The Tigers' offseason trade for Carlos Guillen looks better every day. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The Rangers are in first place, the Devil Rays are not in last place and the Brewers are contenders.

Suffice it to say it's been a season of surprises so far in Major League Baseball. But none of these three teams, as unlikely as their performances have been, has comparable shock value to what the Tigers are doing.

By now, Detroit's status as one of the biggest turnaround teams in history has been well chronicled -- the Tigers are on pace for a 35-victory improvement, tying them with the 1998-99 Diamondbacks as the second-largest gain in history behind the 1902-03 Giants (36 games).

The more important question is, How is Detroit doing it?

To put it bluntly, the Tigers are doing it with the blunt instruments in their hands -- their bats. Compared to last season's feeble performance at the plate, this year's Detroit lineup is putting up more crooked numbers than your average corporate accountant.

Detroit managed a meager 591 runs in going 43-119 in 2003. Through Thursday's games, the Tigers have scored 410 runs, putting them on pace for 862 runs for the season. That would represent a net gain of 271 runs, the second-best improvement in major league history.

The pitching has been better, too. The Tigers allowed 928 runs last season but are on pace to lower that figure to 826 in 2004, a net gain of 102 runs. That's pretty good, but hardly historic.

Here are the top 10 offensive turnarounds in MLB history (in non-shortened seasons), with the Tigers optimistically included. Whether or not Detroit can keep up this pace is anybody's guess. It's probably as likely as Pudge Rodriguez batting .500 for another entire month, as he did in June. But for now, it's fun to speculate.

1. New York Giants
 1902: 401 runs, 48-88 (finish: 8th)
 1903: 729 runs, 84-55 (2nd)
 Net gain: 328 runs, 36 wins
 Comment: They got a full season out of Hall of Fame outfielder Roger Bresnahan (.493 slugging percentage) and acquired outfielder Sam Mertes (104 RBIs) from the White Sox.

2. Detroit Tigers (* Projected)
 2003: 591 runs, 43-119 (5th)
 2004: 862* runs, 78-84*
 Net gain: 271* runs, 35 wins
 Comment: GM Dave Dombrowski had the guts to give big money to Rodriguez and then swindled Seattle out of All-Star caliber shortstop Carlos Guillen. Plus, the Tigers are being rewarded for their patience with youngsters like Carlos Pena and Eric Munson.

3. Chicago Cubs
 1928: 714 runs, 91-63 (3rd)
 1929: 982 runs, 98-54 (1st)
 Net gain: 268 runs, seven wins
 Comment: Traded five players and $200,000 for Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby, who slugged .632 for his new team.

4. St. Louis Browns
 1919: 533 runs, 67-72 (5th)
 1920: 797 runs, 76-77 (4th)
 Net gain: 264 runs, nine wins
 Comment: Five American League teams averaged more than 5.0 runs per game in 1920 compared to none the year before as baseball came out of the Dead Ball era.

5. Chicago White Sox
 1910: 457 runs, 68-85 (6th)
 1911: 719 runs, 77-74 (4th)
 Net gain: 262 runs, nine wins
 Comment: They got a new ballpark (Comiskey) and a new lineup that featured seven new regulars, including third baseman Harry Lord (.433 slg.) and rookie outfielder Ping Bodie (97 RBIs).

6. New York Yankees
 1919: 578 runs, 80-59 (3rd)
 1920: 838 runs, 95-59 (3rd)
 Net gain: 260 runs, 15 wins
 Comment: Babe Ruth.

7. Chicago White Sox
 1976: 586 runs, 64-97 (6th)
 1977: 844 runs, 90-72 (3rd)
 Net gain: 258 runs, 26 wins
 Comment: They traded light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent to the Yankees for DH Oscar Gamble, who belted 31 home runs. They also got a breakout season from third-year outfielder Chet Lemon (19 HRs).

8. Arizona Diamondbacks
 1998: 665 runs, 65-97 (5th)
 1999: 908 runs, 100-62 (1st)
 Net gain: 243 runs, 35 wins
 Comment: An all-new outfield of Luis Gonzalez-Steve Finley-Tony Womack and a career year from Jay Bell did the trick for the second-year expansion team.

9. Philadelphia Phillies
 1928: 660 runs, 43-109 (8th)
 1929: 897 runs, 71-82 (5th)
 Net gain: 237 runs, 28 wins
 Comment: Hall of Famer Chuck Klein (43 HRs) played a full season for the Baker Bowl Phillies, and they traded for Lefty O'Doul (32 HRs).

10. Detroit Tigers
 1933: 722 runs, 75-79 (5th)
 1934:  958 runs, 101-53 (1st)
 Net gain: 236 runs, 26 wins
 Comment: Detroit traded for Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane and Goose Goslin and got a breakout season from a young Hank Greenberg (26 HRs).

11. San Francisco Giants
 1992: 574 runs, 72-90 (5th)
 1993: 808 runs, 103-59 (2nd)
 Net gain: 234 runs, 31 wins
 Comment: Barry Bonds.

Jacob Luft is a Baseball Producer for SI.com.