Tigers Spring Thoughts

I went to the Tigers home spring finale today and I saw a lot of good things, here’s a recap of some thoughts.
1. Andy Dirks should get the final spot on the roster and if he doesn’t Worth should
2. Austin Jackson can really hit well and this year and beyond could be his if he cuts his strikeouts and is aggressive at good pitches and not bad ones
3. Drew Smyly could be huge as a fifth starter and he looked amazing today. Didn’t see anything really bad about him
4. Prince Fielder can hit some really, historically long homers and has some HUGE power, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had another 50 HR season, Comerica won’t harm is homer numbers much at all
5. This offense can really click and do big things and the defense doesn’t look to bad
6. Tyler Collins looked good as a prospect note
7. Brett Cecil will probably be streaky, the AL East isn’t the best place for him.
8. Deleon Young will have a big contract year
9. Both teams look and are good but the Tigers are better and will show it.

Marlins Question #4: Will The Young Guys Develop?

The Marlins are loaded with young talent, some guys like Bonifacio and Sanchez broke out last year.  This year for me, it’s three specific players that need to develop to help the Marlins chances at the playoffs get better and those three guys are Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton.  I will look at each guy separately.

Giancarlo Stanton: You may be thinking, what more does this guy have to do?  Well, 34 homers was certainly good and if he repeats his 2011 he will be in good shape but he is better than that.  He could easily hit 40 or more home runs and have his average go up 15 points.  Stanton is a smart hitter and will start to solve pitchers and an increase is imminent, but his average will be the toughest.  His power will continue to develop and 40-41 HR is good enough for 2012 and around what he’s capable and should do.  His average may take some time, he will likely never be a .300 guy constantly but .280 is a good number and that may be out of reach for him in 2012.  His talent is enormous and he should shoot up in growth and be more than what the Marlins need in 2012.

Gaby Sanchez: You may be saying, he’s a good player as is for Sanchez too, and you would be right.  Sanchez showed he could be an all-star in 2011 but in the second half he fizzled off and the key to winning for the Marlins are the guys behind Stanton and Sanchez is one of them.  He needs to not slip up in the second half this year and if he doesn’t, he could be a tough hitter who hits 25 big flies.  He’s been constantly bad after the break and that isn’t good but the is younger and can change that, only time will tell but he has to do damage and he will and be one of the Marlins better first half hitters for sure and most likely good enough.

Logan Morrison: He’s got power but all the way up from the minors he hit for average too.  LoMo is going to develop more and my gut and his talent say he will be the biggest breakout in the MLB in 2012, yes I said it.  His power will only get better and last year was weird for him being demoted and he had some struggles but fought through them and he’s better than the stats suggest and with the talent he has, Logan and Giancarlo could be one of the best 4-5 combos in the NL and MLB in 2012 and in the many years after.  He should do good enough.

 

The young guys should all improve and as I answer these important questions, it keeps looking better and better for the Miami Marlins in 2012, but also in the years that follow.

Best Tigers Non-Roster Invitees

SMYLY: Could win the five-spot and be a pretty good lefty, he will have to do really good though and it’s probably best if he pitches some in AAA before the show, but you never know and he could be a very good rookie if he makes it this year.  I like his arm and he’s underrated and he has some good potential and expect to see it during the Spring.
HOLADAY: Another guy who could crack the roster but he has to do even better(than Smyly’s performance), but he’s a catcher.  If he hits well enough he could knock Laird right off the roster or at least be on the brink of the MLB and after a somewhat disappointing 2011 expect his hitting to rebound a lot in 2012 and he defense is okay.  The Tigers should keep Laird to start the year but keep you eye on him.
STRIEBY: He has power but he will never be a great hitter.  He could do okay if he gets a shot but he doesn’t have much room right now unless he were to fill in as a DH, but he will have to hit a little better, which may not happen.  Keep your eye on him too though because if he does he may surprise you and though he wouldn’t be good he could be okay as a platoon guy and watch his power, that will always be there for him.
CASTELLANOS: He’s not going to the MLB, but watch him, he’s an amazing player and should have some impressive moments this spring.
HENRY: He’s coming off a big year int he minors and though he probably won’t be even ana average major leaguer he could do some things a s utility guy and he has some tools
JUST MISSED: OF Jared Head, C Rob Brantly

