The final stretch is underway.
The Detroit Tigers have a 58-69 record in the 2023 season, putting them in third place in the American League Central. The Tigers trail the first-place Minnesota Twins by 7½ games and the second-place Cleveland Guardians by 1½ games.
There are 35 games remaining.
STOCK WATCH ON MAY 15: Eduardo Rodriguez still soaring, Miguel Cabrera and Jonathan Schoop dropping
STOCK WATCH ON JULY 11: Jason Foley deserves a new role in bullpen, Matt Vierling flying under the radar
In our first stock watch since July 11, which was published midway through the All-Star break from July 10-13, here’s how some of the players are trending with 78.4% of the season in the books:
Three up
Since July 14, Carpenter has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
The 25-year-old, a former 19th-round pick, is batting .318 with 12 home runs, 13 walks (8.8% strikeout rate) and 30 strikeouts (20.3% strikeout rate) in his past 37 games. His outfield defense has improved, too.
The results with his bat, swinging from the left side of the plate, put him among the best players in the game. His 12 homers are tied with Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, Shohei Ohtani and Bobby Witt Jr. for fifth-most in baseball since July 14, while his 1.013 on-base-plus-slugging percentage ranks 13th, his .303 isolated power ranks 12th and his 176 wRC+ ranks 11th.
Carpenter has 20 homers and a .900 OPS in 84 games this season.
Torkelson, just like Carpenter, has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, dating back to July 14.
The former No. 1 overall pick, who turns 24 on Saturday, is batting .252 with 11 home runs, 17 walks (10.7% walk rate) and 38 strikeouts (23.9% strikeout rate) in his past 38 games. He has created damage against different types of pitches in different parts of the strike zone, showcasing his revived athleticism at the plate.
The 11 homers from Torkelson, a right-handed hitter, are tied with Marcell Ozuna, Cody Bellinger, Chas McCormick and Triston Casas for 10th-most in baseball since July 14, while his .886 OPS ranks 38th, his .295 isolated power ranks 17th and his 142 wRC+ ranks 40th.
Torkelson, batting .340 with eight homers in his past 14 games, has 23 homers and a .759 OPS in 125 games this season.
The Tigers claimed Holton off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks in spring training. The 27-year-old has proven to be the best pickup in Scott Harris’ first season as president of baseball operations.
Holton owns a 1.62 ERA with 17 walks (6.8% walk rate) and 61 strikeouts (24.3% strikeout rate) across 66⅔ innings in 45 relief appearances this season. His 1.62 ERA is tied with Baltimore Orioles reliever Yennier Cano for the best mark among pitchers with at least 60 innings. (Clayton Kershaw, by the way, ranks third on the leaderboard with a 2.52 ERA in 107⅓ innings.)
Beginning July 14, Holton has been even better than his season-long performance with a 4.6% walk rate and 30.8% strikeout rate in innings over his past 16 games. His chase rate jumped from 25% in June to 36.7% in July and 35.8% in August.
He induced chase with his fastball in July and with his secondary pitches in August.
Honorable mentions: Riley Greene (OF), Beau Brieske (RHP), Zack Short (UTIL).
Three down
To be fair, Vest hasn’t been around since July 14.
He returned to the Tigers from the injured list Aug. 11 following his recovery from a right lower leg strain. But the 28-year-old hasn’t looked the same since coming back to the Tigers, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks with one strikeout over three innings in five appearances.
Vest struggled to repeat his optimal delivery in spring training, and as a result, he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. His stint in Triple-A Toledo lasted until April 22. Once the Tigers called him up, he delivered a 2.73 ERA with nine walks and 32 strikeouts over 29⅔ innings in 27 games before his June 26 injury.
His slider declined from a 40.6% whiff rate in June before the injury to a 7.1% whiff rate in August after the injury. A strong finish would benefit Vest in his pursuit of earning a spot on the Opening Day roster in 2024.
Vasquez has pitched in 12 games since July 14, but only eight of those games occurred with the Tigers. The Tigers claimed Vasquez off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 4.
The 29-year-old, competing for his sixth team in his five-year career, came out of the bullpen Aug. 6 for his first appearance with the Tigers. Vasquez has struggled to find the strike zone in his past 12 games, allowing six runs on 12 hits and nine walks with nine strikeouts in 7⅔ innings since July 14.
He gave up at least one run in three of his first eight games with the Tigers.
Vasquez, who has a 2.62 ERA in 44⅔ innings this season, throws a whopping 82.4% sliders, along with 7.4% four-seam fastballs, 5.6% curveballs, 3% sinkers and 1.7% changeups. While his slider limits hard contact, it fails to generate an abundance of whiffs and chase, so he needs to land it in the strike zone.
To help the Tigers, Vasquez needs to get back to throwing his slider in the strike zone for weak contact.
The downfall continues for Báez.
The 30-year-old, in the second season of his six-year, $140 million contract, is batting .223 with eight home runs, 19 walks (4.1% walk rate) and 105 strikeouts (22.8% strikeout rate) in 113 games. His defense has been spectacular, but his offense has been putrid for the second year in a row.
Since July 14, Báez has missed time on the field with right knee soreness, an illness and a stint on the bereavement list. He has a .219 batting average with two home runs and a .609 OPS in 29 games during that span.
Báez, once known as a slugger, ranks 117th for his .104 isolated power among 201 players with at least 100 plate appearances since July 14. His 71 wRC+ ranks 174th, and his .609 OPS ranks 184th.
He has four years, $98 million remaining on his contract with the Tigers.
Honorable mentions: José Cisnero (RHP), Matt Vierling (OF/3B), Zach McKinstry (UTIL).
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.