Despite the Tiger’s finishing with a winning record in July, Scott Harris has decided to go on a soft sell of some of their assets such as Andrew Chafin, Carson Kelly, and of course Jack Flaherty. Given the number of injuries the Tiger’s are already dealing, with this will most certainly send the team down the road of tanking the rest of the year and finishing well below .500. The only hope for the season is getting a much closer look at some of our younger talent. Here are 3 players to keep an eye on down the stretch as the Tigers conclude the rest of this season.

PARKER MEADOWS

Parker Meadows was penciled in as the Opening Day Center Fielder in Detroit. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily at the plate. He was hitting a lowly .077 against fastballs, averaging just a 84 mph exit velocity and had a K rate of nearly 38%. Meadows possesses blazing speed, elite play discipline, and top tier range in Center but ultimately his inability to hit finally became too much to bear and he was sent down to Toledo to pick up the pieces. Meadows has since then turned things around slashing .294/.392/.895 in Toledo. In addition, Meadows swiped 19 bags. After coming off the IL and a brief rehab stint back in Toledo, he will look to end the year strong picking up where he left off after a Cincinnati Reds series where he homered in his second at-bat back.

JUSTYN HENRY-MALLOY

Justin Henry Malloy was amongst the first players acquired by Scott Harris when he took over the President of Baseball Operations job in Detroit. After a strong first year in AAA, he was brought up due to an injury to Kerry Carpenter. Malloy has shown flashes of power that the Tigers have direly needed. He is currently ranked 5th on the team in homeruns with 7 in just 43 games. He appears to be apart of the Tiger’s future core, but he will need to be more consistent at the plate and cut down on his strikeouts. He currently has a K-rate of 35%. Malloy’s plate discipline should assist with that adjustment. He ranks in the 90th percentile range of pitches chased out of the zone. The biggest adjustment may come from getting adapting to higher velocity fastballs, which he is hitting just .191 against. Exceling at the plate will be imperative because, although he has made spot starts in the outfield, he is best suited at DH making him less valuable in that regard.

Justyn-Henry Malloy launches a 2-run homer to left, giving the Tigers an early 2-0 lead! #RepDetroit pic.twitter.com/jetPjno3Ki

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) July 22, 2024

WENCEEL PEREZ

Perez is a 24-year-old player who entered the organization as an infielder but has since then found his way as an outfielder playing all three positions. He was called up to the Parent Club the second week in April due to injuries.  He got off to a hot start with a slash line of .301/.377/.527/ .904 OPS. Putting him in early season talks of Rookie of the year. He has since then come back to earth a bit, hitting very streaky over the next couple months. He has a slash line of just .204/.252/.370 over his last 30 games. Perez has still provided solid defense and has brought energy to an offense that has struggled most of the year. With a major log jam at the outfield position that already includes the likes of Matt Vierling, Kerry Carpenter, and Riley Greene to name a few, it will be important for him to establish a role at bare minimum as a reserve outfielder. Given his youth, speed, versatility and switch-hitting ability he could be a solid trade piece in the winter if the Tigers decide there’s no room for him in the congested outfield.

Wenceel Pérez – Detroit Tigers (8)
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— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) July 30, 2024