Detroit Tigers Fantasy Baseball Team Preview 2019

Detroit Tigers 2019 Fantasy Projections – Missing Pieces In Motown

Detroit fans often refer to their beloved team as the Motor City Kitties. However, much too much like their Motown football counterparts, the Lions, the Tigers are seemingly stuck in the mode of underachiever. What that means is that Motown is in rebuild, and the process seems to be going a lot slower than anticipated.

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Detroit Tigers 2018 Recap

Without any doubt, the Detroit Tigers are in rebuilding mode. The Motor City Kitties will be lucky to navigate their way out of the Central Division cellar. The outdistanced the White Sox and Royals for that dubious honor in 2018, but by only a handful of games.

Last season began without a great deal of hope. There isn't a namesake bat like in recent seasons, and the Tiger's pitching staff didn't have a viable number one starter. In fact, their best arms might not warrant a top-three rotation spot on most rosters.

The results of 2018 were therefore no surprise. Detroit avoided being making it a trifecta of 100-loss teams in the AL Central, but barely. Avoidance of hitting the century mark in losses by two games is nothing to write home about. It was that kind of summer in Motown, morbid.

2019 Fantasy Pitchers Projections – The Best of the Motor City Kitty Pitchers

Detroit fell in the middle of the league for overall pitching stats. That may have been in no small part because they played a bunch of games against the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox. When faced with good hitting teams, the Tigers staff failed miserably.

They handed out the fourth most home runs to the opposition, and the eighth most runs. The only saving grace for Detroit fantasy pitching would be they don't walk a lot of hitters. Maybe that's because they are getting hit long before they serve four balls. Only young Michael Fulmer should perk much fantasy interest, unless someone decides to overachieve.

Michael Fulmer SP – Since a rather promising 2016 campaign where he won 11 games and posted a stellar 3.09 ERA, Fulmer has disappointed. On a brighter side, he has consistently given up fewer hits than the innings he has pitched, and his WHIP doesn't seem to match his abysmal won/loss record the last two years.

His strikeout numbers are okay at best, and the fact that he is the Tigers number one listed starter can't be overlooked. It doesn't mean he warrants number one fantasy starter status, but it does mean he'll see the opposition's ace on a frequent basis.

2019 Fantasy Hitter Projections – The Best Bats in Motown

Detroit fell in the bottom-third of baseball in overall hitting statistics. For fantasy purposes, they were 28th in home runs and 21st in stolen bases. In other words, there aren't many viable bats in Motown to hang your fantasy hat on in 2019.

Jacoby Jones is mentioned as a potentially good hitter, but he's not there yet. Jones is set to hit as low as 8th in a weak Tiger's lineup. Jeimer Candelario will play third base in Detroit, now that Nick Castellanos has been permanently shifted to right field. However, other than Castellanos, there isn't a bat in Motown that isn't going to be a flier.

Nick Castellanos OF – For a period, Castellanos's stock was given a boost by dual-position eligibility. He no longer can fill the third base slot, so he is now a fantasy outfielder in a crowded fantasy outfield. He hits for a respectable average, but will have to overachieve to reach 30 home runs. On a team that struggles to score runs, 100 RBIs may difficult as well.

Christin Stewart OF – Stewart earns a mention as one of the best bats in Motown strictly on minor league potential. He has showed flashes of power, but like Castellanos he will have a difficult time amassing RBI numbers on a weak offense. He has a middling slugging percentage, but did 30 long balls split between two levels in 2016.

Fantasy Rank for the Detroit Tigers

Detroit may not have the worst stock of potential fantasy players, but like their statistics clearly indicate, they are not far from the bottom. They lack much punch in their lineup other than Castellanos, and will have a hard time pushing runs across the plate. Their pitching staff does not have an ace, and simply do not have anyone worthy of much more than a fantasy flier.

Overall: 50
Pitchers: 50
Hitters: 50

The Bottom Line in Motown

Detroit is clearly trying to rebuild. Miguel Cabrera is still a fan favorite in Motown, and the Tigers have a couple of intriguing young prospects. The fact still remains that they are probably going to fall far out of the playoff picture and fast. That means no one should be surprised if Detroit becomes sellers very early on. The days of World Series contention are but memories in Motown, as the current projection is rather morbid.