Spring Roster - Training and Trimming

Yes Sports fans.. Spring Training is at the mid-point.  Now it gets exciting and we will see from here on out more of the starters and what they are actually bringing back to the game this season.  Will Magglio's ankle bother him?  Will Guillen get time in with the team or will he be out the rest of Spring Training?  How ABOUT the big three hitters.. Cabrerra, Ordonez and Martinez?  Are they ready to show up?  How is Phil Coke looking as a starter?

The team from here on out, starting with Jim Leyland's cuts on Tuesday, will be focusing on getting into fighting-form as we look forward to the start of the regular season on March 31st..only 17 days away.  Cuts are coming up and the Tigers certainly won't be carrying the 58 players they currently have in camp.  Look for quite of few of the Minor-Leaguers to be gone from camp by Tuesday with not much more than the basic 40-man roster left.  I'll fill you in on who I predict will be leaving for the Minor Leagues and who I think has won a longer look at the Major League level.  By March 31st the team will have been pared down to the 25 starters heading north, and the rest will be heading to the Minors... with the lucky ones heading to Toledo, just one phone call away from the Big Leagues.  Check the "Spring Training (2011)" page for the latest on each player.

Tiger prospect Andy Dirks

We'll start with everyone's favorites.. the hitters.  A few Tigers are doing better than you would expect, and there is definitely one guy who may have played his way into a job north with the club.  Andy Dirks, the left-handed non-roster invitee outfielder who started last season in AA Erie and ended it in AAA with the Mudhens has been lighting up Spring Training with his hitting.  There is a strong chance he will replace Brennan Boesch as one of the extra outfielders coming north in 17 days.  Andy has the most at-bats of any player on the team this Spring, starting 13 of 20 games and still managing to hit .417 with 15 hits in 36 plate appearances posting 4 doubles, 2 triples and 6 walks against only 4 strikeouts.  Look for a new Tiger in town come opening day!

Ryan Raburn

Other notable hitters in the Spring have been Ryan Raburn still hitting well, not losing a step of his end-of-season surge last year.  Surprisingly Alex Avila has started strong too, hitting .304 to this point posting 10 games in the Spring session which bodes well for the Tigers every day catcher.  The second base job still in the air during Carlos Guillen's absence looks to be going to Scott Sizemore who is hitting and fielding better than Danny Worth or Will Rhymes who are both having trouble at the plate.  Expect Rhymes to be announced as one of the early retirees to AAA camp.  In the outfield right-handed hitting Casper Wells is making a statement with 2 home runs, even though not likely to come north due to the team being loaded with righty-hitting power, he might make the first round of cuts.  Clete Thomas has shown he's back from injury, but the super-utility left-hitting Don Kelly will likely be coming north with the team as an infielder/outfielder in place of an extra outfielder.

Scott Sizemore

In the struggling category are some guys who should be hitting their stride in the last 17 days of camp, but have yet to show it.  Most notably both Ordonez and Martinez have started camp very slow, only hitting near .200 to date, but starting to show they are getting their stroke back.  Cabrerra as predicted has already gotten his bat in hitting shape in the last two games he's played.  Magglio hitting only .148 so far will be the one to watch as we see how he has recovered from his broken ankle.

So who are the hitters staying in camp and who are being cut?  The big surprise will be Andy Dirks making the team, and as predicted above I see Will Rhymes being sent down. The starters will all be staying, of course, but if you want to look at a possible surprise it may be Brennan Boesch not making the cut either. We will have to see how he does in the last few weeks of camp if he makes it past the Tuesday cuts. Shortstop prospect Cale Iorg just hit well last weekend going 3 for 4 and scoring 2 runs, but he won't make the cut.  Nor will the promising first base prospect Ryan Strieby, although he may stay in camp getting a longer look as part of the 40-man roster.  Look for the Tigers to take a longer look at Danny Worth as well before they send him down to Toledo since he plays all the infield positions except first base.  All of the non-roster invitee catchers and other fielders except Dirks will probably be going, starting with Jim Leyland's son Patrick and including first base prospect Scott Thorman.  After Tuesday the Tigers are going to look like a much leaner group of hitters and the next two weeks will show what they are really made of... from where I am sitting, it doesn't look too bad... not too bad at all.  Click Here and take a look at the "Hitters" section of the Spring Training report to see for yourself...and remember to watch the Hitter Trends page to see the graph showing which way the hitters are going.

