KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eric Haase grew up watching Miguel Cabrera.
These days, Haase is getting an inside look at Cabrera’s chase for 3,000 hits. He watched his idol track down 500 home runs last season, accomplishing the feat in August at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
“He’s just been so consistent and so good for so long,” said Haase, who graduated from Dearborn Divine Child in 2011, three years after Cabrera arrived to the Detroit Tigers from the Florida Marlins.
“It feels almost like he has more than 3,000 hits already, which is crazy. But with Miggy, it’s all in a day’s work. It’s coming to the ballpark and getting a couple of hits. He’s done it for 20-plus years now.”
MIGGY SEZ:Cabrera on 3,000 hits: ‘Just don’t try to put pressure on myself and go from there’
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Cabrera, a 20-year MLB veteran, is hitting .276 (8-for-29) with two doubles, three RBIs, three walks and eight strikeouts in nine games this season. He is five hits from 3,000 and one double from 600.
The Tigers return to Comerica Park on Tuesday to begin a six-game homestand against the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies.
Once Cabrera, a former two-time MVP, notches those milestones, he will join two other players to accomplish 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles: Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols. Cabrera has a career .310 batting average and 502 homers.
“He might not be the guy that’s going to hit 40 homers anymore, but he’s still extremely dangerous at the plate,” Haase said. “I mean, who else would you want out there with guys in scoring position. He’s been fantastic. When Miggy goes, we all go.”
The Tigers played three of four scheduled games against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, where Cabrera is a .317 hitter in 111 games. The Tigers won the first two games — Thursday and Friday — but lost Saturday’s game. Sunday’s series finale was postponed until July due to rain.
Cabrera went 3-for-4 in Thursday, 1-for-4 with a double Friday and 0-for-3 with a walk Saturday.
“I’m just trying to focus on every at-bat, every pitch,” Cabrera said after Thursday’s win. “Just don’t try to put pressure on myself and go from there. Just go out and make something happen.”
As Cabrera chased 500 home runs last season, the 39-year-old often discussed the pressure of hitting a home run. After all, he has 502 home runs in 9,654 career at-bats, compared to 2,995 hits.
Home runs simply don’t happen as often.
This time, with 3,000 hits on the horizon, Cabrera doesn’t appear stressed.
“When you’re chasing a homer,” Haase said, “and you’re really trying to hurt the ball, you’re trying to make sure you’re getting balls in the air. With hits, I mean, that’s just what he does. It looks effortless, no pressure at all. He’s been getting hit after hit.”
Soon, Cabrera will add another accolade to his Hall of Fame résumé.
“We’re sharing a clubhouse with the next all-time great,” Haase said.
Tork’s growth on full display
Spencer Torkelson continues to prove he belongs.
The 22-year-old rookie is hitting 6-for-25 (.240) with one double, two home runs, five RBIs, five walks and 10 strikeouts in nine games. Over the past five games, Torkelson boasts a .400 batting average.
He crushed a two-run home run in the seventh inning Friday against Royals starter Brad Keller. The second home run of his MLB career was the difference in the Tigers’ 2-1 victory.
“We needed it,” Torkelson said. “That’s why it felt so good.”
“A great way to stamp his arrival,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
All the focus is on Torkelson’s bat, but his defense deserves credit. His stretches and scoops at first base have paid off with runners trying to beat out infield singles. Third baseman Jeimer Candelario, for example, made three web gems in Saturday’s game, but without Torkelson as on the receiving end, the Tigers likely would not have executed all those plays.
The 2020 No. 1 overall pick is already worth one defensive run saved and has yet to make an error in his 67 chances.
“I think there’s an art,” Hinch said. “There’s more to first base than just, ‘Go over there and catch the ball.’ That’s probably too simplistic. How you position your feet, where you are on the bag and timing is very critical. Tork’s got a great feel for all of that.
“And then recognizing angles when guys are throwing the ball from different parts of the diamond. It sounds very simple, and we probably take it for granted when you’re around it all the time and seeing it every time.”
Torkelson has reached base safely in five consecutive games.
But his defense stands out, too.
“He’s pretty gifted over there at first,” Hinch said. “He has a chance to be above-average as a first baseman because of his timing, his athleticism and his comfort with all sorts of styles of throw. We’ve seen it on the field in the first 10 days.”
Something extra
• Two starting pitchers suffered injuries against the Royals: Casey Mize after Thursday’s 4-2 win and Matt Manning during Saturday’s 3-1 loss. The Tigers placed Mize on the 10-day injured list with a right elbow sprain, and he will miss at least one start. Manning exited his outing after 38 pitches with right shoulder discomfort. For now, Manning isn’t expected to miss his next start.
“It’s baseball,” catcher Dustin Garneau said. “It’s happening early so guys can get it out of the way for the long haul. But it definitely sucks when two of your big boys are going down.” Hinch believes MLB’s lockout and condensed spring training could be to blame for the injuries early in the season. “Maybe,” Hinch said. “We also had a year (coming) off the pandemic last year. I’m not smart enough to know exactly what each case is about. But there’s certainly concern around the whole league about pitching, like getting into the season. It’s hitting every team at some level. Hopefully, it resolves itself across the whole league.”
WHAT WE KNOW: Casey Mize reports elbow soreness, lands on 10-day injured list with sprain
• Right-hander Jackson Jobe, the Tigers’ top pitching prospect, completed his first start of his professional career Sunday, a planned one inning for Low-A Lakeland. The 19-year-old allowed two unearned runs on one hit and a walk. (Shortstop Izaac Pacheco, the 2021 No. 39 overall pick, made a fielding error.) The 2021 No. 3 overall pick tossed eight of 19 pitches for strikes and did not record a strikeout. Jobe mixed all five of his pitches, though he generated just one swing and miss total. His fastball averaged 95.8 mph, maxing out at 97.1 mph. The Tigers will continue building his workload. Jobe should pitch at least two innings next time out. He is the Tigers’ No. 3 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
ADDITIONAL READING: Potential for Tigers’ Jackson Jobe? ‘No. 1 starter on championship team’
• Right-hander Wilmer Flores made his first start Thursday for High-A West Michigan. He fired three perfect innings with seven strikeouts in a brilliant 40-pitch, 32-strike performance. In his High-A debut, Flores flashed command of all his pitches, including his above-average curveball. Outfielder Parker Meadows, also with the Whitecaps, is hitting .297 with four home runs and nine extra-base knocks in eight games. Right-hander Ty Madden, the No. 32 overall pick in 2021, pitched four innings of one-run ball for West Michigan in his first professional start, finishing with one walk and six strikeouts.
ADDITIONAL READING: Tigers’ Wilmer Flores, brother of MLB veteran, has ‘some of the nastiest stuff’
MORE READING: How Tigers prospect Parker Meadows has turned it around, by turning on the ball
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.