Can Detroit Tigers continue to win games as best American League team?
Detroit Tigers radio analyst Bobby Scales joins Days of Roar to break down the team’s formula for early success, plus Spencer Torkelson’s adjustments.
- The Detroit Tigers have the best record in MLB as of May 19, 2025.
- Several MLB power rankings place the Tigers at either first or second overall.
- Experts praise the Tigers’ strong run differential, pitching staff, and overall team performance.
The Detroit Tigers entered the week of May 19 with the best record in the MLB. But does that make them the best team in baseball?
That’s the question MLB experts are answering with this week’s power rankings, which all have the Tigers surging towards the top of their leaderboards. Including
It’s an unsurprising development surrounding the Tigers, who have won seven of their last nine series and sport the game’s second-best run differential at plus-87.
And as a hint, these experts are split on where exactly the Tigers should fall.
Here’s a roundup of this week’s MLB power rankings:
The USA TODAY bumps the Tigers up two spots from the previous week, but still has them below the first-place Dodgers.
How warranted is that placement? The 31-win Tigers are two games ahead of the Dodgers, lead their division by four more games than the Dodgers and have allowed 43 fewer runs than the Dodgers have.
Of course, the Dodgers are the defending World Series champions. So that probably counts for something.
The same logic goes for MLB.com’s latest power rankings, though the league’s site gives praise to the overall vibe in Detroit:
“No team, and no fanbase, in the entire sport is having more fun than the Tigers are right now. They were the first team to reach 30 wins this year, they have the best run differential in baseball and they are scoring like crazy.”
CBS’ Matt Snyder puts the Tigers at first place in their power rankings for the first time this season, heaping some strong praise without much room for interpretation:
“They have good starting pitching, a good bullpen, a good offense and a good defense in addition to having arguably the best manager in baseball. It isn’t smoke and mirrors. They are legitimately great and don’t have a glaring weakness. It could well be a special season in the Motor City.”
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter bumped up the Tigers from second to first place this week, also giving wholesale praise to the Tigers’ roster:
“While writing an article on each team’s biggest potential trade deadline needs last week, it was genuinely difficult to find a glaring hole on the Tigers roster, and that speaks to a team with legitimate World Series potential.”
The praise for the Tigers also extends to the statheads at FanGraphs, who put Detroit at the top of their power rankings:
“Who could have predicted they’d have the best record, the best run differential, and be tied for the largest division lead in baseball at this point in the season? The Javier Báez renaissance continues apace — he clubbed three home runs last week — and the pitching staff currently has the sixth-best park- and league-adjusted ERA in baseball.”
This isn’t to be confused with FanGraphs’ playoff odds, however, which gives the Tigers only an 8.5% chance of winning the World Series (second in the American League to the New York Yankees).
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