MAKE OR BREAK YEAR (For an MLB guy): OF Clete Thomas- he has to prove he’s worthy and I;m mixed on him.  He does good things but has his minuses, he’s a toss-up for making it or not, I’ll go with bench at best but not that likely

BREAKOUT: SP Jacob Turner- ROY candidate if he makes the team

Tigers Cuts

Tomorrow I will focus on who made the final roster spots…

ADAM WILK: I think he’s a bit overrated and he might not have the best season if he pitches for the Tigers this year but he will do decent.  His stuff can be beat a little to easily right now so he needs to season himself and he would hurt the club a little more than anyone else right now.  He could come up later this season and have a good season.  He will do his job well but I don’t think he’s cut out for the majors yet and he was a good cut
ANDY DIRKS: FOr right now he’s not better than the other outfielder but when the opportunity comes up he will mash at first and then steadily do good for a while.  He will make a good bench player at some point this year.  His tools are pretty good and he can put up numbers that are play but for right now they needed to cut him for a bit of season
DANNY WORTH: He could have some good moments when hitting but nothing special and what he did at the plate this spring isn’t real.  His defense will be awesome but he’s a boarderline major leaguer so he will do pretty average when up this year and will make for a good guy to have around later.
RANK OF THE GUYS CUT WHO WILL DO BEST

1. Andy Dirks
2. Danny Worth
3. Adam Wilk

Mets versus Braves Analysis

• Jason Heyward did nothing but impress me he faced some okay pitchers and kept walking and he cans keep that up and if he does he will be a whole lot better and will have a better rookie season than most players ever do.
• Bobby Livingston deserves another look, he pitched great in emergency relief and he could probably do that most of the year and should improve their bullpen and pitch some very good games.
• Ryota Igarashi had a few fixable flaws against bad hitters, which is scary but he should keep getting better throughout Spring Training, I would have him in a good role on Opening Day because he is very special.
• The Mets second strong pitching was good if some of those guys make the Opening day roster they could be somewhat better.
• I didn’t like Nelson Figeroua, he was inconsistent and didn’t do much the first part of his appearance.

Tigers best non-roster invitees

LARISH:  I really see Larish making some nice contibutions this year but he needs to step it up a lot.  His power will carry him a long way but his defense is bad and he needs to get on base more, if he can get better at that he might be a decent starter but he needs the minors first.
DIAZ:  I think he could serve as a good short-term back-up but he isn’t as good as Avila and Avila is ready, but Diaz might make the roster and if he does it won’t break this team.  His defense isn’t real good but his short-term hitting could carry him to a decent year.
NUNEZ:  Nunez isn’t ready yet but his set of tools should be very good and he might hit really well for them, I think he could be used if the have no other options and he might do just fine or he might mess up.  Nunez is a good guy to have and could help this team a lot, one day.
WEINHARDT:  This guy dominates and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be on the club.  It might not fully translate but he has a great arm and he can pitch.  I like everything he can do and could be better than a lot of our relievers.  He has all the great tools and could start dominating any time now.
GONZALEZ:  Enrique Gonzalez should put up decent numbers but he isn’t that good and I don’t see him helping this team much.  He will get a strikeout from time to time though.

COULD FLY: Rick Porcello should build on his success because he has tons of talent and he could compete for the CY Young as soon as this year, watch out he can do a lot.
MAKE IT OR BREAK IT YEAR:  Joel Zumaya has to do good this year or else he will just get worse and really not do much besides get a few strikeouts and have a very high walk rate.

Game Review: Braves at Tigers 2-25-09

The Atlanta Braves were downed by the Tigers 5 to 4 in a close game that showed the Tigers had veterans and prospects.  The only homer hit in this game came off of the bat of Jordan Schafer in the seventh inning.  Ramon Santiago went two for two and drove in a run while scoring one.  It was a great match up as Justin Verlander went two strong innings not giving up a signle run while Jair Jurrjens gave up two runs in a though game.  Newly acquired players did okay in this game as Gerald Laird went 2 for 3 and Adam everett drove in a run, Brandon Lyon gave up three runs in his Tigers debut but none were earned.  Fu-Te-Ni got the win for the Tigers and showed he deserved a spot as a reliever, Kyle Bloom the Tigers Rule V draftee got the save as the Tigers showed that they do have a good bullpen.  The Tigers defense does need to get fixed though.  But the Tigers played a decent game showing us what they’ve got.