MLB Season Preview: Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers


Last Season's Standings: The Detroit Tigers went 95-67 , including 4-6 in their final ten games, to finish second in the AL Central. The tigers then got hot and went all the way to the WS before losing in five games to the Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

In: 1B Sean Casey; 2B Alexis Hooper; RP Jose Mesa (prev. team: Colorado Rockies); RP Bobby Seay; RF Gary Sheffield (via trasde w/ NY Yankees); CF Curtis Granderson; 3B Kody Kirkland; RP Roman Colon; RP Yorman Bazardo (via trade w/ Seattle Mariners); SP Kyle Sleeth; RP Eulogio De La Cruz; RP Preston Larrison; SP Virgil Vasquez; RP Edward Campusano; C Mike Rabelo; RP Fernando Rodney; 2B Omar Infante; SP Nate Robertson; LF Craig Monroe; SP Jeremy Bonderman; 3B Brandon Inge

Out: LF Jeff Frazier (via trade w/ Seattle Mariners); SP Humberto Sanchez (via trade w/ NY Yankees); RP Kevin Whelan (via trade w/ NY Yankees); RP Anthony Claggett (via trade w/ NY Yankees); CF Dustin Mohr (new team: Tampa Bay Devil Rays); DH Matt Stairs (new team: Toronto Blue Jays); RP Jamie Walker (new team: Baltimore Orioles)

Starting Pitching: The staff ace will be righty Jeremy Bonderman, who went 14-8 with a 4.08 ERA in 214 innings over 34 starts while racking up a whopping 204 strikeouts and walking just 64 batters last season. He's a tough kid with good command and great stuff, including a mid-90's fastball and nasty slider. A new splitter has led to overall improvement. Bonderman really heats up during the middle innings of a start and is getting better at pitching deeper. There are occasional lapses in his command and he winds up lobbing the ball over the plate, but that's rare and a sign of youth. Aging southpaw Kenny Rogers, who went 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA over 204 innings through 33 starts while punching out 99 batters and walking 62, but he won't be available until at least July, likely after the all-star break, after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot and repair arteries in his pitching arm. Rogers still has lots of movement on his fastball and is still tough on left-handers. His pickoff move is one of the best in the business, and in the field, he's a gold-glover. Shoulder pain has hampered his ability to throw the slider the past few years and his formerly hard heat has lost considerable velocity. He'll be followed by Justin Verlander, who will pitch second in the rotation until Rogers' return. He was 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA over 186 innings accumulated in 30 starts while striking out 124 hitters and walking 60. The big kid can pop the gun at 99 mph with a quick delivery, while also delivering a nasty curve and a quality change-up. Verlander needs to work on keeping the ball lower in the zone and carrying his good stuff into August and September. Lefty Nate Robertson will take the ball fourth, third until around July. He was 13-13 with a 3.84 ERA over 202 innings collected over 32 starts while striking out 137 and walking 67 batters. Robertson can blow the ball by hitters when he needs to and has pretty good command. He can also sustain his good stuff late into his starts. He is prone to giving up more than his share of longballs (29 balls left the park off him last season) and tends to wear down late in the season. The current fourth starter, fifth once Rogers returns is a third southpaw in Mike Maroth. He went 5-2 with a 4.59 ERA in 53 innings over 13 starts, sandwiched by an elbow injury that forced him to miss 3 months last season. Maroth struck out 24 hitters and walked 16. His command is strong and he gets out in front early in the count. He's shown poise in tight spots. He's shown an ability to consistently retire left-handed batters, now he has to work on his approach to right-handed hitters. He also needs to build his endurance. Chad Durbin is an option to pitch as a fifth starter until July, but is likely to start in Toledo and be a September call-up. He had a 1.50 ERA in 3 appearances last season

