The Detroit Tigers’ best players over the first two games of their weekend series were all rookies, and not the ones you would have expected.
The Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Friday, Aug. 14, thanks in part to a disastrous fourth inning on the mound from Jackson Jobe.
But one player you can’t fault in the loss is rookie outfielder Ben Malgeri, who swatted two home runs and drove in three runs, becoming the sixth Tiger this season to record a multi home run game.
“It feels great, personally,” Malgeri said postgame. “I obviously wish the outcome of the game was different. I just try to impact the game as much as I can and go out there and help the team win.”
Another standout rookie in Friday night was designated hitter Eduardo Valencia, who finished 2-for-4 with and RBI double in the third inning for a 3-1 lead.
Valencia was even better on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in a 4-3 loss to the White Sox, even showing his defensive prowess by throwing out speedster Sam Antonacci trying to steal second in the top of the ninth.
“I thought he did a pretty good job working through the game, which was a tough game to catch,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday. “There was traffic everywhere. There were guys on base. There’s huge moments where he’s trying to do everything right, and then he throws the runner out to keep the game where it was.”
But though Valencia was solid all-around, it was at the plate where he made his biggest contributions.
Eduardo Valencia showing off his power
In an admittedly small sample of 18 career games, Valencia has already shown game-breaking power for the Tigers (60-63), swatting six home runs and six doubles while sporting a 1.291 OPS, the highest of any MLB hitter with at least 50 plate appearances this season. His performance makes the decision to trade longtime catcher Jake Rogers more understandable, especially with Valencia bringing the Tigers needed production from the right side of the plate.
“He’s such a good threat,” said Hinch. “Not trying to do much early, gets the single with two outs, which was a huge pick-me-up, and then the pull-side homer … I think he did a great job on both sides and continues to contribute.”
Only one player in Tigers history has hit as many home runs as Valencia in his first 18 games according to Stathead: utility player Robert Fick, who stretched that accomplishment between the 1998 and 1999 seasons. That makes Valencia the only Tiger to ever do it in a single season, and one of three Tigers to record at least 12 extra-base hits in his first 18 career games.
With the Tigers in the middle of a pennant chase, this isn’t a late-season audition that Valencia is getting for future playing time. It’s role he needs to fill at the highest level. And he isn’t the only rookie suddenly providing high-end production.
Drew Sommers showing off impressive stuff
The team’s best pitcher Saturday was also technically a rookie, with lefty reliever Drew Sommers still retaining rookie status despite making his MLB debut in 2025.
Sommers faced a career-high nine batters Saturday and struck out four, arriving in the middle of the fifth inning and striking out left fielder Braden Montgomery and shortstop Colson Montgomery, both with Miguel Vargas on third base looking for Chicago’s fourth run.
Sommers looked even better in the sixth, getting the first two outs on five pitches and striking out Rogers to end the frame. And though he gave up two hits in the seventh, one on a ground-ball single from designated hitter Andrew Benintendi that scored Antonacci from second, Sommers got six outs on 27 pitches and looked like he belonged.
“I think [he had] maybe one or two mislocated pitches out of his entire day … Drew Sommers was incredible today,” Hinch said.
Though the game snapped Sommers’ streak of six straight outings without an earned run, it showed the extra gear he’s capable of, one the Tigers may need in this playoff chase.
Rookie stars still contributing
And then there are the rookie stars still contributing, the one Tigers fans have gotten to know all season (infielder Kevin McGonigle with his debut All-Star campaign) and the one who just came up (outfielder Max Clark, now the team’s primary center fielder).
Both are producing, with McGonigle entering Saturday with an American League-leading 5.6 Baseball Reference WAR, and Clark with an electric stretch to start his MLB career.
The Tigers hope the two form the pillars of a winning lineup for years to come. But as injuries to outfielders Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and James Outman have created more opportunities for other rookies, Malgeri, Valencia and even Sommers are demonstrating why they may also be part of the future.
“These opportunities come, they’ve gotta be earned, and certainly things have been moved around a little bit,” Hinch said. “During this good baseball that we’ve played for a couple of months, it hasn’t just been one or two [players]. There’s some guys that are more famous than others, but I like the fact that we’re getting something from different parts of this roster.”
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rookies have been Detroit Tigers best hitters in biggest series yet
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
