The Detroit Tigers are enjoying a stellar year, and it was a long time coming. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but the last time the Tigers won the World Series was back in 1984, so if they go all the way, it will be around 40 years in the works.
While every team has its stars that get all the attention, one underrated player on the Tigers’ team is getting some buzz in a good way.
In a June 2 feature for Bleacher Report, Tim Kelly names the best-kept on every MLB team for the 2025 season. In the piece, he names one Tigers player as a standout.
Tigers Player Named One of the Best-Kept Secrets in the League
In the piece, Kelly says Bleacher Report has “taken a look at the best-kept secret for each MLB team so far in 2025. This might be a young player who’s coming of age, or a veteran who’s outperforming what he’s done to this point in his career.”
He adds that the story comes “from a national perspective” and that there probably aren’t any big surprises here. “If you follow a team for all 162 games, there’s probably not a name that’s going to shock you,” he says. “But for fans looking to gain an understanding of the most underrecognized players across the sport, this is for you.”
For the Detroit Tigers, he goes with No. 19, Will Vest. The Tigers took Vest in 2017 in round 12 as the No. 365 overall pick.
“Will Vest was a very effective reliever for A.J. Hinch and the Tigers the last two seasons, but he has managed to be even better in 2025,” Kelly states. “Over his first 25 appearances of 2025, he has a 2.00 ERA and eight saves.”
He adds, “The 29-year-old has two remaining arbitration years, so the Tigers currently have one of the better bullpen bargains in baseball with Vest making only $1.4 million.”
1 Sentence to Describe the Tigers
In a June 1 feature for Bleacher Report, Kerry Miller gives one sentence for every MLB team heading into June. Miller gives a shout-out to the Tigers early in the piece.
“Heading into June, the Detroit Tigers sit at the head of what is otherwise an expected class of World Series contenders,” Miller states. “The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and both New York squads sit within 2.5 games of the Tigers for the best record—while the Colorado Rockies, well, don’t. With roughly 60 games in the books and a little over 100 still to come, though, every team has a one-sentence story to tell.”
For the Tigers, his sentence is, “Rodney Dangerfield levels of respect for what has been the best record in baseball.”
What Tigers fans will appreciate in the story is that Miller recognizes that the team really isn’t getting the respect it deserves, because there’s almost a disbelief, saying, “there has been a serious reluctance to believe/accept that this might be the best team in baseball.”
But, now, they’re starting to believe. The Tigers aren’t a flash in a pan, and as the season progresses, more are realizing that.
Detroit Tigers Have an Unsung Hero in Unassuming Player