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Doug, Gator, Khang and Kenny give their season predictions for the 2026 Detroit Tigers.
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00:00If you know, you know, Gator and I during the commercial break on Spotify, we play the
00:06opening theme and the closing theme to this week in baseball.
00:11Trends old Bigby would yell at us.
00:13Carson Anderson, 97, one to take it.
00:15We're going to break a couple of Bigby rules today because we're going to mix in some college
00:20hockey talk as well.
00:21Michigan State taking on UConn today.
00:23I didn't realize that game started when you're still on the air.
00:25Yeah.
00:26One 30.
00:27So you got that follow that up.
00:29And one and done college hockey.
00:30That postseason is intense, man.
00:33But we got that fall by Tiger baseball.
00:35Then March Madness restarts again tonight.
00:38It's a good day.
00:39Good day.
00:39Fun day.
00:40Tiger predictions for the coming season.
00:42All right, Scott, I'm going with 89 wins and two more wins than last year.
00:48And I think there are some things that, you know, scare me a little bit.
00:52But I'll tell you what.
00:54I think the Tigers have potential to have something that will be the best in baseball.
01:00Potential.
01:01And I am looking very, very closely.
01:03And I'll pay close attention.
01:05Because I don't think it gets nearly enough talk ever, quite frankly, until it lets you down.
01:13I think the Tigers have potentially have the best bullpen in baseball.
01:18And, you know, it's dependent on a few things.
01:21But one of them, the two pitchers that were in Korea last year have been lights out this spring.
01:29Drew Anderson has pitched 13 innings, given him nine hits, struck out 17, and has one earned run.
01:37Emmanuel DeJesus, nine innings, no earned runs.
01:40He pitched seven innings in the World Baseball Classic.
01:43Seven innings in the World Baseball Classic, three hits, 11 strikeouts, no earned runs.
01:49Those two, now I don't think they're going to be that good.
01:53But I think it's indicative of two guys that could actually be pretty helpful.
01:57You got Holton, who found his form late last year.
01:59You got Will Vest, who's been great.
02:01And really, it probably comes down to Kenley Jensen.
02:04In the back end of the bullpen, if he's as good as he can possibly be,
02:08like if he recaptures a bit of form, not even recaptures,
02:11but I mean, if he hasn't had a serious decline and his whiff rate is down a little bit,
02:17so I'm talking about serious decline, I think they have best bullpen in baseball potential.
02:22So I got the Tigers with 89 wins, and one of the biggest reasons why is best bullpen in baseball
02:30potential.
02:31What do you got?
02:33I would say 91 wins and a little more chesty.
02:36I think it's because the starting rotation more so than the bullpen.
02:39I like the bullpen.
02:40I don't think they're the best bullpen in baseball.
02:42In fact, I think that that's the area that when we get to the trade deadline,
02:45they're going to try to improve on.
02:47Best bullpen in baseball potential.
02:50And I think that that's the area that they're going to add to,
02:53not because it's bad, but because why not make it strong?
02:56Everybody's looking for bullpen arms.
02:57I can see the Tigers going for like, okay, now they're going to go for the best bullpen arm that's
03:02out there.
03:02I think that their rotation is outstanding.
03:06I mean, best one-two combo in baseball maybe,
03:11because obviously you have school balls, so you already have number one,
03:13and Pittsburgh does not have a number two for skeins that's like for Amber Valdez,
03:18but I mean, this duo should be freaking great.
03:23And as long as the other guys can hold serve in two out of three starts,
03:26just be good in two out of three starts, this team's going to win a lot of games.
03:30I think the offense, people are apprehensive to embrace it just yet,
03:33and I get it, right?
03:35We saw what happened last year in the second half of the season when it totally collapsed.
03:39But this is the first half.
03:41This is the part where people are healthy, and we saw some guys have some decent springs,
03:47and veteran players having good springs I think is more indicative than, say,
03:51guys that are just in the first couple years of their career.
03:53But I like to see that.
03:55We have McGonagall coming up with this team and playing from day one,
04:00which I think adds some other internal excitement there,
04:03and the way he approaches at-bats is fantastic.
04:07I like this team a lot.
04:09I think defensively they're good, and they have so much versatility to do whatever the hell
04:15they want to do with a lineup and also the flexibility to move guys all over the place
04:20in the field.
