3 Tigers overreactions after ugly start to season

The 2026 MLB season is underway, and the buzz in Detroit is palpable. Following a bumpy opening week that saw the Detroit Tigers drop early series to the Padres and Diamondbacks, the team’s offense has been the glaring issue. Sitting at 3-4, the pitching staff has largely held up its end of the bargain, but the bats have been alarmingly quiet.

When a team stumbles offensively, the spotlight immediately turns to its core. Right now, that spotlight is burning brightly on Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, and Riley Greene. The trio has combined for just one home run through the first week of April, prompting talk-radio meltdowns. But when expectations are high, early-season narratives can easily spiral out of control.

Let’s take a step back, look at the underlying realities, and break down three massive overreactions to the early struggles of Detroit’s premier hitters.

Spencer Torkelson is reverting to his early-career struggles and will never be a consistent run producer

It has been an undeniably brutal opening week for the Tigers’ first baseman. Through his first 28 at-bats of 2026, Torkelson is slashing a paltry .125/.192/.167. He has failed to hit a home run, driven in only three runs, and looks visually out of sync at the plate, repeatedly chasing breaking pitches he normally leaves alone.

Because of Torkelson’s highly publicized demotions to Triple-A Toledo in both 2022 and 2024, the fanbase is conditioned to expect the worst the moment he goes into a slump. Calling for his job in the first week of April is a monumental overreaction that completely ignores his recent track record.

​This is a hitter who blasted 31 home runs in 2023 and matched that exact total again last year in 2025. Torkelson has cemented himself as a legitimate middle-of-the-order power threat in the American League. Historically, power hitters are often the last guys to find their timing in the spring. Right now, Torkelson is simply missing the barrel. A player doesn’t suddenly lose 30-homer pop over the winter. Give him 50 more plate appearances to lock in his timing mechanism before writing the eulogy on his bat.

Kerry Carpenter’s production was a mirage, and he belongs in a strict platoon role

After being a reliable source of power over the last few seasons, Kerry Carpenter has looked lost. Entering the weekend, he is hitting just .160 with a .276 on-base percentage across 27 at-bats. While he does have the team’s only home run from this trio, his double-digit strikeouts have the critics circling.

When a former late-round draft pick breaks out, there is always a lingering skepticism that the clock will strike midnight. Fans are already clamoring for A.J. Hinch to dramatically reduce his playing time and drop him down the lineup.

​This reaction ignores the massive leaps Carpenter has made in his approach. In 2024, he posted a staggering .932 OPS, and last year he hit 26 home runs over 130 games. Pitchers have undoubtedly adjusted to him entering 2026, feeding him a steady diet of off-speed pitches to test his discipline. Right now, he is swinging through pitches he normally punishes. Carpenter has continuously proven his ability to adapt to Major League sequencing. His elite slugging percentage over the past three years isn’t a fluke; it’s a testament to exceptional raw strength. He needs everyday at-bats to make counter-adjustments, not a spot on the bench.

Riley Greene lacks the sheer power to be a true franchise cornerstone

The reigning Silver Slugger winner has not looked like himself. Greene is currently sitting on a .226 batting average through 31 at-bats. More concerning to the panic-stricken fans is the absolute zero in the home run column. The dynamic, extra-base authority that defined his 2025 campaign has been completely absent.

Because Greene is seen as the main player for the team, a slow week is treated as a major problem. The idea that he lacks elite power, based only on not hitting a home run in seven games, is a very limited view.

​Greene hit 24 home runs in 2024 and won a Silver Slugger last season. He is currently sporting a .314 OBP, meaning he is still finding ways to get on base even when his swing isn’t perfectly dialed in. The lack of early home runs is purely a matter of launch angle right now. Greene is hitting the ball hard, but he is beating it into the ground or lining it right at defenders. The quality of his at-bats remains incredibly high, and his plate discipline is intact. The slugging numbers will inevitably climb.

It is only the first week of April. Baseball is a game of massive sample sizes, and drawing definitive conclusions from 30 plate appearances is a surefire way to look foolish by the All-Star break. The Tigers’ offense needs to wake up, but the proven track records of Torkelson, Carpenter, and Greene suggest that this early-season freeze is nothing more than a temporary slump.

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