Why the Detroit Tigers are a Team to Watch in the 2024 MLB Playoffs

The MLB season has finally come to a close and with the playoffs beginning today, there is a surprise team that the Yankees and all of the American League should look out for. The Detroit Tigers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball since trading starting pitcher Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline, with the young squad being able to push into the playoffs, they should be expected to create chaos for their Wild Card matchup, the Houston Astros. Houston comes into the matchup as the clear favorite, but the Tigers are going to show everyone in game one why they are going to be a tough out for any team in the playoffs. Every game that triple crown-winning, Tarik Skubal starts in, the Tigers have the clear advantage and will be in the game until the end. Houston will not be able to hold off the young lefty and will fall 1-0 in the series against the Tigers. The key for the Detroit Lineup will be to work the count on the Astros starting pitchers and get into the Houston bullpen early and often throughout the series. The Tigers resemble a lot of the Arizona Diamondbacks from last year who made it to the World Series with one great starter, a solid bullpen, and a young lineup with a lot of life to it. The Tigers do not have the names in the middle of the order, but as we have seen with the Atlanta Braves in 2021 winning without Acuna due to injury, and the Washington Nationals in 2019 winning after losing Harper in free agency, names don't matter. It's baseball, get hot at the right time and anything can happen. How does this affect the American League's number-one seed, the New York Yankees? Well, the Yankees wouldn't have to face the Tigers until a potential ALCS showdown, which would be very scary for a team like the Yankees who have no bullpen and shaky starting pitching, to say the least. The Yankees facing the Tigers in the ALCS would mean that the Tigers would in fact be the hottest team in baseball and may be on one of those magical runs. Having to face Skubal twice, and potentially a third time in one series would be devastating to a Yankees lineup that lacks significant production outside of anyone not named Juan Soto or Aaron Judge. Does Houston have what it takes to become a significant threat to the top American League teams? Tarik Skubal does and when he shuts down the Astros in game one and it leads to a victory the pressure will be on Houston, and the Tigers will be playing free baseball with a one-game advantage for the rest of the series. Watch out for the Detroit Tigers, they might just surprise you.