Walks Watch, Pt. I

If both people who read this blog haven’t noticed, we’re somewhat preoccupied with the Tigers’ need to improve their team plate discipline. With that in mind, let’s introduce a semiregular new feature that will track how the Tigers compare to the rest of the league in drawing walks.

Through six games, Tiger hitters have coaxed 21 free passes, including 9 on April 4 against Toronto, which not coincidentally was their finest offensive performance of the season.

That total places the team 13th in baseball and fifth in the American League. The total is more impressive considering that nine of the 12 offenses that have drawns more walks have played one or two more games than the Tigers.

Of course, this newfound patience isn’t putting more runs on the board — the Tigers have been outscored so far and are hitting a paltry .231/.302/.362. That’s ugly. But the hits will come eventually, and it’s good to see the Tigers working counts and collecting baserunners more efficiently.

Five regular players  — Sean Casey, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, Brandon Inge, and Gary Sheffield — and reserve Marcus Thames have acceptable walk rates thus far. Curtis Granderson has walked twice in 24 at-bats, but he’s slugging .750, so he’s alright. I assume he’ll take more free passes when he’s not hitting lasers nearly every time up.

The small sample caveat applies here, as it does with every observation made during the first six weeks of the season. But if the Tigers can keep this up, they have the ability to make solid offensive gains this year. The base hits and home runs will happen more frequently if the team continues to show patience