With Spring Training winding down and Opening Day looming right around the corner, it's almost the time when the final cuts are made and the official 25-man roster is formed. So far some semi-interesting decisions have already been made (Jacob Turner and Quintin Berry are gone) but, as expected, the major question marks still linger. Will Brandon Inge or Ryan Raburn get the nod at second base? Will Inge be on the team at all? Will Miguel Cabrera really be ready for Opening Day? Will Andy Dirks or Clete Thomas get the fourth-outfielder spot? And, most intriguingly, which young gun will get the fifth starter job?
First things first. Brandon Inge has long been a topic of conversation on this little blog, not to mention all of Tiger Universe, so we know we're kind of beating a dead horse when we bring him up. We don't think he should start. Period. His fielding at the 2nd base position has been decent, but his hitting has been poor as usual, hitting a whopping .174 with very little power.
That's been the problem with Inge his whole career. His spectacular defense used to make up for his hitting, but that has diminished as he's gotten older. In our minds, there is no question that Raburn should start at second, given his massive RBI production and power this Spring. The defense hasn't been horrific either, so that's a plus! The question that Leyland and the Tigers face now is to keep Inge on the team at all. Want to know our opinion? Bench player. But we'll see what the coaching staff thinks…
In good, happy news, it looks as if our poor Miguel Cabrera will be ready for Opening Day! He was cleared by the doctors this morning and his eye is de-puffed, and as usual he's hungry to get playing. We had to admit, the image of Miguel all bloodied and badass with his teammates and coaches frantically swarming him made us incredibly worried, but it seems like everything's all good. We'll meet you in Comerica, big fella!
But who else will we meet in Comerica? Clete Thomas or Andy Dirks? People (read: Jim Leyland) keep making this sound like an actual freaking debate, but we don't think it is. Andy Dirks all the way, baby. He's younger, faster, has a bigger learning curve, and is just plain better offensively. Andy is raking up the hits, while Clete is playing at his same lukewarm pace. Look. We love our selves some Clete Thomas (who doesn't?), but it would be absolutely ridiculous for him to be chosen over Andy "Forrest" Dirks.
The final, big, most interesting question of who should get the starting spot? We have no idea. Three young, attractive guys are neck and neck. No problems here. Sure, we think it would be great if Drew Smyly got a chance, since Andy Oliver is stumbling a little recently. But Duane Below, dark horse that he is, looks pretty decent too, though he might be better suited for the bullpen at this point. Smyly has that 1.13 ERA, after all. And there ain't nothin wrong with that.
This Spring Training isn't really that cut-and-dry. But that's what makes it so exciting. Whatever Leyland chooses to do with Inge, Dirks, Smyly and the rest, the 25 men we will have in Comerica Park in less than 10 days is going to be a great group.
Showing posts with label Andy Oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andy Oliver. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Battle of the Babies: Who Will Take the Fifth Spot?
For the second year in a row, the question of who the Tigers' fifth starter will be is a pressing issue in the minds of all serious tigers fans. As it stands right now, there are six youngins who could make the starting spot. Let's take a look at each of them, and we'll reveal who we think should get the top spot!
1. Jacob Turner
Probably the most well-known name on the list, Jake is also the youngest player that could make the starting rotation. He is known as the top prospect in the Tiger's minor league system and one of the top 30 prospects in the entire minor league. However, in the three games that Turner started in the bigs last year for the Tigers, he was kind of a failure. He got one loss, but had an ERA of 8.53. Granted, last year he was just a baby, but he'll still be very young this year too. We think he should probably stay in the minors for at least the first half of the season to build up his confidence before coming up to the majors again. To have the starting job after having a few shaky outings last year probably wouldn't do good things for Turner, and it definitely wouldn't do good things for the Tiger's win/loss ratio.
2. Drew Smyly
Smyly has a lot of things going for him, including the fact that his last name is "smiley." The tall kid from Arkansas played well with the Seawolves last year, starting in 7 games and finishing with an ERA of 1.18. He's also a lefty, which would add balance to the starting five. (Max Scherzer is the only southpaw.) The negatives for Smyly are that he's never played in the Big Leagues before, which is a serious concern, as we really can't trust him with a starting job if he's never faced Major League bats. Also, although Turner may be the youngest, Smyly will only be 23 at the beginning of the season, so he's just a Tiger cub as well. We see him more in relief this year, and maybe coming up in the latter half of the season if serious problems occur with our chosen starter.
3. Andy Oliver
We say "no" to Andy, but we understand why he has his fans. He has been the most "tested" candidate, starting 26 games in the minor leagues and appearing in two games in the majors with one start. This is a plus, because he's used to the pressure of being a starting pitcher. However, he hasn't exactly been the most reliable pitcher, sporting a 4.71 ERA in the Toledo and a 6.52 ERA in his two appearances with the Tigers. Experience means nothing if you can't execute, and we're not so certain Andy is big league material, as much as we hate to say it. If he performs well in Lakeland this Spring, then good for him, but the three of us are thinking that 2012 is not his year.
4. Casey Crosby
In our opinion, kind of a long shot. The tall 24-year-old from Illinois is about as seasoned as Oliver, starting 25 games on the Seawolves with a 4.10 ERA. However, everything Oliver has done, Crosby has done a little worse... he played in AA instead of AAA, and although his average is a little better, he may not have faced the bats Oliver did. Also, Crosby has never seen the bigs, and unless you're phenomenal (a la Rick Porcello) it's very hard to trust a young kid with a starting position without ever testing him at the Major League level first. The same goes for Crosby as did for Oliver. If he does well, great, but he probably won't be starting this year.
