Detroit Tigers: A focus on analytics will only help the rebuild

The Detroit Tigers are moving into an era where there will be a heavy reliance on analytics.

The Detroit Tigers are re-tooling and rebuilding, as is evident by the recent hiring of a new manager. As A.J. Hinch moves into the managerial role, he has begun to assemble his staff, which looks to be an exciting staff.

Most notably, Hinch named Derek Fetter as a pitching coach, as well as announcing Ramón Santiago would also be returning. Hinch himself is very reliant on analytics and one of the people who will employ this on the field, and he valued that when assembling his coaching staff.

The new coaching staff will be an exciting one, and the reliance on analytics should be higher than it has been in the past. While Ron Gardenhire was a phenomenal manager, it was no secret that he was an “old-school” manager who was not as heavily invested in analytics.

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However, Hinch is someone who relies on analytics and advanced statistics to make managerial decisions for his teams. The hiring of Hinch should signal a move towards advanced statistics and scouting.

While some of the older crowd might find this as a time to tune me out and click off this article, but analytics have invaded baseball, and they are here to stay.

The Tigers will move into a time where they start to favor analytics and use them in their decision-making process.

Analytics are a big proponent of Major League Baseball nowadays; across the entire league, teams have adopted analytics and grown into a time where numbers are considered valuable to a team’s decision-making process.

While the Tigers have been known to value advanced statistics, the previous coaching staff fell under the “old school” category that trusted the eyes more than the numbers; this could change in the coming seasons.

Hinch has brought in a staff that seems as if they will embrace this wave of analytics and use the numbers in a beneficial way for this organization. Personally, I feel that analytics are incredibly valuable to an organization; there are advanced metrics that can directly impact a team’s on-field product.

Analytics should be used within moderation, all of the numbers are great, and they can be incredibly beneficial to an organization as a supplement to what a team does. For example, if Fetter uses the advanced metrics along with what he sees with his eyes, the Tigers will be much better off overall.

Using these numbers as a supplement will only prove to be majorly beneficial for the Tigers. Now that Hinch is at the helm, analytics are going to be used more within the Tigers clubhouse. While General Manager (GM) Al Avila may not be the most pro-analytics person, the front office will be working to provide Hinch with the information he needs.

It is known that the hiring of Hinch may come with some bad press, but his knowledge of the game and analytics will help his abilities to help produce success on the field. The Tigers may still be a few seasons away from competing, but they have a good group of coaches that should help facilitate development in the coming seasons.

The Detroit Tigers will grow in the field of analytics and start making strides towards ending the rebuild.