A few weeks ago, if I’d told you that the Tigers and Guardians would meet in the playoffs, you’d probably have been skeptical. After all, Cleveland was nowhere near the playoffs.
And with Detroit in first place in the American, the Guardians would have to pass the best-of-second series.
But in the end, on the heels of Cleveland’s 15.5-game comeback, it was in Ohio that the series would come down to the wire. The Tigers escaped the division in a historic collapse and made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth.
How much momentum do the Guardians have? We’ll see in the next few days.
The pitchers
Tarik Skubal is probably the best pitcher in baseball. But behind him? Which pitchers will get the job done once Skubal leaves Tuesday’s #1 duel?
Jack Flaherty isn’t having a great season. Casey Mize isn’t bad, but is he a reliable starter? And what about the Tigers’ relievers, who have a 4.05 ERA this season?
Will Vest (closer) better be good…
Meanwhile, the Guardians have the third-best bullpen in the league this season… despite the loss of Emmanuel Clase, one of the best relievers in baseball. He’s on an enforced break from gambling and may never play in MLB again.
Cade Smith has really risen to the occasion. The Canadiens really are quite a player.
Gavin Williams, among the starters, is by far the club’s best starter this year. Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Slade Cecconi are also names to watch in the rotation, which is deeper than Detroit’s. But there’s no Skubal in Cleveland…
Position players
How can we overlook Jose Ramirez, who is without doubt the best position player in the series? On his own, he can make the difference for the Guardians, a club he adores.
Behind him, it’s not exactly the craziest forward in Major League Baseball. Kyle Manzardo is the only other player on the club to have produced more than 60 points this season, for example.
Still, the club has a leadoff hitter (Steven Kwan) who is excellent, and guys like Gabriel Arias and Bo Naylor who can stand out.
However, when it comes to forwards, let’s face it: the Tigers are better equipped than the Guardians. Riley Greene is well ahead of everyone else in the series with 111 points in 2025.
Spencer Torkelson was excellent in 2025 and Gleyber Torres was an important piece of the puzzle. Same goes for Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter, two guys who’ll have to make a difference for the club to score big and give the pitchers a cushion, which they’ll need.
Oh, and also: Javier Baez has been asleep for a few months after a strong first half of the season. Wake him up when september ends, as they say…
The managers
The Tigers have an excellent manager in AJ Hinch. From August 2024 to July 2025, he received a lot of credit for taking his team to another level. How much of the recent slump is his fault?
He has plenty of experience, including winning the World Series (under familiar circumstances…) in 2017 in Houston.
But even if he’s not as experienced, Stephen Vogt is also excellent. He should be (in my eyes) Manager of the Year for taking his Guardians to the playoffs in 2025, and the guys love him. He ably replaced Tito Francona in Cleveland, which was no small task.
This is his second year as manager. He played in the majors until 2022.
The imponderables
In 2024, the two clubs met in the playoffs. In a 3-of-5 tie, it was the Guardians who advanced to the next stage, the championship series. Will history repeat itself in a 2-of-3?
I also wonder how much the Guardians will miss Shane Bieber, traded to the Blue Jays at the deadline.
This content was created with the help of AI.
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