Postseason FAQ: What's next for Tigers?

DETROIT -- The Tigers rallied their way into the postseason with an incredible run built around a simple mindset: Keep focused on winning the day’s game.

Now that they’ve clinched their first postseason berth in 10 years, they can finally pick their heads up and look beyond the view right at their feet. They’re ready to make the transition.

“We’ll be ready to go,” manager A.J. Hinch said at the podium Friday night following the clubhouse celebration. “Listen, we’re wearing shirts that say 'October Ready.' There’s only a few teams that get to do that. We know what’s at stake. We didn’t just want to get here. We want to continue on. And there’s games to be played to see the seeding.

"There’s obviously the unknown now, where we’re going to go. But if I’ve seen anything out of this team for a couple months since we’ve been sort of re-put back together, I’ve seen a pretty good resilience and a pretty good understanding on how to stay balanced and get to the next game.”

To that end, when asked how he’ll handle the final two games of the regular season, Hinch went to the point.

“We’re going to try to win,” Hinch said. “It’s going to impact where we go. We’re not going to get into what-ifs and what happens. I know if we keep winning, we’re going to be a tough team to beat. Even in celebration, every pitcher that poured a beer on me, I let them know they may open tomorrow.

“I may give a guy day off here or there if I feel like they need it, but it still matters, and we’re going to make sure that we don’t lose this edge that we’ve played with for so long.”

Here are some questions and answers for what lies ahead for the Tigers heading into the postseason:

What could the postseason roster look like?
C: Jake Rogers, Dillon Dingler
1B: Spencer Torkelson
2B: Colt Keith
SS: Trey Sweeney
3B: Jace Jung, Andy Ibáñez
OF: Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling, Wenceel Perez
UTIL: Zach McKinstry
SP: Tarik Skubal, Keider Montero, Reese Olson
RP: Jason Foley, Tyler Holton, Beau Brieske, Will Vest, Sean Guenther, Brenan Hanifee, Casey Mize, Brant Hurter, Kenta Maeda, Jackson Jobe

Who will the Tigers face?
They’re currently lined up to meet either the Astros or Orioles in the AL Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday in Houston or Baltimore.

Will there be a postseason game at Comerica Park?
The Tigers will have to advance to the Division Series to get a home game. The Wild Card series is a best-of-three format with all games at the home of the higher seed, so the Tigers will have to win twice on the road to advance. But the Tigers won their final three road series in the regular season, including two of three in Baltimore Sept. 20-22.

If the Tigers advance, they would host Game 3 of a best-of-five Division Series on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Game 4 (if necessary) on Thursday, Oct. 10. Look for more information on potential Division Series tickets next week.

“The goal is to hopefully play another game [here] in front of them after Sunday,” Skubal said of the crowd at Comerica Park. “The fans here are great.”

When will Tarik Skubal pitch?
Skubal had been lined up to pitch the regular-season finale on Sunday if the Tigers needed that game to clinch a spot. But now that the Tigers have clinched, he’ll prepare for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday, giving Detroit a better opportunity to get in front in a best-of-three series.

“It's going to be fun,” Skubal said of the postseason assignment. “The motivation for me to put in work every offseason and during the season is to get that opportunity and be trusted and have the confidence from A.J. and the rest of the guys in the clubhouse. I'm very excited.

"It means a lot. It makes everything that you do behind the scenes that nobody else sees worth it. It's only going to make me work harder to be a better version of myself.”

Will the Tigers go to a traditional rotation in the postseason?
They got to this point mixing and matching with openers and bulk pitchers after Skubal, so why would they stop now? The Tigers’ use of their pitching staff over the last six weeks in many ways prepared them for postseason play, when hooks are quicker and every out is more important. They could have to utilize their full bullpen in a best-of-three Wild Card Series with no off-days, but that’s nothing new.

Could Jackson Jobe pitch in the postseason?
He would be eligible. The Tigers will have to petition MLB to add him as a replacement for somebody on the injured list who has filled the minimum requirement on the IL. Sawyer Gipson-Long, who has spent the entire season on the IL and underwent Tommy John surgery in April, fulfills that category. The Tigers want to see this weekend how Jobe, Detroit's No. 2 prospect and MLB's top pitching prospect, bounces back physically on a bullpen schedule.

How many of these Tigers actually have postseason experience?
At the Major League level, it’s a short list. Matt Vierling was part of the Phillies’ run to the World Series in 2022, playing in 12 games during that run. Kenta Maeda has 27 career postseason appearances over six playoff runs with the Dodgers and Twins, including two appearances for Minnesota in last year’s AL Division Series vs. Houston.

At the Minor League level, Jace Jung, Brant Hurter and Ty Madden were part of Double-A Erie’s Eastern League championship run last year.