5. Adam Wilk
Adam played five games in the bigs last year in relief, but we don't remember it too well. Maybe that's a good thing, because after he left we weren't screaming in pain and frustration. He had a 5.24 ERA in the majors, which isn't great, but it's better than the guys we've listed before him. Also, in the minors, he started 18 games and had an ERA of less than 3.30. We still think Wilk is a long shot, but expect to see him in the relief rotation at least sometime this year.
6. Duane Below
Michigan's Pride Duane Below is our choice for the starting gig. Duane has proven himself the most out of all the candidates, he's a lefty, and he's the only one of the candidates older than 25. Age shouldn't matter that much, but with it comes maturity and composure, age helps (sometimes), and, as we all know, that's super important on the mound. He started 18 games in Toledo and had a 3.13 ERA, and he played in 14 games in the big leagues (starting 2) with an ERA of 4.34. He had a record of 0-2, but don't let that fool you. Below came into some games in dire circumstances and showed incredibly composure for a minor leaguer. He played in some pretty tight games and often came through for the team. We remember being very impressed by his performance in the major league. If he can perform in Spring Training, we think Below will get the job over the more high-profile turner.
Actually, Leyland will probably just shuffle them around all year like he does with his batting lineup, so we don't know why we're thinking so hard about this stuff anyway. Whatever the case, it's sure to be an interesting off-season as these six pitchers battle for that starting spot!
1. Jacob Turner
Probably the most well-known name on the list, Jake is also the youngest player that could make the starting rotation. He is known as the top prospect in the Tiger's minor league system and one of the top 30 prospects in the entire minor league. However, in the three games that Turner started in the bigs last year for the Tigers, he was kind of a failure. He got one loss, but had an ERA of 8.53. Granted, last year he was just a baby, but he'll still be very young this year too. We think he should probably stay in the minors for at least the first half of the season to build up his confidence before coming up to the majors again. To have the starting job after having a few shaky outings last year probably wouldn't do good things for Turner, and it definitely wouldn't do good things for the Tiger's win/loss ratio.
2. Drew Smyly
Smyly has a lot of things going for him, including the fact that his last name is "smiley." The tall kid from Arkansas played well with the Seawolves last year, starting in 7 games and finishing with an ERA of 1.18. He's also a lefty, which would add balance to the starting five. (Max Scherzer is the only southpaw.) The negatives for Smyly are that he's never played in the Big Leagues before, which is a serious concern, as we really can't trust him with a starting job if he's never faced Major League bats. Also, although Turner may be the youngest, Smyly will only be 23 at the beginning of the season, so he's just a Tiger cub as well. We see him more in relief this year, and maybe coming up in the latter half of the season if serious problems occur with our chosen starter.
3. Andy Oliver
We say "no" to Andy, but we understand why he has his fans. He has been the most "tested" candidate, starting 26 games in the minor leagues and appearing in two games in the majors with one start. This is a plus, because he's used to the pressure of being a starting pitcher. However, he hasn't exactly been the most reliable pitcher, sporting a 4.71 ERA in the Toledo and a 6.52 ERA in his two appearances with the Tigers. Experience means nothing if you can't execute, and we're not so certain Andy is big league material, as much as we hate to say it. If he performs well in Lakeland this Spring, then good for him, but the three of us are thinking that 2012 is not his year.
4. Casey Crosby
In our opinion, kind of a long shot. The tall 24-year-old from Illinois is about as seasoned as Oliver, starting 25 games on the Seawolves with a 4.10 ERA. However, everything Oliver has done, Crosby has done a little worse... he played in AA instead of AAA, and although his average is a little better, he may not have faced the bats Oliver did. Also, Crosby has never seen the bigs, and unless you're phenomenal (a la Rick Porcello) it's very hard to trust a young kid with a starting position without ever testing him at the Major League level first. The same goes for Crosby as did for Oliver. If he does well, great, but he probably won't be starting this year.
5. Adam Wilk
Adam played five games in the bigs last year in relief, but we don't remember it too well. Maybe that's a good thing, because after he left we weren't screaming in pain and frustration. He had a 5.24 ERA in the majors, which isn't great, but it's better than the guys we've listed before him. Also, in the minors, he started 18 games and had an ERA of less than 3.30. We still think Wilk is a long shot, but expect to see him in the relief rotation at least sometime this year.
6. Duane Below
Michigan's Pride Duane Below is our choice for the starting gig. Duane has proven himself the most out of all the candidates, he's a lefty, and he's the only one of the candidates older than 25. Age shouldn't matter that much, but with it comes maturity and composure, age helps (sometimes), and, as we all know, that's super important on the mound. He started 18 games in Toledo and had a 3.13 ERA, and he played in 14 games in the big leagues (starting 2) with an ERA of 4.34. He had a record of 0-2, but don't let that fool you. Below came into some games in dire circumstances and showed incredibly composure for a minor leaguer. He played in some pretty tight games and often came through for the team. We remember being very impressed by his performance in the major league. If he can perform in Spring Training, we think Below will get the job over the more high-profile turner.
Actually, Leyland will probably just shuffle them around all year like he does with his batting lineup, so we don't know why we're thinking so hard about this stuff anyway. Whatever the case, it's sure to be an interesting off-season as these six pitchers battle for that starting spot!
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