Team MVP: Miguel Cabrera
Miggy had what was likely the best season of his career in 2011, he is in the prime of his great career, and it’s easy to forget that he isn’t going to be thirty until April, 2013.
Walk rates each year since 2008: 8.2%, 9.9%, 13.7%, 15.7%
Strikeout rates for that time frame: 18.4%, 15.6%, 14.7%, 12.9%
A graph of Miggy’s K% trends over his career. Again, credit to Fangraphs. This stuff is awesome.
credit to http://www.fangraphs.com
108 walks to 89 strikeouts, Miggy’s numbers in 2011, is entering ridiculous mode. Although it’s crowded at the top (Braun, Bautista), Cabrera is certainly one of, if not the, best right handed hitters in the game.
The downside? Defense. Which really may become an issue for the Tigers. I saw Miguel Cabrera a couple of years ago during spring, and the man is just monstrous. The type of guy that, when you look at him, you automatically know he’s 1B or DH and just crushes the ball. He’s not fit to play third. I don’t think he has the range, the hands, or the arm to be anything but bad at third base. He was bad at the hot corner when he played it as a younger player, in better shape. He was bad defensively at first base, and a move to third certainly won’t cure that. Maybe it will force him to focus more on his defense and up the ante a tad. But… probably not.
I could go on and on, very easily, about how great Cabrera is/has been, but it’s painfully obvious from the numbers or simply watching him play. Let’s hope the defensive value doesn’t affect how he hits.
Team Cy Young: Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander is, in fact, all that and a bag of chips. I fully expect more of the same from Verlander this year… not necessarily a repeat MVP, but a simply dominant season. It’s really an unfair combination of a guy having naturally ridiculous stuff paired with recognizing how great he can be and only wanting to improve upon that.
Righties hit over 40 points higher against Verlander compared to how lefties fared. The reason I’m not worried? Righties hit .215, Lefties hit .172…
The Tigers’ MVP and Cy Young combined were the easiest choices and probably the best tandem on one team in the majors.
Fresh face with impact: Prince Fielder
Well… yeah. The tigers pretty much shocked everybody in baseball, even those with great sources, when they landed Fielder. He joins Miguel Cabrera to form the best 3-4 in the major leagues (he was probably in that pairing a year ago, too, with Ryan Braun). He walked more than he struck out in 2011 for the first time in his career, and while he will never be the hitter for average that Miggy is, he knows his role (crush the damn baseball), and does it well.
Impact Prospect: Jacob Turner
Another one that I have owned and thus followed closely in random, prospect-driven dynasty leagues, I (like the Tigers) was not terribly excited to hear any news involving Jacob Turner and his shoulder. I don’t think Turner has ace potential, but I think he has solid #2 or #3 for a long time potential. He may perform well, but will never be the lights out, dominant starter that a true ace is. If the shoulder is fine, he will get thrown into the fire and be counted on throughout 2012.
Biggest sleeper or breakout candidate: Brennan Boesch
If you have ever played fantasy baseball, you have probably owned, dropped, loved, and hated Brennan Boesch. For starters, I think he has the right field job, hits in the top of the lineup, and runs with it. He will have good counting stats, hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder helps that, and is pretty much a pull-power left handed hitter. I think he can hit 25 home runs if he plays a full season.
Biggest Concern: Defense
The concerns for this organization, obviously, are winning the World Series. Two MVP caliber players already and adding a third tends to do that. So, on a smaller scale, I am interested to see how they handle Miguel Cabrera if he struggles tremendously with third base. Considering the fact that Victor Martinez isn’t filling up the DH spot and Delmon Young isn’t exactly all-world, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Cabrera DH and Inge play 3B before too long. We shall see. The Tigers are going to be very good.
Projected Lineup:
CF – Austin Jackson
RF – Brennan Boesch
3B – Miguel Cabrera
1B – Prince Fielder
DH – Delmon Young
C – Alex Avila
SS – Jhonny Peralta
LF – Andy Dirks
2B – Ryan Raburn
thecleanupspot 