(Photo: Robin Buckson, Detroit News)
Cleveland — It was a general discussion, not aimed at any particular Tigers player, but you could hear echoes of the names Travis Demeritte and Jake Rogers in the pauses.
“You better be able to hit a fastball,” manager Ron Gardenhire was saying last week.
Demeritte and Rogers, the two Tigers with the least amount of plate appearances at the big-league level, have struggled mightily against fastballs this season. Rogers went into play Thursday 5-for-58 (0.86) and a 40 percent strikeout rate against heaters, per Statcast.
“I think he’s taken some better swings, but he swings and misses a lot and that is a concern,” Gardenhire said.