Detroit Tigers 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

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Detroit Tigers 2009 MLB Record: 86-76
Detroit Tigers 2009 MLB Home Record: 51-30
Detroit Tigers 2009 MLB Away Record: 35-46

Detroit Tigers 2010 Betting

Detroit Tigers Odds to Win the American League: 14/1
Detroit Tigers Odds to Win the World Series: 28/1

Detroit Tigers 2010 Preview & Prediction

Very little has gone well for the Detroit Tigers since the morning of Oct. 1, 2009, when they woke up with a three game lead in the AL Central with four games to play. Right away, the Tigers gagged away their lead with three straight losses, then blew a pair of leads in a bitter loss in a one-game playoff against the Twins. The off season brought little solace, as the bills came due on the Tigers’ rampant spending from the middle part of the decade. It was time for some downsizing, and it wasn’t pretty, as the Tigers dealt away their leadoff man and center fielder, Curtis Granderson, as well as their A11Star starting pitcher, Edwin Jackson, in a blockbuster three-way deal, while allowing Gold Glove second baseman Placido Polanco to depart via free agency. But this being the AL Central, where mediocrity frequently prevails, the Tigers would appear to have just about as good a shot at a division title in 2010 as anyone.

The Tigers were probably the division’s best team in 2009, even though they fell a game short. And there is no reason – not the trade of Granderson, not the aging middle of the lineup, not the uncertainty in the bullpen – why they shouldn’t be at or near the top of this mediocre division again in 2010.

Detroit Tigers Manager: Jim Leyland (18 Seasons) Record: 1412 – 1437

Detroit Tigers 2010 Projected Batting Order: CF Austin Jackson (R), RF Magglio Ordonez (R), 1B Miguel Cabrera (R), OH Carlos Guillen (S), lF Ryan Raburn (R), 3B Brandon Inge (R), 2B Scott Sizemore (R), C Gerald laird (R), SS Adam Everett (R)

Detroit Tigers 2010 Projected Rotation: RH Justin Verlander, RH Rick Porcello, RH Max Scherzer, RH Jeremy Bonderman, LH Phil Coke

Detroit Tigers 2010 Projected Closer: RH Joel Zumaya

2010 Detroit Tigers Rotation:

Justin Verlander enters 2010 on the heels of a tour de force season in which he led the AL in wins (19), innings pitched (240), strikeouts (269) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.1) – virtually wiping away any leftover concern from his sub-par 11-17 season in 2008. Then again, Rick Porcello’s dazzling 2009 season (14-9, 3.96) may have been the true game-changer for the Tigers’ rotation – allowing them to slot him comfortably into the No. 2 SpOt behind Verlander, and trade away Jackson for some youth. In any case, the Verlander Porcello duo looks about as good as any 1-2 punch in this division. By the time 2010 comes to a close, it seems likely hard-throwing righty Max Scherzer will be regarded as highly as Verlander and Porcello. The crucial part of the Tigers’ haul in the Granderson trade, Scherzer pitched almost exactly the same number of innings in 2009 as Porcello but. struck out nearly twice as many batters. The back end of the rotation is a mishmash of injury comebacks Oeremy Bonderman), wayward veterans (Dontrelle Willis), former prospects (Armando Galarraga) and middling lefties (Nate Robertson) – except that in the Tigers’ case, three of those pitchers (Bonderman, Robertson and Willis) will earn a combined $34.5 million in 2010.

2009-2010 Detroit Tigers Bullpen:

It feels like forever now that the Tigers have been waiting for Joel Zumaya, their flame throwing right hander, to fulfill the vast potential he displayed during his dazzling 2006 rookie season. Still only 25, Zumaya may finally get the chance to close for the Tigers. A healthy Zumaya would at least give the Tigers a starting point for a rebuilt bullpen that lost 2009 closer Fernando Rodney and top set-up man Brandon Lyon to free agency. It would also buy them some time for a couple of talented youngsters with c1oser-of-the-future ability, right hander Ryan Perry and lefty Daniel Schlereth (the latter of whom carne from Arizona in the Granderson three-way deal). Lefty Phil Coke may have looked like a throw-in to the prospect-rich Granderson deal, but used correctly (and manager Jim Leyland certainly excels at using a bullpen) Coke will be a valuable shut-down situational man against left-handed batters – unless, of course, the Tigers decide to try to use him as a starter. From there, start filling in names for the middle and long relief.

