3 Things I Need To See Out Of The Detroit Tigers In The Second Half Of The Season

There have been many ups and downs, but in general, the Detroit Tigers are where I expected them to be. They have made things more intriguing than I expected, largely because the division is so terrible. I've watched every game, this Tigers team should not have a shot at winning anything, yet they find themselves only 5.5 games out of first. This team has been so inconsistent that I can't even think about that. I just want to see improvement. Here are three things I need to see out of the Tigers.

1- I need Spencer Torkelson to FINALLY turn a corner

Detroit's former number 1 overall pick has been better this season. The power numbers are up. He's reaching base at a higher clip and hitting the ball hard. Whenever I feel like a potential star is beginning to emerge, he has an 0-15 streak. I will feel so much better about the trajectory and future of the organization if Torkelson finally shows more consistency. His last 11 games have been fantastic. He's reached base at a .380 clip with an OPS of 1.062. That's a great eleven-game stretch. Now I need to see him sustain it for the rest of the month. If he does that, I'll finally feel good about Tork.

2- Please have a good trade deadline for once in your life

I don't believe this team can win this division right now. With that said, I am not in favor of unloading every good piece this team offers. Pitcher's in contract years like Jose Cisnero and Michael Lorenzen with surely garner some attention. Eduardo Rodriguez has pitched some of the best baseball of his career this year. He has an opt-out after this season, but he's still easily this team's most appealing trade chip. He might not be an ace, but he can pitch like one. Once you go beyond that, there's no one else who I would favor trading. But if you're going to unload, even just a little bit, please get a good return. I can't tell you how demoralizing it's been over the last several years knowing that Al Avila had the car keys and there was a 90% chance he would crash face-first into a wall. We're going to find out what Scott Harris is made of here. A reasonable trade deadline could make the future a lot brighter.

3- Come September, let's see what the kids are made of

Many fans are frustrated that pieces like Colt Keith, Justin Henry Malloy, and Parker Meadows haven't been called up yet. I understand the frustration, but Scott Harris wouldn't be keeping these guys down if he felt like there weren't things they needed to work on. Calling guys up is cool. Having those guys stay at the Major League level is even cooler. That's why I like September callups. There will be growing pains with all these young hitters, but at least we can gauge what next year's team might look like. Suppose you can get to the end of this year and confidently say that Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith, Kerry Carpenter etc. are all long terms pieces for this organization. In that case, the fan base will collectively breathe a lot easier. This is an organization that has struggled for years to develop big-league bats. We'll all feel better about the organization if we can reach the end of year one under Scott Harris and feel good about the hitting core. That would be an overwhelming success.