Tigers climb the ranks while preparing to welcome their ace back

Tigers climb the ranks while preparing to welcome their ace back originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Detroit Tigers had a lot of momentum coming into the 2026 season. They held onto their ace, Tarik Skubal, and added some insurance to the rotation by signing Framber Valdez. 

They had arguably the best left-handed one-two punch in the league, but that didn’t last too long. Skubal felt some discomfort after his late-April start against the Atlanta Braves that would spell disaster. 

The discomfort was ruled to be loose bodies in his elbow that required surgery to clear them out. He’s been on the IL since May 3, which was a huge blow to the club. 

MORE: Tigers likely to make beloved pitcher available for trade unless they get sentimental

Tigers climb the ranks while preparing to welcome their ace back

It’s been a rough month for Detroit, but they have seemingly figured it out this past week. They had a three-game sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays on the road, then won the series 2-1 against the Seattle Mariners. 

While Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter tagged them as the worst team in baseball last week, he has bumped them up a few spots in his latest power ranking piece to No. 26. 

“A week after bottoming out in the No. 30 spot, the Tigers looked like a different team with a pair of impressive series wins, and it might not be too long before ace Tarik Skubal is back in the mix. The two-time Cy Young winner made his first rehab start at High-A West Michigan on Sunday and tossed five scoreless innings with six strikeouts.”

A couple of series wins, and Skubal starting his rehab assignment should have Detroit fans jumping for joy. Now, they just have to keep their fingers crossed that the elite lefty doesn’t experience any setbacks.

If he doesn’t, this could certainly be a brand new team and one that could wind up fighting for a division championship toward the end of the season. 

More MLB news: