During the course of the year, I will be giving statistical updates and other information on the Tigers organization. I will cover all the consensus top prospects as well as other noteworthy perfomers. For daily recaps and other news on Tigers prospects, check out Matt Wallace's Take 75 North and Mike Cassidy's Tigers Minor League Blog. This week's team by team summary follows.
Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) 13-15
Chris Shelton is trying to get back to the Tigers but is still not finding the stroke that we saw in the summer of 2005 and in April, 2006. He leads the International League in walks with 21 but has struck out 31 times in 100 at bats and is hitting a modest .260. and slugging just .390.
Brent Clevlen is really having a tought time getting untracked. He is leading the league in strikouts with 41 and is batting .212 in 104 at bats.
The leading Mudhen hitter is 32 year old outfielder Timo Perez who is batting .333/.350/.542.
With Chad Durbin struggling to hold the 5th starter job in Detroit, and Andrew Miller not dominating A ball, Virgil Vasquez is likely on the Tigers radar. Vazquez pitched 7 shutout innings on Wednesday to lower his ERA to 2.57. Even more impressive is his 41 strikeouts which is second in the league. He has also walked just 8 batters in 35 innings.
Zack Miner, who pitched well for the Tigers when Mike Maroth went down last year, has a 8.07 ERA in 5 starts and 1 relief appearance.
Jordan Tata is currently on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. After resting for two weeks, he is now throwing lightly but is still a few weeks away from returning.
Erie Sea Wolves (AA) 13-11
Jeff Larish is showing power and patience but not making consistent contact. He is batting .250/.340/.545 and is second in the Eastern League with 6 home runs.
Slick fielding shortstop Brent Dlugach is off to a good start with the bat: .304/.360/.493 in 69 at bats.
Michael Hollimon spent the first two years of his professional career as one of the older players in his league. This year, he is getting tested as he has jumped two levels from low A ball (West Michigan) to AA. He is batting .237/.398/.434 in 76 at bats.
The 21 year old Jair Jurrjens is on a strict pitch count and has only pitched 25 2/3 innings in 5 starts. He has a 3.65 ERA and a 19/6 k/BB ratio.
Dallas Trahern has reached the level where finesse pitchers tend to run into trouble but he is off to a very good start with a 1.79 ERA in 30 1/3 innings.
Hard throwing Eulogio De La Cruz pitched a complete game 2 hit shutout and struck out 10 last night. He now has a 3.94 ERA and 30/8 K/BB ratio in 32 IP.
Lakeland (A+) 11-17
Cameron Maybin was out for a couple games with back spasms but is back and still going strong. He is batting .315, leads the Florida State League in OBP (.455), is slugging .562 and is 2nd in the league with 10 stolen bases.
24 year old infielder/outfielder Ovandy Suero is batting .304 with a .385 OBP and leads the league with 19 stolen bases.
Unheralded 23 year old outfielder Michael Hernandez is is off to a good start batting .301/.355/.591. His slugging average is 3rd in the league.
There has been a lot of talk about Andrew Miller starting for the Tigers this year at some point. After struggling in a couple of starts, he pitched 6 shutout innings on Wednesday. He now has a 3.93 ERA and a 23/11 K/BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings.
West Michigan (A) 14-12
Raw toolsy outfielder Gorkys Hernandez is getting his first shot at full season ball this year and is off to a solid start - .315/.398/.388. He also has an improved 9/16 BB/K ratio and 10 stolen bases.
First baseman Ryan Strieby is batting a strong .313/.376/.479 in 96 at bats.
Scott Sizemore is off to a slow start at .205/.365/.277 but his 16/13 BB/K ratio suggests that better numbers will come soon.
Chris Cody allowed 4 runs in 6 innings pitched on Wednesday but still has a miniscule 1.13 ERA to go along with a 40/7 K/BB ratio. He leads the Midwest League in ERA and strikeouts.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
Tigers Extend Streak to 5 Games
The Tigers stretched their winning streak to 5 games with a 6-3 victory over the Royals tonight in game 1 of the weekend series. They got off to a good start as they scored two unearned runs in the first when Alex Gordon made an error and Carlos Guillen had a 2 run double. They scored 4 more in the 5th on an RBI double by Sean Casey, an RBI single by Brandon Inge and back to back bases loaded walks.
