valuable hitter when he’s hitting for a high average. He hit .320 for the Giants in 2024 and helped San Francisco have the fifth best average in the league that year. He tore his PCL in Texas the next year and hasn’t topped .270 since. If he could hit in the .280s, that would go a long way for Detroit.


Royals 5 Key Stats:

5.54: Kansas City’s bullpen ERA: The Royals have traditionally had an excellent bullpen, but the unit has gotten off to a slow start. The mark is currently 13th in the league. Jaquan Chassagne is the biggest culprit thus far with a 19.29 ERA.

.350: Kansas City’s BABIP: The Royals BABIP, like its bullpen ERA, ranks 13th in the AL. Kansas City has also committed four errors and has a poor defensive efficiency of .641. The team’s Zone Rating is actually positive, so it’s mostly a case of hitters hitting the ball where defenders aren’t.

-1.1: Jonathan Bakos’ Zone Rating: While Kansas City’s overall Zone Rating is positive, Bakos has really struggled in Left Field. Also, Jim Sattler is -0.8 in Right Field. Opponents have had success hitting the ball to the corners against Kansas City.

13: RBI’s for Jorge Vargas: Despite Kansas City playing the least amount of games in the AL, Vargas ranks second in AL RBI’s. He continues to be a fulcrum for the Kansas City offense, and his eighth-inning three-run home run on Sunday gave the Royals a win in their last at-bat.

7: Walks for Harland Guenette: Always known for good plate control, he’s taking it to new extremes this year. He has just two strikeouts to go with those seven walks. As a result of seeing the ball and controlling the strike zone so well, he leads the league with seven doubles. By walking and doubling so much, he’s been a terrific plate-setter batting ahead of Jorge Vargas.



Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Cox 2, you tried to trade Brice Turang in the past, now you have him starting at Second Base. He hasn’t produced so far this year. Will you try to upgrade your infield?

Raj Anu is on the bench right now for Dirty Tarin. Why have you decided Tarin over Anu?

You’re facing Dakota Hudson, an extreme ground baller. Will you try a lot of hit-and-run and put guys in motion against him today?

For Daniel Kent, your defense has struggled so far this year, though it appears to be isolated to your corner outfielders or defensive positioning. Any theories as to why you’ve struggled to record outs on defense so far?

Maikel Franco has struggled a bit so far. Are you concerned at all about the slow start?

Joey Young has hit well out of the gates. Has he provided what you thought he’d provide?


TRIVIA: Who is the only pitcher drafted with the first overall pick who has over 10 career Pitching WAR so far in their career?

[kcgm]

1. Your defense has struggled so far this year, though it appears to be isolated to your corner outfielders or defensive positioning. Any theories as to why you’ve struggled to record outs on defense so far?

Not sure, but i'm not too concerned yet. Sattler has a perfectly competent defensive track record; Bakos was fine last season and has the ratings to potentially be very good. I expected somewhat of a defensive decline in LF after moving on from the defensively excellent Grant Burton, but that's the only major change from last season's outfield. There's no way losing one corner outfielder can cause this extreme a drop-off. I've had other seasons where my defensive metrics have gotten off to very rough starts, and they've always evened out on their own over time. For now, I think it's probably just bad luck and an unlucky number of batted balls finding grass in a small sample size, but I'll be keeping an eye on it and will start to make some defensive changes if nothing improves over the next few sims.

2. Maikel Franco has struggled a bit so far. Are you concerned at all about the slow start?

A bit, only because he's 35 and 10 Ks with 0 BBs isn't ideal. But Franco has never been a great K to BB guy and it's still so early. I'm not going to worry just yet; for now, I'll likely just move him down in the lineup. But if Franco does continue to struggle and top 100 1B prospect Bryce Zettel impresses in AAA, he may be making his MLB debut a bit earlier than expected.

3. Joey Young has hit well out of the gates. Has he provided what you thought he’d provide?

Yup, I've been happy with Young. I'm optimistic about him performing as an above average defensive 2B and a 100-110 OPS+ type hitter with some pop who can hit 15-20 HRs and contribute to a productive lineup. That should shake out to a 3+ WAR player and above average starter at a premium defensive position like 2B. To start the season, his bat has been better than expected, but the defense worse than his metrics from the past few seasons. Overall, I'm not worried, defensive metrics mean very little in small samples. Like I said in my other answers: it's still so early; I want to see how things look after 20 or 30 games before I start considering big changes.

[Commissioner Erick]

Tigers 3 - Royals 2 (10)


WP: H. Crouse (1-0)
LP: R. Airhart (0-1)
SV: D. Heide (2)


The Detroit Tigers got a stellar performance from pitcher Griffin Canning, who handcuffed the Kansas City offense en route to a win, 3-2, at Kauffman Stadium. Detroit reliever Hans Crouse picked up the win, upping his record to 1-0. Roger Airhart absorbed the loss. The victory makes Detroit 4-6.

Daniel Brito, the two-time All-Star , had a direct impact on the outcome. Brito contributed a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the top of the tenth inning to put Detroit up, 3-2.

"Honestly, I'm not frustrated," said Kansas City manager Daniel Kent. "The effort was great."


Questions for the GMs:

For Steve Cox 2, the middle of your order is still struggling outside of Dalton. How do you feel about your output today?

Griffin Canning looked sharp against a really good lineup. Do you feel the old Griffin Canning is back?

Why did you go with Aleixo in the cleanup spot over Maggette?

For Daniel Kent, in the postgame interview you said "the effort was great." What about the effort did you appreciate?

You pinch hit Pai Khan for Harland Guenette late in the game, then had Khan play First Base with Franco moving to third. Did you agree with the decision making?

Dakota Hudson allowed four extra base hits in 6 innings, but he also only walked two hitters and got two big double plays. What did you think of his outing?


TRIVIA: Griffin Canning has only won two career games outside of playing with Detroit. What player homered in support of him in both of those wins?

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 2: Tim correctly guessed Joe DeCarlo

[TigersGM]

For Steve Cox 2, the middle of your order is still struggling outside of Dalton. How do you feel about your output today?

Griffin Canning looked sharp against a really good lineup. Do you feel the old Griffin Canning is back?

Why did you go with Aleixo in the cleanup spot over Maggette?

1) Better output. This is always a slow starting team. As to the lineup, game to game it bears little resembelence to the lineup I put in the game. I'm just a spectator when it comes to that.
2) I felt Canning would do well back in Detroit and I feel he was a good investment. He's a solid 4.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 1: Luke correctly guessed Hunter Greene