04:23It's not just the outfield.
04:24It's not just the infield.
04:24It's both.
04:25And I really like how this team is put together.
04:29I don't think they're the best team in baseball.
04:31I think they're the best team in the division, and I think they're going to feast on the division again,
04:37and I think they're going to beat other teams in the league.
04:39So I like 91 games.
04:41Okay.
04:43Kang, how many wins do you think they have this year and why?
04:46I'm right in between you guys.
04:47I've got 90, and I really like your thoughts on the bullpen.
04:50They do have the ability, I think, to be one of the best bullpens in the league.
04:55The hitting, you're right, Gator.
04:56I am very skeptical of that.
04:58But I think McGonagall coming up, and I don't want to put too much pressure on the young guy,
05:02but I think that baseball is about timely hitting.
05:04So not necessarily he's just going to rake day one,
05:06but I think you have another bat in the lineup that can get that timely hit that you need,
05:10because I think the pitching is going to carry this team.
05:13Obviously, we've got the two guys up top in the starting rotation that you can count on,
05:16but then when you get to the bullpen, like I said,
05:18I really think they have the ability to be one of the shutdown bullpens in Major League Baseball.
05:22But the biggest reason, or one of the bigger reasons I think they win 90 games this year
05:25is I just don't believe in the rest of the division.
05:28They have three teams in this division that are bottom third
05:31in payroll.
05:33Like, this is capitalized.
05:34You actually spent some money.
05:35You have some players.
05:37This is the year to win the division handily.
05:39Not like, you know, last year where you blew that lead,
05:41but win it this year.
05:43And 90 wins, I think, is very, very, you know,
05:47more than acceptable.
05:48I think that's very reachable.
05:49So I got 90 wins.
05:50All right, there we go.
05:512, 4, 8, 5, 3, 9, 97, 97.
05:53Kenny, are you ready with your prediction?
05:55You want to hold off for a bit?
05:56Are you ready?
05:56I got one.
05:57All right, here we go.
05:58I got 87 wins.
06:00I agree with what Gator said.
06:02I'm a little bit apprehensive about the hitting.
06:04I think this is a terrible division.
06:05And by the way, this isn't me being a negative Nancy,
06:07because if they did win 90, 91,
06:09the way that you guys are kind of leaning,
06:11I wouldn't be shocked at all.
06:13Yeah.
06:14All right, we got our reasons.
06:15Want to know what your reasons are?
06:18How many wins?
06:1981 and 81 is 500.
06:21The most in baseball last year was 96.
06:24Last year, the Tigers won 87.
06:26How many wins this year?
06:28When you double-checked that to see who had the most wins last year,
06:31were you surprised it was, A, only 96,
06:34and two, that was Philly and not the Dodgers?
06:36Both, both.
06:36Yep.
06:37When you said that, I was like, wow,
06:38the Dodgers didn't win like 125 games last year.
06:42No, they didn't.
06:42Or at least 100.
06:43I mean, 100 is a great benchmark to hit,
06:45and nobody hit it last year.
06:46Yeah, it's funny because, I mean, it was only last year,
06:49but you kind of forget as to what, you know,
06:52the numbers actually were.
06:54I mean, the most wins in the American League were 94.
06:58Toronto and the Yankees both had 94.
07:00Most wins in baseball, Philly had 96.
07:01The Dodgers went 93 and 69.
07:04So, 2-4-8.
07:06Actually, my apologies.
07:07Most wins in baseball went to Milwaukee.
07:08Milwaukee had 97.
07:09My bad.
07:10Wow.
07:11Yeah.
07:11That really surprises me.
07:13But what do you got?
07:13Here we go.
07:14Steve in Hartland.
07:15You're on 97.1.
07:16Hi, Steve.
07:17Hey, good morning.
07:18As soon as you asked the question, Doug, I called.
07:21Yeah, I did.
07:22And I guess the theme is kind of parallel
07:24in what all you guys are saying.
07:26I got them at 90, and the reason why is you said why.
07:30Well, I think they've improved,
07:32even though we don't have Olsen this year.
07:34They're starting pitching.
07:36We'll keep them in.
