Bombas? In Detroit? Do the Twins Need to Be Ready?

[Nate Palmer]

The Detroit Tigers have started off 2020 hot. That start is in part to the credit of good starts from two former Twins. The question is, are the Tigers for real or is this no more than just a hot start?15.5%. That is the percentage of the Minnesota Twins 309 2019 home runs took their talents to Detroit. It did so in the form of 25 C.J. Cron home runs and 23 Jonathan Schoop home runs.

 

While neither helped the Twins much down the stretch of 2019 due to injury (Cron) and young stud Luis Arraez getting his chance and taking it (Schoop), there is no denying both did their share of Bomba launching for the club.

 

No matter what either did in 2019, there was the need to move on from both. Especially the minute Josh Donaldson entered the picture. Ironically enough, both ended up with “Twins East” in Detroit under the leadership of former Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire.

 

While the season is certainly young, both players and the Tigers are making waves across Major League Baseball. Entering Sunday, Schoop had hit three home runs and Cron two as the Tigers joined the Cubs in a tie for the fourth-most home runs with 15 total.

 

What is really the more surprising aspect of the Tigers performance is they are 5-5. Every pre-season projection had the Tigers and Royals very much on the outside looking in. The Tigers are doing their best to make those making those predictions look very wrong.

 

The duo of former Twins, alongside a glimmer of power resurgence from the former regular Triple-Crown candidate Miguel Cabrera (three home runs) and a beginning season surge from young outfielder JaCoby Jones (.379 avg and three home runs) has the Tigers taking the place of the Chicago White Sox in Central Division contention.

 

The real question remaining is will the Tigers be able to keep this performance level up? It wouldn’t be the first time a Gardenhire led team exceeded expectations. If Detroit does stick around the top of the Central the calls for the major league debut of top pitching prospect Casey Mize will certainly grow louder as well.

 

For now Gardenhire and the Tigers are looking good. The Twins have some time before facing off against the Tigers. At that point we will know better if this is one of the new battles for the division crown or a simple “Hi” to some old friends.

 

What we do know is Cron and Schoop have carried some of their 2019 into 2020 to begin the young season. So maybe, just maybe, once you are part of the Bomba Squad...always part of the Bomba Squad.

 

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[TouchEmAllGuy]

Both seemed like great guys. Wish them the best in Detroit! Same for Gardy

[Cap'n Piranha]

JaCoby Jones turned 28 in May--he's not exactly young.  He's had only one season with over a .400 SLG.  This year one third of his flyballs have turned into HR, which is not at all sustainable, nor is his .421 babip, given his barely 40% hard hit rate.

 

Cabrera's HR/FB rate is even higher at 42.9%, Schoop is making almost as much soft contact as hard contact (21.4 to 28.6), while Cron is actually making more soft contact than hard (41.2 to 35.3).  All of this is of course SSS, but none of it suggests the Tigers all the sudden have a lineup that's going to mash; if anything, they got lucky with multiple hitters running into homers all at the same time.

 

Despite this, the Tigers are still scoring less than 4 runs a game, and are 21st in the league in runs.  I'm in no way worried about the Fightin' Gardies.

[Doctor Gast]

Very happy for Gardy as well as for Cron & Scoop. Cabrera is a surprise, He has been a thorn in our flesh as well as former Twins but even so I`m not too concerned w/ them. Tigers are rated last even though they have a much better record than many ahead of them. Wish Gardy luck w/ his recycled Twins