Bullpen: Aging veteran Todd Jones anchors this youthful bullpen and he'll be a good role model to the young pitchers. Jones notched 37 saves in 43 attempts and had a further record of 2-6 with a 3.94 ERA over 62 appearances last season. His awkward delivery and 93-mph sinking fastball keep hitters off-balance and he has great control that keeps him around the plate, even in crucial game situations. He has a very big, looping curveball that you can see coming from a mile away. He tends to struggle with runners aboard. Setting him up in the eighth will be righty Fernando Rodney, who went 7-4 with a 3.52 ERA in 63 appearances last season. Rodney has big heat and his stuff is just nasty against right-handed hitters. He works well with runners on. Rodney would be more efficient if he got ahead in the count more. He needs a few days' rest to be most effective. Righty Joel Zumaya is a second option as setup man, he went 6-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 83.1 innings over 62 apparances while punching out 97 and walking 42. Zumaya owns one of the fastest, nastiest fastball around, often hitting triple digits on the gun. It's made more devastating by a strong change-up and he adds a curve; he's mentally tough. His curve is good but can get him into trouble when its off. He's not great on back-to-back days out of the bullpen. The aging Jose Mesa, who went 1-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 79 games played last season. Mesa still owns a fastball that clocks in the mid-90's and it has some movement on it. His splitter is also a deadly weapon, although many hitters have learned to stay off of it. He's not very mobile and base-runners snatch bases with relative ease. He's prone to making it too close in the late innings. As long man/middle reliever, lefty Wilfredo Ledezma, who went 3-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 24 appearances, seven of those being starts last season. His combo of low-90's heat and curveball are made tougher by the sneaky angle from which he pitches. He has had trouble shaking the nerves in the big leagues, particularly with runners in scoring position. Entering his second full season in the bigs, righty Jason Grilli, who was 2-3 with a 4.21 ERA last season, is likely to be the middle reliever in the bullpen, coming into the game around the sixth or seventh innings. Finally, rookie Bobby Seay, who will start the 2007 season in Toledo and be a likely September call-up, had a 6.46 ERA in 14 appearances last season.

Designated Hitter: Trade acquisition Gary Sheffield will be the primary DH and will bat clean-up and play anywhere from 125-155 games if healthy. He missed all but 39 games to torn wrist ligaments suffered in a collision but still managed to hit .298 with 6 HR and 25 RBI last season. Sheff's success comes from his patience and overall smarts at the plate. He can constantly foul off pitches until he finds a juicy one and then extend his arms and drive the ball. He has the ability to change the outcome of the game with one swing. Inconsistency and injury. Sheffield has been plagued by minor injuries and they seem to affect his mind more than his body. Backing him up will be utility man Marcus Thames, who hit .256 with 26 HR and 60 RBI last season. He works hard and has good power, showing some plate discipline at times. He can show his power against both lefties and righties. Thames is generally inconsistent, prone to getting crossed up at the plate. A third option as designated hitter is utility man Omar Infante, who hit .277 with 4 HR and 25 RBI last season. At the plate, he'll poke the ball the other way and has occasional power. He's got quick feet on the base paths. He can't catch up to the tight heat, resulting in too many strikeouts (45 last season). He has some trouble against southpaws.

Catcher: Ivan "I-Rod" Rodriguez will once again get the bulk of starts behind the plate and will bat seventh in the lineup and play between 135 and 145 games if healthy. He hit .300 with 13 HR and 69 RBI last season. For starters, lets talk about his defensive game, which makes opposing teams change their entire game plan. And let's not forget about his quick bat that generates surprising power for a stocky little guy, and above-average speed for a catcher. He's an injury risk every time he take the field. At the plate, he rarely hangs in long enough to take a walk (just 26 times last season). Although he'll start the season on the DL with an injury to his throwing elbow, Vance Wilson is entering his third season as the back-up to Rodriguez. He hit .283 with 5 HR and 18 RBI last season. Overall, Wilson is defensively sound. He calls a good game, reads the play well and throws out runners often. He has decent power and surprising speed for a catcher. He needs to exercise more patient at the plate. He tends to chase pitches out of the zone.

