The MLB season is only around 40 games in, but there have been some serious surprises already. Perhaps the biggest shockerso far is the current standing of the Detroit Tigers: Last year's postseason darlings are currently 26-13, good for first place in the American League Central. They've dominated games to the tune of a +84 run differential, so this is far from a fluke.
Detroit's rotation has perhaps the best pitcher in the game, Tarik Skubal, at the top of it. But unlike last season, he's far from alone: Casey Mize and Reese Olson have been excellent alongside Skubal, while the lineup has been dominant in its own right thanks to resurgences from Spencer Torkelson and Javier Baez.
But with such a shocking start to the season, the media is going to overreact about some things. The fans are going to overreact, too. So let's try to separate fact from fiction about one of the best stories in baseball.
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Overreaction: Top prospect Jace Jung is a huge bust
The Tigers have gotten off to one of the best starts in the league. In fact, they're playing head and shoulders better than nearly anybody expected them to play. And they're doing so with one of their best prospects struggling tremendously.
Jace Jung is supposed to be a key contributor on this Tigers team, especially after missing out on Alex Bregman in free agency. Coming into the season, many expected him to find an everyday spot in the lineup as a middle-of-the-order bat. But that's not been the case to this point.
On the season, he's 4-for-40 with four singles, 13 strikeouts, and an OPS+ of 1. His season has been a disaster following a 2024 campaign in which he posted a negative WAR. At this point, there are people calling Jung a bust and suggesting the Tigers need to move forward without him.
But that's quite an overreaction for somebody who's just 24 years old. He still has plenty of time to find his way in the big leagues before we can begin throwing around the bust label. The young man hasn't even played a full season of big-league games yet, so it's not fair to decide what he is as a player just yet. If he continues to trend in this direction for multiple years, we can have a conversation, but for now, just be patient.
Overreaction: The Tigers are the best team in the American League
With the Tigers getting off to such a hot start, there are members of the media, but specifically Tigers fans and writers, claiming Detroit has the best team in the American League. At this point, it's hard to argue against it, but we're through just 25 percent of the season. A lot can change over the next 120 games, and it's hard to imagine the Tigers dominate like this for the entire season.
The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and even the Seattle Mariners have looked just as strong as the Tigers at times. Given the spending of teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, it's much more likely they add big-time talent at the trade deadline while the Tigers seem likely to take a safer approach.
At the end of the day, this isn't a knock on Detroit. They're very talented and one of the best teams in the league this season, but it feels like a bit of an overreaction to jump the gun and call them the best team in the AL already, especially since the Yankees went all the way to the World Series last season.
Overreaction: Jackson Jobe isn't as good as advertised
There are a lot of people ready to write off young righty Jackson Jobe, too. The righty has been one of the best prospects in baseball for the last few years and seemed to be ready for the big leagues this season, but as most younger pitchers do, he's struggled since being called up.
The righty has been a victim of the long ball and the walk in his short big-league career, but his game log and ERA don't look too bad. It's concerning that he's walked 15 batters compared to just 20 strikeouts on the season, but the righty is still 22 years old and he's way too young to jump the gun on. Jobe has immense talent and potential.
Not every pitching prospect is going to come up and do what Paul Skenes did. In fact, there's only one guy like Skenes. Jobe has a lot of talent; just because he's not dominating like Skenes doesn't mean he's not going to be as good as advertised. The media needs to stop jumping the gun on the young righty.