Spring Training Special Edition

Welcome Tiger Fans!   This weekend we will have our reporter on the spot in Lakeland, and should have a report direct from Florida next week.

This week's news:
Roster moves, (and predicted moves) hitting, pitching, and more... oh my!

Quintin Berry

Roster moves this week are picking up as the team gets guys NOT coming north sent down to the Minor League camps.  Hitters/Fielders cut from the Major League team this week are Catcher Bryan Holaday,  Second Baseman Eric Patterson, and Outfielders Matt Young and Jerad Head.  All of them non-roster invitees so there are no surprises there, and all of them heading to Minor League camp.  Expect the next round of hitter/fielder cuts to include Ryan Strieby (1B), Argenis Diaz (SS), and eventually Omir Santos (C).  All of them also non-roster invitees.  Surprisingly there are two non-roster invitees that should be sticking around for a while.  Audy Ciriaco (SS/3B) is having a decent spring hitting .267 (see below) and may be needed to cover third base for Miguel Cabrerra while he is out with his injured eye.  Also Outfield speedster Quintin Berry has been opening some eyes with his hitting (see below), hitting .333 he will probably be around until the final round of cuts, and it looks like the Tigers have a solid backup to Austin Jackson at Center Field, should they ever need him. (Incidentally he looks a lot like the Yankees "A-Rod".)

Pitchers cut this week include Relievers right-hander Jose Ortega and lefty Matthew Hoffman.  Both had decent enough spring training outings. The Tigers have the luxury of two right-handers dominating in the pen this spring (Villarreal, and Marte) and with only one spot open for a right-hander, Ortega drew the short straw.  With two lefties still in the hunt for the starting position (Oliver and Smyly), and two others unlikely to make the starting rotation cut (Wilk and Below), it is probable that should the Tigers need a third left-hander in the bullpen it will come from one of these four which leaves Hoffman out in the cold.

Speaking of starting pitching, Verlander is having even a better spring than he had last year, and surprisingly Rick Porcello has really come to play this spring (see below).  Watch Scherzer this year.. his inconsistencies continue this spring.  The fifth rotation spot is almost down to a two-man race.  Stay tuned to see how Smyly and Oliver react against the better hitters left in Spring Training over the next week or so.  One of them will likely be eliminated from consideration after facing more Major League hitters.  Expect cuts at the starting pitching level to include either Below or Wilk this week, depending on what happens with Oliver and Smyly.  Turner is running out of time to get back in the rotation, so we may hear that he has been moved to AAA camp as well.  All three (Wilk, Below, Turner) have posted sub-par numbers so far this spring.

Tigers SpringTraining(2012)

Brayan Villarreal

There is some serious competition shaping up for what looks to be ONE right-handed reliever spot in the bullpen.  The top contender at the moment is Brayan Villarreal, with Luis Marte posting good numbers as well.  Collin Balester whom the Tigers picked up from the Nationals in the trade for Ryan Perry last December is making a good showing and can't be counted out.  Balester doesn't have any options left on his contract, so he has a very good chance to go north with the team if he maintains the decent Spring Training he's had so far.  Villarreal is lighting it up and has posted the best numbers (see above) of any pitcher this spring with 2 hits, no walks and has held batters to a paltry .111 on-base average through 5 and 2/3 innings so far.  Balester and Villarreal will be the two pitchers to watch for that last right-handed bullpen spot.

That's it for now.  Only 2 weeks left before Opening Day!


GO TIGERS!!   ---Rob




Photo Credits: 
Brayan Villarreal and Quintin Berry by Robin Buckson - Detroit News