Trey Sweeney DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter and shortstop Trey Sweeney will take a seat on the bench for Monday's series opener at Comerica Park against the visiting New York Yankees with left-hander Carlos Rodon on the bump. Manuel Margot will start in right field and bat fifth, while Javier Baez will get the start at short and bat sixth. Left-handed-hitting infielder Zach McKinstry is also out of the starting lineup. Carpenter won't also sit against southpaws, but he'll take a seat in this one to begin the week. He's gone just 7-for-32 (.219) in the first nine games of the season, but he's also added three home runs, a double and eight RBI for fantasy managers. Margot is much better against lefties but lacks pop for DFS upside. He's hitting .375 with an RBI in eight career at-bats against Rodon, while Baez is hitting just .133 against Rodon in 15 career at-bats.

The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen doesn't have Detroit Tigers infielder Trey Sweeney as a lock to be the team's starting shortstop on Opening Day in late March. Carrying both Sweeney and Zach McKinstry would make the Tigers extremely left-handed and could force outfielder Kerry Carpenter into the lineup against left-handed pitchers. Stavenhagen projects Sweeney opening the 2025 season at Triple-A Toledo, while Javier Baez (hip) and McKinstry share duties at the 6. The bottom line is that the Tigers aren't just going to give the job to the 24-year-old Sweeney, even though he played well late last year to help Detroit get into the playoffs. In a best-case scenario, he could be on the strong side of a platoon at shortstop against right-handed pitchers. Remember, Sweeney had just two hits in 22 at-bats over seven postseason games and probably could use a little more minor-league seasoning.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Trey Sweeney made "minor" swing adjustments during the offseason. Jason Beck of MLB.com noted that the young infielder focused on timing, especially against fastballs. Sweeney expressed that he struggled against fastballs during his first look at the majors, which was a priority in the offseason. Sweeney made his big league debut with the Detroit Tigers in August and logged 36 appearances. Across this small stint, the former 20th overall pick held a .218/.269/.373 line. He hit four home runs and swiped two bags. When facing breaking pitches, Sweeney generated an impressive .552 xSLG. However, against fastballs, the infielder generated a much lower .364 xSLG. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his development during spring training as he could earn the starting role over veteran Javier Baez (hip). If he does earn the job, he could be worth a late flier in deeper formats.