2010 Detroit Tigers Middle Infield:

Perhaps the biggest leap of faith the Tigers are taking in 2010 is in handing over the second base job to rookie Scoer Sizemore, who didn’t begin playing the position regularly until 2007 and who made 21 errors in only 118 games there in 2009, which he split between Double-A and Triple-A. He’ll be taking over for Polanco, who won two Gold Gloves in four full seasons in Detroit. No pressure there, kid. Sizemore’s rawness will at least be tempered by the return of veteran glove-wizard Adam Everett at shortstop, after the Tigers wisely re-upped with him in the off season. You know what you’re getting with Everett: a .230something batting average, an extra-base hit every once in awhile, but steady, borderline brilliant defense on a nightly basis.

2010 Detroit Tigers Corners:

Imagine what Miguel Cabrera could do if he cared. Those sentiments have taken on an even more ominous tone because of the way 2009 ended. Cabrera put up his usual MVP discussion- worthy numbers, but his ’09 season will be defined less for that production than for the alcohol-fueled domestic dispute that required police intervention on the final weekend of the season. The Tigers probably would have traded Cabrera, and not Granderson, had there been a taker for the remaining six years and $126 million left on his deal. Instead, the Tigers are stuck with him – which really isn’t such a bad thing. Cabrera will hit his 3D-plus homers and drive in his 100-plus runs. Across the diamond, Brandon lnge is something of the anti-Cabrera. A former catcher, he has fashioned himself into an excellent defensive third baseman – and one who also possesses 25-homer power. lnge, however, is coming off surgery on both knees.

2010 Detroit Tigers Outfield:

Difficult as it will be for Tigers fans to see somebody besides Granderson roaming center field in 2010, it probably won’t be long until Austin Jackson – the former New York Yankees farmhand who was the key position player prospect in the Granderson deal – wins them over. Athletic and talented, Jackson is in some ways a younger, right-handed version of Granderson, and the Tigers appear willing to make him their everyday center fielder entering spring training – with Clete Thomas on hand as an insurance policy. Flanking Jackson on the corners, at least at times, will be two aging members of the Tigers’ old guard, Carlos Guillen in left and Magglio Ordonez in right – provided they can keep themselves on the field without the assistance of the DH. Guillen, in particular, is likely to get pushed out of left (and into a DH role) in favor of Ryan Raburn. Remember how Ordonez’s 2010 option vested, much to the chagrin of some Tigers officials and many fans, when he reached a certain plate-appearances threshold? He has a $15 million option for 2011 kicking in at 135 starts or 540 plate appearances. Suffice it to say the Tigers will be looking to avoid that occurrence again.

2010 Detroit Tigers Catching:

The Tigers will start the season with veteran Gerald Laird as their top catcher, but they might not end the season that way. Eventually, the Tigers expect prospect Alex Avila, who put together an excellent season at Double-A Erie in 2009, to take over the No.1 duties. But the Tigers won’t rush Avila, who could start the season at Triple-A Toledo – in which case Robinson Diaz would likely be Laird’s backup.

2010 Detroit Tigers Bench:

The Tigers have plenty of veteran types Guillen, Ordonez, lnge, even Cabrera – who, ideally, should share the DH among them. But it seems likely that Guillen will get the bulk of the time here, if for no other reason than to open left field for Raburn. The Tigers’ bench should be functional, if not exactly contender-worthy, with Ramon Santiago the main utility infielder, Diaz the likely backup catcher, and Thomas, Casper Wells and Wilkin Ramirez fighting for extra outfield spots.

Detroit Tigers 2010 Season Predictions

We predict that the Detroit Tigers will finish 3rd in the AL Central Division .

Detroit Tigers 5-Year Win Trend

2009: 2nd AL Central 86
2008: 5th AL Central 74
2007: 2nd AL Central 88
2006: 2nd AL Central 95
2005: 4th AL Central 71

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