In baseball, as with the weather, the climate in April is deeply unpredictable. Snow in Britain; in Michigan, a giant shower known as the Detroit Tigers.

World Series runners-up in 2006, second in the American League central division last season, the Tigers spent big last winter. Very big. In came the superstar slugger, Miguel Cabrera, for a contract worth £76 million ($152m) over eight years. Joining him, the capable hitters, Jacque Jones and Edgar Renteria, and the inconsistent but talented pitcher, Dontrelle Willis.

Detroit’s line-up and pitching rotation is among the best in their league, as you might expect for an annual squad salary of £70m ($139m), the second highest in Major League Baseball.

What you might not expect is that after six games, the Tigers are the worst team in the major leagues. Played six, lost six, most recently the embarrassing 13-2 thrashing by the Chicago White Sox. And all six games were at home. “I think everyone on this team needs to do some soul-searching,” Justin Verlander, the pitcher who gave up nine runs against the White Sox, said.

It’s Detroit’s worst start since 2003, when they lost their first nine fixtures and went on to lose 119 of their 162 games, the worst-ever tally in the American League.

The Tigers can take small consolation from the early struggles of other expensive and highly-rated teams. The American League East division looks upside-down: the World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox, are bottom, with four losses and three wins; second-last are the New York Yankees – by far the most costly side in the Major Leagues, with an annual payroll of more than £100m ($200m). But the Baltimore Orioles, widely expected to struggle as usual, are top with a record of four wins and one defeat.

In the National League East, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies surprisingly prop up the table, while in the West, the Colorado Rockies, who lost to Boston in the World Series last year, have endured a nightmare start, winning once and losing five times. En route to the final, the Rockies went on a streak of 21 wins in 22 games. Now the outlook is stormier.