The similarities between the Red Wings and Tigers are uncanny

After returning home from out west and winning the first two of three against Colorado, the American League Cy Young favorite is on deck to start the series finale on Thursday afternoon. The Detroit Tigers suddenly find themselves in a place not many imagined just a few short months ago: firmly in the playoff hunt.

The Tigers sold ahead of the MLB trade deadline, headlined by moving Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Trey Sweeney and catching prospect Thayron Liranzo. The Tigers also traded veteran Mark Canha and released Gio Urshela to clear the way for a couple of prospects. It's funny how things happen sometimes. The Tigers certainly felt as though the postseason was a pipedream. With Flaherty, a pending free agent, unlike the year prior, they needed to make sure a trade was made if a contract extension wasn't reached for fear of losing one of the better trade chips for nothing. Now, we can all balk at the return or lack thereof Scott Harris received for Flaherty, but at least this wasn't an Eduardo Rodriquez situation all over again. Progress. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me, ah, you get it. If you go back to the fourth of July, the Detroit Tigers sat nine games under .500, and since that day, they've been one of the best teams in baseball, going 36-23.

The Tigers' current streak sort of gives me Red Wings vibes. If you recall, the Detroit Red Wings overall were a mediocre team over the first half of last season and then had a flat out dreadful December before turning things around in January and February. The Red Wings flipped a switch to begin the new year and quietly became one of the best teams in the league for that two-month stretch that also included the All-Star break. The Red Wings' momentum was stalled during the break but, after another rough stretch, quickly found themselves playing meaningful games in April for the first time in years, only to miss out on the postseason on the final day of the regular season, losing the tie-breaker to the Washington Capitals.

Oddly enough, the Detroit Tigers may find themselves in a similar predicament as the Detroit Red Wings.

Heading into Thursday afternoon's contest with the Rockies, the Detroit Tigers sit a mere three games back of their division rival Minnesota Twins. One of the problems? It's essentially a four-game lead for the Twins as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Unfortunately, there is no longer a game 163 anymore. The good news is that the Tigers hold the tiebreaker over both the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners, who remain in the hunt for the third and final wild card position. Despite being scorching hot at the moment, the Tigers have two series remaining with the surging Baltimore Orioles, a date with the Kansas City Royals followed by a series with the Tampa Bay Rays, and finish at home against the lonely Chicago White Sox. In turn, the Twins will play a series against the Reds, Guardians, Red Sox, Marlins, and Orioles.

Other than possibly seeing their playoff hopes come down to the year's final day, more similarities stand out between the Red Wings and Tigers.

Like the Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers are building a very youthful core to their roster. The Detroit Red Wings are led by captain Dylan Larkin, 28, and unlike the Tigers, they also have quite a few established, experienced players littered throughout their roster. The Red Wings have future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, plus veterans like J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Vladimir Tarasenko, Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, and Olli Maatta.

But when you look at the overall core general manager Steve Yzerman, who will be building around over the next five or six years, you will find many up-and-coming (hopeful) stars. For the Red Wings, the foundation begins with Moritz Seider (23) and Lucas Raymond (22), both ironically are current restricted free agents who have yet to sign a long-term extension ahead of training camp. Could the same tough negotiations be on the horizon for the American League's top starting pitcher, Tarik Skubal? Skubal has two years of arbitration (team control) remaining before he hits the open market.

Following Seider and Raymond, Detroit has Alex DeBrincat (26) locked up for three more seasons, and then there are a host of top prospects expected to contribute soon. That group is headlined by Simon Edvinsson (21), Marco Kasper (20), Nate Danielson (19), Sebastian Cossa (21), Axel Sandin Pellikka (19) and Carter Mazur (22). Many of these prospects have yet to make an impact at the NHL level, but the group sure reminds me of what the Tigers are currently enjoying at the MLB level and others on the cusp. Skubal (27), Riley Greene (23), Colt Keith (23), Jace Jung (23), Wenceel Pérez (24), Kerry Carpenter (27), Reese Olson (25), Keider Montero (23), Jackson Jobe (22), Max Clark (19), Parker Meadows (24) and Spencer Torkelson (25).

The verdict? Both of these organizations have often found themselves as sellers at the trade deadline over the past few years (I'm well aware that the Red Wings stood pat this past season). Both organizations have an influx of impactful youth making their mark at the highest level or en route (hopefully) to doing so throughout the minor leagues. Both franchises are on the cusp of becoming playoff teams, and both organizations appear to be building sturdy foundations. Once they break into the postseason, they hope to frequently play in May and October, respectively. Add this to what the Detroit Lions accomplished last season and what their expectations are this year make for an electric downtown Detroit. The challenge for both of these rebuilds is making sure they continue to progress and avoid being stuck in neutral.