First Baseman: Last seasons's trade deadline acquisition Sean Casey returns this season as the starting first baseman. He's capable of hitting .300, but he had an off-year in 2006, hitting .272 with 8 HR and 59 RBI in 2006. He pummels fastballs and gets a good handle on off-speed stuff, looking at each AB as a learning experience. He's a good run producer and a sure-handed fielder, able to scoop up tough short-hoppers. He's certainly not the fleetest afoot and he's a friend of the strikeout (struck out 43 times last seson). Injuries are starting to become a big problem. Backing him up will be Thames.

Second Baseman: Batting sixth and playing between 125 and 135 games if healthy will be the speedy Placido Polanco. He hit .295 with 4 HR and 52 RBI last season. He makes consistent contact and can really come through with runners in scoring position. His defensive versaitility makes him very valuable and he has good speed. Though he does have a strong all-around game, his production tends to drop against righties. Infante and Neifi Perez, both utility infielders will back him up. Perez hit .243 with 2 HR and 29 RBI last season. He's a solid contact hitter with good gap power. Perez has the speed to leg a single into a double or a double into a triple and has expert bunting skills. Defensively, he's got good range and a strong arm. Despite his speed, he doesn't explode out of the gates, so he can't steal a lot of bases. As a switch-hitter, he's usually less powerful hitting left-handed and the one flaw in his defense is his tendency to occasionally mis-throw.

Shortstop: The speedy Carlos Guillen will bat 3rd and play between 145 and 155 games if healthy. He hit .320 with 19 HR and 85 RBI. Guillen's biggest strength is his bat, with some power from both sides of the plate. He also has the range and arm to play any infield position. He has a lot of trouble with high heat, and doesn't hit righties very well. Guillen's no good in the clutch, but to his credit he made monumental strides in 2004. Perez and Infante will provide back-up.

Third Baseman: At the hot corner is Brandon Inge who will play all but perhaps a handful of games if healthy. He'll bat ninth in the order. Inge batted .253 with 27 HR and 83 RBI last season, he struck out an unimpressive 128 times last season. Though he came up as a strong catcher, he's worked hard to increase his versatility and it's paid off. There is decent power stored up in his bat and he has that rare ability for a catcher-type to run the bases. He doesn't hit for much average and strikes out like he's being paid to, so he could use some time in the batting cage learning how to make contact. Perez and Infante will back him up.

Left Fielder: Batting second and playing 115+ games will be Craig Monroe, who hit .255 with 28 HR and 92 RBI in 2006. He's an aggressive hitter with power who mashes left-handed hitters and isn't afraid of breaking balls. He loves to pounce on the first pitch. Monroe rarely takes a walk (just 37 times last season) and doesn't hit well when a pitcher isn't distracted by base runners. His defense has a few holes. Thames and Sheffield will back him up.

Center Fielder: The leadoff man and every day center fielder is Curtis Granderson. He hit .260 with 19 HR and 93 RBI and a .335 on-base percentage. He struck out an ungodly 174 times. Granderson is a line drive hitter who has above-average skills in pretty much every offensive category, he's also an above-average defensive outfielder. He still has work to do on his plate discipline and getting a good read when stealing. He has had some trouble against lefties. Infante and Monroe back up.

Right Fielder: Finally, batting fifth and playing 155+ games if healthy will be Magglio Ordonez. He hit .298 with 24 HR and 104 runs driven in last season. He has a knack for driving in runs any way necessary and his base-running improves all the time. He doesn't strike out much for a big slugger (87 times last season) because he's learned to adjust his approach pitcher to pitcher. On occasion, he chases bad pitches and swings at the first pitch a lot. He's prone to slow starts. Sheffield and Thames will provide the back-up.

Season Prediction: The Detroit Tigers are going to be the hunted this season, but they have a strong line-up and decent starting rotation. Look for them to place third in the strong AL Central.