Jake Rogers was expected to be behind the plate Saturday, which is where he’s been for all of Tarik Skubal’s 26 starts this season.

And while he gets that his name isn’t going to be on whatever hardware Skubal gets for winning the Cy Young Award, a little co-recognition would be nice.

“We’ve been together all year,” Rogers said. “I was joking with (fellow catcher Dillon) Dingler about his schedule. Like, I’m going to get on my every five-day schedule, too. It’s going to be Skubal and Rog Day, instead of just Skubal Day.”

Seems fair enough. But the truth is, being able to copilot Skubal’s starts has been an oasis for Rogers in what has been a befuddling and frustrating season.

“Man, it’s just, like, the catching has been good,” he said. “I’ve kind of solidified that. Now if I can solidify the other half of the game, I’d be an incredible player. Unfortunately, we all have weaknesses. But we work on them.”

Rogers hit 21 home runs last season and seemed to establish a useful low-average, big-damage offensive profile. This year, he’s neither hit for power (nine homers, .351 slugging percentage) nor average (.186).

“He’s had to adjust to more sporadic playing time, which is always difficult on a hitter,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Specifically one who relies so much on timing and contact point to be able to get the ball in the air. He’s still showing tremendous power to all fields but he’s been a tick more under the ball this year, which creates the miss for him or the pop-up.”

Rogers split the catching duties with Carson Kelly through July and now he’s playing even less as the Tigers use the final two months to acclimate rookie Dingler to the big leagues.

“His timing would be better if he played a little bit more,” Hinch said. “One thing I’ve appreciated from him, he’s never let it impact his catching or his preparation.”

Hinch’s point about timing and contact point is validated by some of Rogers’ hitting metrics. Pitchers are beating him consistently on the outer part of the plate. They are busting him inside with two-seam or four-seam fastballs and then getting him to miss or rollover pitches on the outer edge.

His ground ball rate (40%) is up and his fly ball rate (33%) is down. His whiff (32.5%) and strikeout rates (31%) are about the same as last season. But he’s hitting fewer balls off the sweet spot of the bat (33.5% compared to 40% last season).

He’s made solid contact on just 9% of the balls he’s put in play. And a lot of that solid contact has gone for outs. He has an expected slugging percentage of .601 and an actual slugging percentage of .500 off four-seam fastballs. Yet, his batting average is just .214 against those pitches with a 36% strikeout rate.

“It’s been frustrating, especially these last couple of weeks,” Rogers said. “I’ve always had my ups and downs throughout the years. I’d come out of it and go back into it and then come out of it again. But these last couple of weeks, some loud outs, hitting it hard right at people and then having my bad games.

“We all have bad games. But the good ones aren’t coming around as often.”

Rogers had one of the best days of any catcher in Tigers history on Aug. 13 when he hit a grand slam and two doubles, knocking in seven runs in a 15-1 rout of the Mariners.

He hadn’t had a hit since that game, 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts, entering play Saturday.

“I’m focusing on figuring out what that little thing is that’s wrong and just sticking strong to the catching and doing what I do best,” Rogers said.

His catching has been unassailable. He’s worth eight runs above average with his defense, according to Statcast. His framing alone is a plus-5.

“Just kind of being here for the guys and doing anything I can to help them get ready and learn how to win,” he said. “Just get ready to hit the ground running for next year.”

Don’t misunderstand. Rogers is nowhere near ready to concede being a defense-first, backup catcher. He’s only 29 and aspires to being one of the foundation pieces here. But, as he looks around the clubhouse, he’s realizing he’s already one of the old heads in the room.

“It’s weird, man,” he said. “But here I am. It’s weird being the oldest guy with only four years (of service time), I can tell you that. But it’s good. We’re having fun and that makes it all a lot better.

“We’re all here with the same mindset. Just finish out the year strong. That’s the name of the game.”