Justin Verlander pitched a solid game going 7 1/3 innings allowing 7 hits, 2 runs and 1 walk along with 3 strikeouts. He pitched shutout ball for 7 innings but left with 2 runners on base and one out in the 8th. Bobby Seay and Jason Grilli allowed both of Verlander's runners and one other to score and it was 6-3 after 8 innings. Todd Jones closed it out with a perfect 9th for his 11th save. Is the roller coaster turning into a strikeout machine? Jones, who had only 2 strikeouts in his first 14 games, has 4 in the last 2 games.
Guillen, who missed the last couple of games with a shoulder problem, led the 11 hit attack with 3 hits. Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez and Sean Casey added 2 piece. The Tigers continued to draw walks as 7 different batters received free passes tonight.
The Tigers look to make it 6 in a row in the second game of the series tomorow night at 7:00. The scheduled pitchers are Mike Maroth and Odalis Perez.
Justin Verlander pitched a solid game going 7 1/3 innings allowing 7 hits, 2 runs and 1 walk along with 3 strikeouts. He pitched shutout ball for 7 innings but left with 2 runners on base and one out in the 8th. Bobby Seay and Jason Grilli allowed both of Verlander's runners and one other to score and it was 6-3 after 8 innings. Todd Jones closed it out with a perfect 9th for his 11th save. Is the roller coaster turning into a strikeout machine? Jones, who had only 2 strikeouts in his first 14 games, has 4 in the last 2 games.
Guillen, who missed the last couple of games with a shoulder problem, led the 11 hit attack with 3 hits. Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez and Sean Casey added 2 piece. The Tigers continued to draw walks as 7 different batters received free passes tonight.
The Tigers look to make it 6 in a row in the second game of the series tomorow night at 7:00. The scheduled pitchers are Mike Maroth and Odalis Perez.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Early Stat Trends
With a month of baseball behind us and the Tigers starting to heat up, I'm going to present my first team statistical summary of the year. In the 4 Tables below, the 2007 Tigers are compared to the 2006 full season Tigers. It's still early but I think enough games have been played so that the following rates and ranks have some meaning.
Overview
The Tigers are scoring runs at about the same rate this year as last year ranking 5th both years. At the same time, they are giving up runs at a higher rate ranking 6th this year after being 1st last year. However, they have almost the same winning percentage this year (.593) as in 2006 (.586). One thing that is helping them so far is their record in one run games (9-5).
Offense
The biggest difference in offense so far this year is walks. They are 6th in the league in walks in 2007 as compared to 13th in 2006. Thus, they are scoring runs even though their power (Isolated power and slugging) has not been as good.
Pitching
Both the ERA (6th) and the FIP ERA (8th) are higher in 2007 than they were in 2006. This is likely due to the injury to Kenny Rogers and their inconsistent bullpen.
Fielding
Fielding is harder to measure but the Tigers do not rank as well as last year so far. They were the top team in the American League in Defensive Efficiency (% of balls in play converted into outs) in 2006. They are 7th this year. However, their percentage is actually higher this year which suggests it's not that they aren't fielding well but that the American League is fielding better this year.
The Tigers rank 4th defensively using the The Hardball Times system. In their system, they break down fielding by looking at types of balls hit (ground ball, fly ball, pop up, line drive) . These stats are explained further in an article by Dave Studeman. They indicate that the Tigers are better than league average on both ground balls and air balls.
In conclusion, the Tigers offense is doing things a little different so far this year but they are getting the same results. On the other hand, the pitching and defense have not been as stellar this year. If the Tigers are going to continue winning games at the same rate as last year, they will likely need to improve their pitching/defense in the coming months.
Overview
| | 2006 | 2007 | ||
| | Rate | Rank | Rate | Rank |
| Record | 95-67 | 3 | 16-11 | 3 |
| R/G | 5.1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 |
| RA/G | 4.2 | 1 | 4.6 | 6 |
The Tigers are scoring runs at about the same rate this year as last year ranking 5th both years. At the same time, they are giving up runs at a higher rate ranking 6th this year after being 1st last year. However, they have almost the same winning percentage this year (.593) as in 2006 (.586). One thing that is helping them so far is their record in one run games (9-5).
Offense
| | 2006 | 2007 | ||
| | Rate | Rank | Rate | Rank |
| BA | .274 | 9 | .255 | 8 |
| BB/G | 2.65 | 13 | 3.48 | 6 |
| K/G | 6.99 | 13 | 6.81 | 9 |
| ISO | .174 | 4 | .154 | 6 |
| OBP | .329 | 12 | .325 | 9 |
| SLG | .449 | 5 | .410 | 7 |
| OPS | .777 | 7 | .734 | 7 |
The biggest difference in offense so far this year is walks. They are 6th in the league in walks in 2007 as compared to 13th in 2006. Thus, they are scoring runs even though their power (Isolated power and slugging) has not been as good.
