Team Name: Detroit Tigers
2008 W-L Record: 74-88
Place in division: 5th
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2009 Projected Lineup |
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Player |
Pos. |
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Gerald Laird |
C |
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Miguel Cabrera |
1B |
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Placido Polonco |
2B |
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Adam Everett |
SS |
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Brandon Inge |
3B |
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Carlos Guillen |
LF |
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Curtis Granderson |
CF |
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Magglio Ordonez |
RF |
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Gary Sheffield |
DH |
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Key Bench Players |
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Player |
Pos. |
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Ramon Santiago |
IF |
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Marcus Thames |
OF |
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Ryan Raburn |
OF |
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2009 Projected Rotation |
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Player |
Pos. |
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Justin Verlander |
SP1 |
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Armando Galarraga |
SP2 |
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Jeremy Bonderman |
SP3 |
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Edwin Jackson |
SP4 |
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Dontrelle Willis |
SP5 |
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Key Relievers |
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Player |
Pos. |
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Brandon Lyon |
Closer |
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Fernando Rodney |
Setup |
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Joel Zumaya |
Setup |
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Bobby Seay |
Specialist |
2009 Outlook Paragraph:
The Tigers, with a $100 million payroll, finished last(behind the Royals!), in 2008. That's hard to do. It certainly wasn't the fault of the offense, seeing as how they finished 4th in the league in runs scored. They're going to score plenty of runs again, and they addressed their defense with the additions of Gerald Laird and Adam Everett(career UZR/150 of 16.6). The Tigers pitching was the main problem in their terrible 2008 season. The pitching staff had the 4th worst K/9(6.17), 3rd worst FIP(4.79) and 2nd worst BB/9(4.01). Their major addition to the pitching staff was Edwin Jackson, who Rays fans know all too well. Jackson probably isn't going to help the Tiger rotation improve those numbers I listed above, only his BB/9 was better than the Tiger starters last season. Justin Verlander, the ace of the rotation, had a poor 2008 and almost certainly can't be that bad again in 2009. His walks increased last season, and he has had a major dip in FB velocity since 2006 which is cause for alarm in a young pitcher. His FIP was 4.18 which isn't terrible, but he isn't getting unlucky either with his BABiP around his career norm. The 2009 outlook doesn't seem to bright for Detroit. They'll score their 800-820 runs, but when you're rotation was terrible in 2008 and your major addition was Edwin Jackson...well that pretty much speaks for itself.