2009 Detroit Tigers Predictions

Written March 4, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Tigers Baseball It was a season to forget for Tigers fans, as all the big trades and acquisitions for the 2008 season payed little dividends. The Tigers went from finishing 2nd in the AL Central in back to back seasons to finishing dead last in the division at 74-88. The Tigers were hurt by injuries to some key players, but its hard telling exactly what went wrong with a team that has such a high payroll and so much big name talent. The Tigers haven’t been as active this offseason, but have made some key additions that could put this team right back in the thick of things in the very competitive AL Central. After trading away catcher Ivan Rodriguez, letting SS Edgar Renteria go, and losing closer Todd Jones to retirement, it was clear there were plenty of holes in the Tigers’ roster. Those problems have been sured up, as the team brought in Adam Everett to take over at short, grabbed catcher Gerald Laird from the Rangers, and found a new closer in Brandon Lyon. With the season creeping up faster than we might expect, here is my take on the 2009 Detroit Tigers and how I feel they will finish in the Central this season.

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Offense:

There is no question that the Tigers have the talent in the batting order to compete with the best offenses in the league, but the question is whether those bats can stay healthy. DH Gary Sheffield played just 114 games and hit just .225 with 19 home runs and OF/INF Carlos Guillen played just 113 games, but had a much better time at the plate hitting .286 with 10 home runs. The main source of power will come from 1B Miguel Cabrera, who who hit .292 with a AL best 37 home runs and 127 RBI. Brandon Inge is expected to move back to third base, and they are hoping he can return to the form of 2006 when he hit 27 home runs with 83 RBI. The team has one of the best hitters in the game in RF Magglio Ordonez, who hit .317 with 21 home runs and 103 RBI in 2008. Center fielder Curtis Granderson saw his numbers drop slightly, but this guy does it all at the top of the lineup. He led the AL in triples (13) for the second straight year, and still hit 22 home runs with 66 RBI. Guillen is expected to move to left field this season, and though he is 33 years old, this guy can still hit and the Tigers are hoping to see him bounce back from a season where he hit just 10 home runs with 54 RBI. Detroit might have one of the best second basemen in the game in Placido Polanco. The multi-talented Polanco can not only field, but is a great contact hitter who holds a .306 lifetime batting average. Laird is expected to help the lineup out, he did hit .276 with 6 home runs and 41 RBI in limited action with the Rangers. I am not sure how much Everett will impact this lineup. He is a career .246 hitter, and has little to no power. Also keep an eye on Marus Thames, who could be the DH if Sheffield falls apart again, and could also see some time in the outfield. He hit 25 home runs in just 103 games last season.

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Pitching:

The Tigers have a lot of question marks surrounding their starting rotation in 2009, as they aren’t completely sure what to expect from Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman had to miss most of the season last year due to injury. He had 3 straight double-digit winning seasons going into last year, but finished just 3-4 last season in 12 starts. The team also has to wonder what happened to their ace, Justin Verlander, who went from 18 wins in 2007, to just a 11-17 record with a 4.84 ERA. The Tigers look like they have found a gem in Armando Galarraga, who went 13-7 in his first full season as a starter in the league. The Tigers also went out and got a good young arm in Edwin Jackson from the Tampa Bay Rays. Jackson is just 25 and has already pitched in parts of 6 big league seasons, including last year where he went 14-11 with a 4.42 ERA for the Rays. The final spot in the rotation is still up for grabs, and it looks like it will come down to a spring training battle between Nate Robertson, Zach Minor, and Dontrelle Willis. The bullpen got a big boost with the addition of Lyon to help out their closer situation, but he still has to prove he is better than the hard throwing Joel Zumaya or Fernando Rodney. Zumaya was primed to be the closer of the future for the Tigers after his lights-out 2006 season, but he has has spent a ton of time on the disabled list. Either way, look for these 3 guys to be the late inning relief for Detroit, whether it comes in the 7th, 8th or 9th inning.

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Prediction:3rd in AL Central

I like the Tigers to bounce back in 2009, as I think they thought they had this division locked up before the season even started last year. They wound up getting off to a terrible start and struggled the whole way through. Look for the Tigers offense to be near the top in the AL, and I think the pitching has to get better after a very shaky 2008.

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