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| Prince makes the Tigers a lock to be Kings of the AL Central. |
The division wrapped up in the winter would be the AL Central. The Detroit Tigers clinched the AL Central, a division they were already heavily favored to win, by signing Prince Fielder this offseason.
The Fresh Prince of Detroit rounds out an already deadly lineup and thrust Detroit into Baseball's elite. Perhaps we may see Detroit v. Texas round two in October. The moral of the story is that franchises in the American League outside of New York and Boston are set up for sustained success.
Fielder is not the only smart thing, nor the most important thing that Detroit's front office has done. The smartest thing they have done was make the necessary additions to their pitching staff. Last July, the Tigers picked up Doug Fister from the Mariners to provide a Robin to Justin Verlander's Batman. They also spent this offseason picking up veteran arms to finish off their bullpen, most notably Collin Balester and Octavio Dotel.
The bullpen is backed by Jose Valverde, Joaquin Benoit and Al Albuquerque. It is not quite what Atlanta has in a Closer/Setup/Bishop combo, but it is deadly enough considering how good this lineup and rotation is. I would call this the best Tiger bullpen since Todd Jones, Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney were all doing their thing in the Motor City.
In adding Fielder, they more than offset the loss of Victor Martinez they will endure for most of the season. He also joins a lineup that includes Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson and Alex Avila. There are outs in this lineup. But there are four legitimate offensive weapons. The problem for the rest of the division is that Brennan Boesch, Delmon Young, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Raburn, Andy Dirks.
Before I finish, I must note that former Arkansas Razorback Drew Smyly was named the fifth starter.
X-FACTORS:
Lineup: 3B Miguel Cabrera. Project Softball Infield is highly dependent on Miggy's ability to play third.
Rotation: Rick Porcello. He has a great debut at Age 20 and has won 14 games twice all by the age of 23. But Porcello needs to start pitching like everyone knows he is capable of. Unless, of course, he wants to be Jon Garland.
Bullpen: Collin Balester. He is at a crossroads in Detroit. I can see him as a starter who reinvents himself as a back of the bullpen guy.
The Kids: SP Drew Smyly. He may just be 2012's answer to 2009's Rick Porcello.
ROYAL LIST:
#22 RHP Jacob Turner: Another Porcello reference. Another 20 year old arm bursting onto the scene for the Tigers.
#45 3B Nick Castellanos: Another reason that I feel that Miguel Cabrera in the DH slot is imminent.
PROJECTION: 1st Place AL Central
-For obvious reasons.
The Fresh Prince of Detroit rounds out an already deadly lineup and thrust Detroit into Baseball's elite. Perhaps we may see Detroit v. Texas round two in October. The moral of the story is that franchises in the American League outside of New York and Boston are set up for sustained success.
Fielder is not the only smart thing, nor the most important thing that Detroit's front office has done. The smartest thing they have done was make the necessary additions to their pitching staff. Last July, the Tigers picked up Doug Fister from the Mariners to provide a Robin to Justin Verlander's Batman. They also spent this offseason picking up veteran arms to finish off their bullpen, most notably Collin Balester and Octavio Dotel.
The bullpen is backed by Jose Valverde, Joaquin Benoit and Al Albuquerque. It is not quite what Atlanta has in a Closer/Setup/Bishop combo, but it is deadly enough considering how good this lineup and rotation is. I would call this the best Tiger bullpen since Todd Jones, Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney were all doing their thing in the Motor City.
In adding Fielder, they more than offset the loss of Victor Martinez they will endure for most of the season. He also joins a lineup that includes Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson and Alex Avila. There are outs in this lineup. But there are four legitimate offensive weapons. The problem for the rest of the division is that Brennan Boesch, Delmon Young, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Raburn, Andy Dirks.
Before I finish, I must note that former Arkansas Razorback Drew Smyly was named the fifth starter.
X-FACTORS:
Lineup: 3B Miguel Cabrera. Project Softball Infield is highly dependent on Miggy's ability to play third.
Rotation: Rick Porcello. He has a great debut at Age 20 and has won 14 games twice all by the age of 23. But Porcello needs to start pitching like everyone knows he is capable of. Unless, of course, he wants to be Jon Garland.
Bullpen: Collin Balester. He is at a crossroads in Detroit. I can see him as a starter who reinvents himself as a back of the bullpen guy.
The Kids: SP Drew Smyly. He may just be 2012's answer to 2009's Rick Porcello.
ROYAL LIST:
#22 RHP Jacob Turner: Another Porcello reference. Another 20 year old arm bursting onto the scene for the Tigers.
#45 3B Nick Castellanos: Another reason that I feel that Miguel Cabrera in the DH slot is imminent.
PROJECTION: 1st Place AL Central
-For obvious reasons.
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