Steven Moya Impressing In Recent Opportunities With Detroit Tigers

When the Detroit Tigers lost J.D. Martinez to an elbow injury earlier this month, it was a major blow to the club. If there is one positive to come out of it, however, it is the fact that the slugging Steven Moya has now been given a prime opportunity to show the club what he can do.

After crushing 35 home runs in Double-A and winning Eastern League MVP honors in 2014, Moya had a bit of a down year in Triple-A last season, but he performed very well in winter ball and truly put himself back on the map this spring. Moya also spent a stint with the big-league club in May of this season, and was hitting .298/.326/.571 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in Triple-A at the time of his recent call-up.

Since returning to the team, Moya has had to deal with a sore knee, which kept him out of a lineup for a bit, but he has slashed a whopping .355/.412/.806 with four home runs in eight games. He has been putting on an impressive display of power to say the very least.

Going forward, it will indeed be interesting to see how Moya figures into the Tigers’ plans, especially once Martinez returns. Moya is a corner outfielder, and the Tigers will have Justin Upton in left field and Martinez in right. Upton just signed a six-year, $132.75 million deal (though he does have an opt-out after the second year), and Martinez is signed through next season as well. Of course, Victor Martinez will be occupying the DH spot through 2018 as well.

Regardless of what the future holds, one thing is for certain: Moya is starting to prove that he can provide a big-time power bat at the MLB level. It should be quite fun to continue watching him play this summer.