It's hard to find silver linings in the twisted metal of the Tigers season. Here's one: Eric Haase has found his bat.
After a hellish spring that raised questions about his big-league breakout a year ago, Haase is back to doing his thing. And the Tigers might be back to viewing him as a face of their future. On a team desperate for more offense, Haase is slowly supplanting offseason acquisition Tucker Barnhart as the top catcher.
Haase was one of the Tigers' most productive hitters last season. And one of their best stories in a feel-good year, a local product who emerged from the minors to produce a slew of big hits. He wound up finishing first on the team in slugging and second in homers. He was one of many reasons to feel good about the Tigers in 2022.
Then he was one of several culprits in their awful start. If only the club could follow his lead: Haase has successfully turned the corner.
In sporadic playing time through the first two months of the season, Haase hit .167 with two homers and a .495 OPS. Then A.J. Hinch made it a priority to get him more action. He's hitting .309 with six homers and a .952 OPS since the start of June. His .588 slugging percentage over this stretch ranks fifth in the AL among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances.
Haase has been even hotter in July. After drilling an opposite-field grand slam as part of another two-hit game in the Tigers' 12-4 win over the Padres on Monday, he's up to .333 with an OPS of 1.015 this month. He's raised his OPS to .758 on the season, higher than it was last season. His OPS+ is higher, too.
"The tale of two different seasons for him," Hinch said Monday night. "At the beginning of the year, how we were going to use him changed dramatically and then he wasn’t getting a lot of hits and the power hadn’t come. Now he’s been a nice addition, especially against left-handed pitching where he’s a big threat."
It says all you need to know about the Tigers' offense that Haase, along with Harold Castro, is one of two players with a wRC+ of at least 100. That is, he's one of only two above-average hitters. Which is why Haase has started more games at catcher over the past two months than Barnhart, one of the least productive hitters in the bigs. And why most of those starts have come in the the heart of the Tigers' lineup.
"One of the issues we’ve had in the lineup when we haven’t had guys going is 3-4-5-6, where I put Javy (Baez), where I put Miggy, and then there’s a hole," said Hinch. "Harold’s done a nice job filling and then when we get a lefty, I can slide Haase up there. ... We love the energy that Haase brings in his at-bats. When the production comes with it, we’re a different team."
Behind the plate, Haase needs plenty of work. At the plate, he still strikes out too often -- who doesn't these days? -- and walks less often than you'd like, though he's been better in both areas this season. He is far from a perfect big-league catcher, much less a perfect big-league player, a career minor-leaguer before last season for a reason. He's probably still a bench bat on a good team.
But on this team, Haase is the best bat there is. He now leads the Tigers in bWAR (1.4), where he ranks in the middle of the pack among AL catchers. This says much more about the Tigers than it does Haase. Still, his offense this season is on par with All-Star Jose Trevino of the Yankees and proven starter Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox. If he improves his defense, the 29-year-old has a considerably higher ceiling. Perhaps he even has a legitimate role on a contender.
All that remains to be seen, including the Tigers' hope to actually contend, and the organization still has plans for Jake Rogers and Dillon Dingler. But at a position where offense comes at a premium, Haase is Detroit's only hitter with a track record of success against big-league pitching. The longer it grows, the deeper he roots himself in the Tigers' future.
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