Pitching
| | 2006 | 2007 | ||
| | Rate | Rank | Rate | Rank |
| FIP | 4.36 | 3 | 4.22 | 8 |
| ERA | 3.84 | 1 | 4.07 | 6 |
Both the ERA (6th) and the FIP ERA (8th) are higher in 2007 than they were in 2006. This is likely due to the injury to Kenny Rogers and their inconsistent bullpen.
Fielding
| | 2006 | 2007 | ||
| | Rate | Rank | Rate | Rank |
| DER | .704 | 1 | .723 | 7 |
| HBT Fdg | +56 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| HBT Grnd | +74 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| HBT Air | -18 | 13 | 6 | 4 |
Fielding is harder to measure but the Tigers do not rank as well as last year so far. They were the top team in the American League in Defensive Efficiency (% of balls in play converted into outs) in 2006. They are 7th this year. However, their percentage is actually higher this year which suggests it's not that they aren't fielding well but that the American League is fielding better this year.
The Tigers rank 4th defensively using the The Hardball Times system. In their system, they break down fielding by looking at types of balls hit (ground ball, fly ball, pop up, line drive) . These stats are explained further in an article by Dave Studeman. They indicate that the Tigers are better than league average on both ground balls and air balls.
In conclusion, the Tigers offense is doing things a little different so far this year but they are getting the same results. On the other hand, the pitching and defense have not been as stellar this year. If the Tigers are going to continue winning games at the same rate as last year, they will likely need to improve their pitching/defense in the coming months.
Tigers Sweep Orioles
The Tigers got their first sweep of the year and extended their winning streak to 4 games with a 3-2 victory over the Orioles yesterday. Gary Sheffield led the way with 4 hits including his 3rd home run. After a slow start, Sheffield has had 14 hits in his last 34 at bats to raise his batting average from .119 to .226. With his 20 walks and 5 HBP, he now has a .383 OBP.
Craig Monroe homered in the 6th inning to put the Tigers in front to stay. It was his second homer in 2 games. He also has 7 hits in last 22 at bats and is batting an even .200. Sean Casey went 1-2 with a walk. He is now 8 out of his last 24 and his batting average is up to .210. So, there are some signs that their slumping hitters are coming around.
Nate Robertson struggled with his control and threw 107 pitches in 6 2/3 innings. Still, he managed to hold the Orioles to 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. His 2.48 ERA leads all Tigers starters and is 5th in the league.
Craig Monroe homered in the 6th inning to put the Tigers in front to stay. It was his second homer in 2 games. He also has 7 hits in last 22 at bats and is batting an even .200. Sean Casey went 1-2 with a walk. He is now 8 out of his last 24 and his batting average is up to .210. So, there are some signs that their slumping hitters are coming around.
Nate Robertson struggled with his control and threw 107 pitches in 6 2/3 innings. Still, he managed to hold the Orioles to 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. His 2.48 ERA leads all Tigers starters and is 5th in the league.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Tigers Top Orioles with Late Rally
The Tigers scored two runs in the 8th inning and held on to beat the Orioles 5-4 tonight. For the second straight night, the Tigers got some key performances from players who had been struggling. Last night, it was Gary Sheffield and Fernando Rodney. Tonight, it was Craig Monroe, Sean Casey and Joel Zumaya. Here are the highlights:
Bilfer and Kurt have some thoughts on the month of April. I'll try to get something up after the Oriole series.
- Craig Monroe hit a 2 run homer to cap a 3 run 5th. It was only his second home run of the year.
- Sean Casey knocked in the go ahead run with a pinch hit line drive single in the 8th. This put his batting average above .200 for the first time since April 16.
- Joel Zumaya allowed 1 hit and no runs and struck out the last 4 he faced in a dominating performance. He had allowed 6 runs and 8 walks over his previous 5 previous appearances spanning 5 innings.
- Chad Durbin had no control tonight and walked 6 batters in 3 2/3 innings. Fortunately, the Orioles let him off the hook and he only allowed 2 runs.
- The sizzling Placido Polanco went 4 for 5 to raise his batting average to .376 and knocked in 2 runs.
- Todd Jones gave up a run in the 9th and allowed a second runner to get to third but he somehow secured his 9th save.
Bilfer and Kurt have some thoughts on the month of April. I'll try to get something up after the Oriole series.
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