The Detroit Tigers took their team photo about four hours before their 6:40 p.m. ET start time for their game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park on Tuesday, Sept. 8, wearing pristine white home jerseys shining with clear skies above them.
Featured in that team photo are several rookies, which isn’t unusual for any MLB team, especially after September roster expansions. What is unusual is the role those rookies are playing for a Tigers team that is still technically in the postseason race.
Over half of Detroit’s starting lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins was made up of rookies, four of whom did not start the season on the active roster. It’s indicative of the where the Tigers have ended up with just 17 games left in the season.
But with the Tigers still alive in the postseason race (albeit with a 0.1% chance to get a playoff spot per the latest odds from FanGraphs), should Tigers manager A.J. Hinch keep playing the youngsters?
Right now his answer is yes, even when it means veterans see more time on the bench.
“We’ve been very open with [how] we’re going to clear some paths for some young players and they get their opportunities as well. So I let them know that it was going to be a little different,” Hinch said.
This isn’t a late-season phenomenon, either. Nine rookies have gotten plate appearances for the Tigers this season, which is tied for second most in MLB entering Tuesday’s game (the 60-85 San Francisco Giants are the only team with more at 10). Two of them came into the season as top-ranked prospects (McGonigle and Clark) and could serve as franchise cornerstones for years to come.
The rest? We’ll see.
But it isn’t like the rookies are playing like typical rookies. The Tigers have gotten the second-most FanGraphs WAR from rookie position players this season (6.4) among all MLB teams, behind only the upstart Chicago White Sox (9.5). For Hinch, getting these players on the field is often a strategically sound decision, especially with five of those seven rookies (Valencia, McGonigle, Malgeri, Clark and Lee) currently sporting an above-average wRC+.
“Some of those young players are the best, so it’s not like we’re conceding and we don’t believe that they can do it,” Hinch said.
That’s the interesting part of the conundrum that Hinch faces. The Tigers’ best chance at a playoff spot is through the wilc-card chase, where the Tigers are 6½ games back with 17 games to play and six teams to hop (hence that 0.1% chance). Because that chance remains, Hinch isn’t saying his team is out of the race – but he also wants to be realistic about how to best use the remaining time the Tigers have.
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That will mean less playing time for veterans like Gleyber Torres, Zach McKinstry, Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson going forward. That may be the smart move regardless of where the Tigers are in the standings (especially with vets like Torkelson and McKinstry producing less effectively in 2026 than they did in 2025), and according to Hinch, it’s the direction that everyone on the roster understands.
“All the guys are on board,” he said. “It’s clearly an indication of trying to use our reps the best we can, and also there have been some struggles to address. So not necessarily the easiest conversations, but just trying to be very direct.”
Tigers starter Jack Flaherty will throw a bullpen session on Wednesday, Sept. 9, as he attempts to return from a right flexor tendon injury he suffered against the Chicago Cubs on July 20. That could mean Flaherty returns before the end of the regular season, but the Tigers haven’t committed to a timeline for the righty.
“We don’t have a plan yet until we get through the bullpen tomorrow,” Hinch said.
Flaherty pitched in a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Sunday, Sept. 6, allowing one hit and walking one batter over 1⅓ innings. Hinch said that Flaherty’s next game would be another minor league rehab start if all goes well with the bullpen.
The righty is on the last season of a two-year deal he signed with the Tigers ahead of the 2025 season. He has gone 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA for the Tigers over 86⅓ innings in 2026.
Tigers minor league starter River Ryan has been activated from the 7-day injured list and will start in Tuesday’s game for Toledo against the Iowa Cubs, per Baseball America’s Emily Waldon. It will be Ryan’s first start as a member of the Tigers organization.
The Tigers acquired the right-handed Ryan, 28, in the trade that sent lefty ace Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is listed as the team’s No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rookies over vets? Tigers’ A.J. Hinch explains reliance on young guys
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