07:38And also, what I think Gator was saying,
07:41the relief pitching, that one guy they picked up,
07:44and not only Will Vest,
07:47but that other individual,
07:50it's going to really help the starting pitcher,
07:53if any of these guys struggle a little bit,
07:55with middle relief and late relief pitching,
07:57and I think their hitting will be adequate.
07:59And that's why I got the 90.
08:02Are you talking about Finnegan,
08:03or are you talking about somebody
08:04who picked up this offseason?
08:06Yeah, didn't they sign?
08:08They picked up Kenley Jansen, who they picked up.
08:11Yeah, yeah.
08:12He's pretty decent, isn't he?
08:13Yeah.
08:14He's been great throughout his career, yeah.
08:15He actually had a pretty good year last year,
08:17but his strikeout rate has gone down considerably.
08:19Yeah, but he's still got swing and miss potential,
08:22but he's kind of the key guy, right?
08:25I mean, is he going to be able to be the lockdown guy
08:27at the back end of the bullpen?
08:28Just because you aren't as good as you once were
08:30doesn't mean you still can't be an asset to this team.
08:32Right.
08:32And my last comment is the thing I'm also thinking about
08:36is not only do I think the starting pitching
08:39will be more than adequate for no long losing streaks,
08:43so to speak, and with that relief pitching
08:46and how many victories they had last year,
08:49I got them at 90.
08:50I wouldn't be surprised if they went past 90 a little bit
08:53to 92, you know, 93.
08:56It wouldn't surprise me one bit,
08:58but as long as they get enough hitting
09:00because the pitching will keep them in that game,
09:03and I believe pitching is the key to baseball.
09:06Thank you, Steve.
09:072-4-8-5-3-9-97-97, your Tiger season predictions.
09:11Cody is next on 97.1.
09:13Hi, Cody.
09:14Hey, how you doing, guys?
09:15What's up?
09:17Hey, so to be honest with you,
09:19I was initially thinking 90.
09:21I thought I'm not going to go with such an even number.
09:23I can go 91.
09:24Well, you guys want 90 and 91,
09:25so I'm going to bump it up to 92.
09:29I just think that Scooble-Valdez combo
09:32is just going to be deadly.
09:34And then call me a little bit of a nostalgic homer.
09:36I think JV turns back the clock a little bit.
09:40I think he's going to be juiced to be back in Detroit.
09:43And then we've got McGonagall.
09:45I mean, you know, we're hoping at least top three
09:48finalists for rookie of the year.
09:50I think he's going to give us some more offensive capability.
09:54I sure hope so.
09:55I think we're going to see him on base a lot.
09:57I mean, that's his M.O., is that he gets on base.
09:59Whether he's doing it with a hit or drawing a walk,
10:02you'll see him on base.
10:04And hopefully that means that he's coming across
10:05and scoring a bunch of runs.
10:07I'm curious to see throughout the season
10:09where he is in the lineup.
10:11I imagine that he'll start somewhere in the bottom third
10:14of the lineup.
10:14And then, you know, by midway through the year,
10:17has he been moved up to the top in the lineup,
10:19to one or two?
10:21We'll see.
10:21But there are a lot of high hopes for him for sure.
10:24And with Justin Verlander, I mean, he's got his moments.
10:27Last year in the second half of the season,
10:29he did find the fountain of youth.
10:31He was great in the second half of the season last year.
10:33Will he be that way to start the year?
10:36It'd be nice.
10:37I don't know if I expect him right away.
10:39I think he was working on some things in spring training.
10:43His fastball velocity was a little bit erratic.
10:47It was up, it was down, it was up, it was down.
10:49And he gave up a massive amount of home runs in the spring.
10:53They were all solo shots,
10:54but I think he gave up like six or seven home runs.
10:57But again, you're working on stuff in spring training.
11:00I hope that he can hit the ground running.
11:01Get your Tiger season predictions in for 2026.
11:05Number of wins and why you think they will settle in
11:08at that number.
11:09248-539-9797.
11:11More of your phone calls and feedback coming up.
11:12It's our Tiger season prediction show.
11:15We do have a lot of basketball we'll get to
11:16as the day goes up.
11:17We're actually open with Piston Talk.
11:19But it is open mind, so anything on your mind,
11:21fair game here on Carson Anderson on 97.1.
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