Matt Vierling has started only five of the 13 games in June, and that has left him chasing the rhythm that once made him a regular for the Tigers. He says the goal is simple: get back into a groove and stack games with multiple hits.
Matt Vierling and the June split
“Just keep on going,” Vierling said when asked about the reduced role. He added, “Just having the perspective of, like, it’s been a month or two but it’s not the whole season. I’ve been down and out before — and I wouldn’t say this is down and out. I feel I’ve been a lot better than the numbers show.”
The numbers are not helping him. He went 4-for-25 in June and is hitting.203/.264/.339 with a.603 OPS on the season, with most of those marks tracking as career lows. He has also been in and out of the lineup because the Tigers have shifted the center-field work around other pieces.
Tigers center field with James Outman
When Parker Meadows and Javier Báez were injured, Vierling was getting regular playing time in center field. That changed after he posted minus-7 defensive runs saved there, and the Tigers claimed James Outman off waivers to handle center. Against right-handed pitchers, Outman has been getting the bulk of the starts, while Vierling has been used more as a right-handed-hitting platoon player in the outfield.
AJ Hinch said, “Right now, in the last two series, the reason he hasn’t started a ton has been the right-handed starters we’ve faced.” Hinch also said, “And we acquired Outman to play center.”
Hinch on Vierling's at-bats
The role change has not been the only issue. Vierling is striking out 15.7% of the time and walking at an 8.1% rate, and he said the sporadic at-bats do not help. He said, “It’s just getting in a groove, I would say,” and added, “I want to put together multiple games with multiple hits.”
Hinch sees a hitter caught between two approaches. “For Matty, he gets caught in between being super aggressive and super patient,” he said. “He knows the strike zone. He knows how to conduct his at-bats and he’s handled lefties really well. And that’s the role, when we are at full strength, that he will fit in best.”
Vierling versus velocity
The broader problem shows up against velocity fastballs. Vierling is hitting.125 with a.167 slugging percentage against them, and he said he has noticed trouble timing up the four-seam fastball. “I don’t know why that is but I’ve definitely noticed that,” he said. “I’ve talked about it with the hitting staff and we’ve been working on that.”
That part is not new for him. Vierling said he struggled with velocity when he first broke into the big leagues in 2021, then worked on it and got better. “Maybe it’s one of those things. I have to do what I’m doing now, just putting in the work and getting back to it,” he said.
Tigers' late-inning usage
Even in a smaller role, he is still getting late chances to help. On Tuesday night in the eighth inning, Vierling pinch-hit for Outman after Hao-Yu Lee doubled off lefty Bryan King. Vierling then hit a ground ball to the right side to advance Lee, and Dillon Dingler’s sacrifice fly put the Tigers up 2-1.
That sequence fits the shape of his current usage: fewer starts, more matchup-based work, and a smaller lane to force his way back into the lineup. Vierling says he still believes the bat is there. The next step is turning hard contact and good at-bats into enough results to make the Tigers keep writing his name into the lineup against the right pitching mix.