Phil Coke

Now..how about the pitching staff?  Is the off-season hype about Verlander, Scherzer, and Porcello warranted?  How will Phil Coke do as a starter?  How's the new guy Brad (don't call me "Bad") Penny working out?  Any surprises this Spring? 

Brad Penny

Let's start at the "start" with..of course.. starters!  Surprises?  Yes, the good kind.  Phil Coke and Brad Penny.  First and Second in Spring Training by my numbers, with 1 walk each in 13 and 10.3 innings respectively.  Both of these guys are looking strong already.  Let's see how they fair against the other slimmed down teams the Tigers are going to play from here on out.  Other nice surprises this Spring are rookies Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner.  They have both turned some heads, and although they will be sent to Toledo, it's not because they can't play at this level.  These two should be ready to compete and should be able to fill in if any of the starting five pitchers falter during the season.

Adam Wilk

A couple of other young pitchers also making a name for themselves are lefties Charlie Furbush and Adam Wilk.  Furbush turned some heads in his last Spring Training game when he and Wilk combined for 6 innings of 3-hit baseball against a Baltimore team loaded with starters last Sunday.  Furbush's 9 outs in his 3 innings even included 5 strikeouts showing a small sampling of the pitching that led to 183 strikeouts over 159 Minor-League innings last season.  Adam Wilk was just as sharp, and this side-arm throwing non-roster invitee only gave up 1 hit in 3 innings, and has only walked one batter in 9 innings of Spring ball.  It'll be a tough call to let these two go to Minor League camp early.  I honestly couldn't make the call if I were in charge.  I think I'd want to give them another week.  Let's see if Jim Leyland agrees with me.

It's not all good news this Spring as far as Pitchers are concerned.  Starter Max Scherzer has had two decidedly awful outings his last two times on the mound as he tries a few new things.  As a result I have him dead-last on the starting staff with 14 hits and 6 walks over 10 and 2/3 innings this Spring.  Let's hope he's got it sorted out.  Joel Zumaya as most people know is still sufferring from soreness in his surgically-repaired elbow, and may not get enough innings in to start with the club.  Promising lefty-reliever Daniel Schlereth is also recovering from a strained hamstring and trying to get in season-ready form.  Reliever Ryan Perry is not in season form yet either despite 6 innings of preparation giving up 6 hits and 3 walks against only 2 strikeouts so far.

Fu Te Ni

The relief staff does have a surprise for us this year as well.  Fu Te Ni has come to camp as a non-roster invitee this year after coming close to being released by the team last year after struggling with control problems.  The good news is so far this Spring Fu Te Ni is showing few signs of control problems and making a serious bid to being added to the bullpen.  Currently I have him listed second behind a resurgent Brad Thomas on the relief staff list as Fu Te posts continuous improvement each outing (see pitcher trends page).  Look for the Tigers to keep him in camp.

The good news so far for the relievers is that most of the starting relievers are looking good with the exception of Perry mentioned above.  Weinhart is making a bid to stay one of the right-handed pitchers in the pen alongside Benoit and Valverde. The Tigers have taken a long look at Al Alburquerque this Spring as well and like this hard-throwing right-hander, but he is showing consistency problems striking out 10 yet giving up 8 hits and 4 walks in 5 and 2/3 innings. He will likely not make the trip north with the team, but finish refining his game in Toledo.  Look for a late call up if the Tigers need right-handed relief.  Also not likely to make the cut are non-roster relievers Enrique Gonzalez and "Aussie" Chris Oxspring.

Overall the team is looking very strong.  We have 5 solid starters. Verlander is already getting past some of his "April" issues in March.  Should any of the starters falter, there are at least 3 capable guys in camp now who will be in Toledo ready to fill in and make a name for themselves.  Adding Benoit to the relief staff fills out the bullpen nicely and if there are any weaknesses it will be in relief.  Hitters are no problem this year, and I look for the Tigers to have a banner year in hitting with the addition of .300 career switch-hitter Victor Martinez.


Tomorrow the real training for the season opening begins when Jim Leyland trims down the Spring Roster... 17 days to go!


GO TIGERS!   ---Rob




Photo Credits:
Andy Dirks by Robin Buckson- The Detroit News
Ryan Raburn by Robin Buckson- The Detroit News
Scott Sizemore by Robin Buckson- The Detroit News
Phil Coke by Robin Buckson- The Detroit News
Brad Penny by John T. Greilick- The Detroit News
Adam Wilk by Derick E Hingle- US Presswire
Fu Te Ni by Jed Jacobsohn- Getty Images