There are three Detroit Tigers you shouldn’t worry about, and two you already should.

DETROIT: Unless you’re simply urging people not to overreact, there’s no way to assess the first few games of an MLB season without overreacting.

But that isn’t enjoyable! Let us take a moment to utterly exaggerate our reactions to the opening Detroit Tigers series of the year.

Alex Lange
Six out of ten for worry.
When we conducted our roundup in the middle of spring training, I wasn’t concerned about Lange, but it’s obvious that he’s getting off to a rough start this season.

Lange recorded 26 saves in his first season as the team’s primary closer, pitching to a 3.68 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. In 66 innings, he struck out 79 batters, but he also gave up 45 walks.

If Lange could just throw strikes, there was hope going into this season that he could break into the elite tier of closers. He makes weak contact, keeps the ball on the ground, and has excellent swing-and-miss numbers.

Lange would be an ideal reliever if you could overlook his walk rate. Regretfully, you can’t disregard the walk rate.

When Lange entered the game on Saturday and walked the No. 9 hitter on four pitches right away, it was very evident. Ultimately, he faced four batters and walked three of them.

On his secondary offerings, he got four whiffs, but Lange had no idea where the ball was going at all. Will Vest had to step in for him, and A.J. Hinch managed to pull through.

Without a doubt, Lange is no longer employed as the closer. That appears to have occurred prior to Opening Day, as Jason Foley successfully converted the first two save attempts.

However, Lange’s status on the team might not even be certain if he can’t throw strikes.

Given how highly the Tigers organization values strike-throwing, Beau Brieske is a very deserving candidate for a Triple-A bullpen, thus Lange’s leash might not last very long.

Baez, Javier
Ten out of ten for worry.
Nothing in the first series calmed Baez’s already high anxiety level, which was at ten last month.

Baez chased 56% of the pitches out of the strike zone in his 13 at-bats while batting in the No. 8 spot for all three games. He hit two singles (both with an exit velocity of above 100 mph), struck out four times, and did not take a walk.

There isn’t going to be an offensive comeback anytime soon, based on the first series of the season, the spring, and everything Baez has done since joining the Tigers.

The warts Lange and Baez are displaying are the same ones we saw in the previous season. We don’t need a big sample size to be concerned about Lange’s strike-throwing because his strike-out rate from the previous season was so low. Similar to this, Baez is making unproductive outs and chasing too many pitches out of the zone.

The Tigers won on Opening Day thanks to a single from Baez that traveled 102.9 mph and a steal of second base that drove in the game’s lone run. It’s evident that he still has moments of greatness. However, it doesn’t seem likely that he will ever return to his previous level of offensive production.

Kenta Maeda
2 out of 10 for worry.
Maeda had a really bad Tigers debut on Saturday. He lacked control over his off-speed pitches and gave up six runs in 3.1 innings. That is not a good combination for a starter whose fastball max out at 90 mph.

Maeda was burnt three times on spinners in the middle of the plate, twice by Luis Robert. The White Sox had little trouble smacking him around because he was unable to get his splitter down.

But I’m not worried. The only reason Maeda’s a 2/10 is because he’s about to turn 36 years old. That comes with some inherent risk, especially for someone who’s seen a dip in velocity.

Saturday was Maeda’s first start of the season, and it was also a bit of a cold, dreary day in Chicago. Someone with his track record definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt.