Opening Day in 10 Days!

The Official start of Spring for Baseball and Tigers fans is March 31st this year.. Opening Day!

So how are the Tigers looking?  Who's made it so far?  Who are the new faces? How is the pitching? Who will make the team?

Joel Zumaya on the DL

We'll start with some of the moves last week.  First-baseman Ryan Strieby was not kept in camp as predicted but first-baseman Scott Thorman was given a longer look instead.  Both are now no longer in camp.  Second-baseman Will Rhymes is still in camp, as is infielder Danny Worth whose hitting has picked up as he tries to make the team.  Outfielders Casper Wells and Clete Thomas are still in camp along with the competing lefties Brennan Boesch and surprise non-roster invitee Andy Dirks.  On the mound there have been moves as Joel Zumaya was put on the disabled list (DL) and Aussie Chris Oxspring was released to minor league camp as anticipated.  Adam Wilk and Charlie Furbush were given longer looks as well.  Furbush was sent to Toledo where he will be available along with Andy Oliver should a lefty starter be needed during the season.  The side-arm throwing Adam Wilk has made an impression in camp and is another non-roster invitee on the brink of making the team.  Hard-throwing right-hander Al Alburquerque was given a longer look and then sent down to Toledo as predicted to work on his control.  All told the team is down to 33 players in camp with both Zumaya and Guillen starting the season on the DL.

There are 8 more players who will not be coming north, 3 pitchers and 5 positions players.  The last week of Spring Training will determine who these players are as the Spring Training roster reduces to the required 25 for opening day.  (See "shaded" areas of the pitcher and hitter "trends" pages for a look at the top 12 pitchers and 13 hitters in camp.)

Robbie Weinhardt

Still competing for spots on the Pitching roster are non-roster lefties Adam Wilk mentioned above and Fu Te Ni along with the right-hander Enrique Gonzalez.  Adam Wilk has the inside track among the 3 and it will probably come down to the wire between he and Fu Te Ni who are both showing great stuff this Spring.  With only 7 spots in the bullpen there should be room for only 3 left-handers and 3 right-handers besides the closer Valverde.  With Benoit and Valverde already in the pen there's not a lot of room on the staff for a righty so it is likely Gonzalez won't make the cut and right-hander Brian Villarreal may suffer the same fate, although the Tigers like him a lot.  Right-hander Robbie Wienhardt has pitched well and looks to be a lock for the 3rd right-hander on the team.  With Joaquin Benoit, Ryan Perry and Weinhardt as right-handers it leaves Villarreal and Gonzalez out in the cold unless both non-roster lefties don't make the team or Weinhardt falls apart in the last 9 games.  Brad Thomas will be one of three left-handers leaving Fu Te Ni, Adam Wilk and Daniel Schlereth to fill in the last 2 spots.  Leyland really likes Wilk, and Schlereth exhibited some control problems walking 4 straight batters in an early Spring game, so it's likely to come down to the wire in the last 9 games of camp for the relief staff.  The good news is that the Tigers are leading all American League Teams in team Pitching ERA this Spring which bodes well for the Pitching staff once the season starts.

In the "concern" area of the Pitching staff are a couple of Pitchers the Tigers will be relying on at the start of the season.  Max Scherzer has had problems both getting innings in to be ready for the home opener on April 8th and in getting hit hard this spring while walking batters as he experimented with some new approaches.  The Tigers have him pitching a Minor League game to work on his stuff.  We'll have to watch Scherzer, he may be starting the season with some issues to resolve.  The other pitcher with issues so far this Spring is Ryan Perry.  Perry hasn't yet found a rhythm giving up 8 hits and 5 walks in only 8 innings to date.  Look for him to get some more work.  He'll need to improve in the last few games of Spring to be ready for the season or Villarreal could be taking his spot.

Worth out-hitting Sizemore and Rhymes

The competition in camp while the Tigers try to decide which 5 fielders won't make the trip north is just as tight as that for the lefty relievers.  Max St.Pierre is still in camp catching so look for him to be the first to head back to Toledo.  That leaves 4 players who will be disappointed.  Up for grabs is the one spot at 2nd while Guillen is out, and two reserve outfielders.  Don Kelly is already assured a spot as a super utility infielder at the corners who also plays outfield (and is an emergency catcher).  Competing for the spot at 2nd base are Danny Worth, Will Rhymes, and Scott Sizemore.  Only one will come north.  Danny Worth is out-hitting both Sizemore and Rhymes in camp and he plays 2nd, Short, and 3rd base.   I like him to make the team, but the Tigers are vested pretty heavily in Sizemore who is also out-hitting Rhymes.  Look for Rhymes to make the trip down soon as the second of the 5 out of camp, and hopefully the Tigers will give Worth another look before deciding on a 2nd-baseman.  In the outfield the competition is just as tight between non-roster phenom Andy Dirks whom the club thinks highly of and Brennan Boesch, Casper Wells and Clete Thomas.  Two of these guys won't make the team, and two will.  This one is a toss-up.  Clete Thomas and Wells are primarily center-fielders while Boesch and Dirks are corner outfield guys.  Boesch's hitting is improving, Dirks is still out hitting him, and I'd like to see both make the team.  Casper Wells suffers from being a right-handed hitter on a team with right-handed power already.  Clete is the weakest hitter of the bunch so I'll go out on a limb and say he'll be going down with Wells.

In the "concern" department for hitters there are two players as well.  Thank god for Brandon Inge's defense because he is hitting no where near even his regular season average yet while in camp.  Inge is hitting .221 while another regular player Magglio Ordonez is improving but still only hitting .211 himself.  Look for concern over these two hitters should they not find a hitting rhythm by opening day.

Other than that the Tigers should have a pretty good hitting team this season.  We'll see for real in 10 days! 

As always see the "Spring Training (2011)" page for the details and check the "trends" pages for some updated graphs. (Pitcher Trends - Hitter Trends)


That's it for this week...  GO TIGERS!    ---Rob






Photo Credits:
Joel Zumaya by John T. Greilick- The Detroit News
Robbie Weinhardt by Robin Buckson- The Detroit News
Danny Worth by John T. Greilick- The Detroit News