Results tagged ‘ Rick Porcello ’
Should the Tigers trade Porcello?
According to reports, the Tigers made not one but two offers to the San Diego Padres in an attempt to trade Rick Porcello. Both of the offers were rejected, but it makes me wonder whether or not the Tigers should try to trade Porcello.
Both reported offers would have landed Detroit a late-inning relief pitcher, which makes it seem that the Tigers don’t necessarily have a lot of confidence in Bruce Rondon being the closer come opening day. If that is the case, I can understand why the Tigers would try to trade for Huston Street, but not Luke Gregerson.
In his first year as the closer for the Padres, Street posted a 1.85 ERA along with 23 saves. Street has spent all eight years of his career as a closer, only once logging under 20 saves. Although he is a valuable closer, I don’t think trading a pitcher like Porcello (durable starter who cannot become a free agent until 2016) for a closer who is owed 21-million dollars over the next three years.
Gregerson is another interesting trade candidate, as I’m not sure he’d be able to slot in as the closer for the Tigers, especially since he’s only finished 42 games in his career (12 saves). The nice thing about Gregerson is the fact he’s only due 3.2-million dollars this year, which is a reasonable salary for a quality relief pitcher. The flip side of that is if Gregerson isn’t closing, he really doesn’t have much of a defined role on the team.
When it comes to closers, there’s basically two different theories. The first theory is that any quality relief pitcher can be an above-average closer. The second is that not all pitchers have the mentality or makeup to be a closer in professional baseball. More often than not, I’m a believer in the latter. Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule, but a closer without confidence is just a disaster waiting to happen.
So should the Tigers trade Porcello before opening day? In my opinion, I think it’s best to wait until at least the trade deadline. My biggest fear is the fact that outside of Drew Smyly, the Tigers have pretty much no rotational depth, and that’s not a position that a World Series contending team wants to deal with. If the Tigers do trade Porcello, I just hope that they get a little more value than just a relief pitcher.
What are the Tigers hunting for this offseason?
A lot of people in Michigan got a chance to go hunting this weekend, but for the Detroit Tigers, the hunt began weeks ago.
After getting swept in the World Series in a horribly disappointing fashion, Tigers President Dave Dombrowski has the task of hunting for talent that will make Detroit a better team in 2013.
Of course you don’t always get everything that’s on your wish list, but Detroit acted quickly and signed Torii Hunter to a two-year deal for 26 million dollars. Overall, it’s a pretty perfect match, since Hunter can play an above-average defense while bringing a strong right-handed bat. Better yet, Hunter will get a chance to mentor young outfielders such as Austin Jackson, Andy Dirks, Avisail Garcia, Quintin Berry and Nick Castellanos.
Remember, Mike Trout of the Angels gave Hunter a lot of credit for his 2012 season, so hopefully he can do the same with our cast of young and talented outfielders. If so, the 26 million dollars will not only pay dividends now, but well after Hunter leaves Detroit.
So what else do the Tigers need to look for in the next few months? In my opinion, they should look at adding a right-handed hitting corner outfielder who can split playing time with Andy Dirks in left field. Someone like Scott Hairston would make a lot of sense, and wouldn’t cost a lot of money. Not only that, but he was someone who the Tigers were reported to have interest in last year.
Some people say the Tigers should make a hard push to sign Anibal Sanchez, but for the reported six years and 90 million dollars he’s asking for, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m usually not an advocate for guaranteeing that much money to a starting pitcher, and it’s hard to convince me that Detroit should spend 15 million dollars on a guy who would be the number four pitcher in their rotation. If Detroit wants to sign a starting pitcher, I’d suggest offering someone like Edwin Jackson a three-year deal for 30 million dollars. If he turns it down, I’d simply stick with the current rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly.
I think the best options to fill our closer vacancy are probably internally, such as giving Bruce Rondon a shot, or even Al Alburquerque. If they decide to sign a free agent, I’d suggest going after Ryan Madson, who missed all of 2012 with Tommy John Surgery.
Detroit will also likely consider adding a bullpen arm, and will need to figure out who is going to be their backup catcher. It’s unlikely that Victor Martinez will be able to catch, but with the added payroll, they might elect to give Bryan Holaday a chance.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the unseason unfolds, not only for the Tigers, but the rest of Major League Baseball. If the recent deals have been any indication of what to expect, this could be one of the most exciting offseasons in MLB history.
Time to turn it around
The Tigers have been on a downward spiral the last week, losing five of their last seven games. When Rick Porcello takes the mound tonight against the Red Sox, the Tigers need to find a way to get back to their winning ways.
Entering the game, the Tigers find themselves three games back of the first place Chicago White Sox. Although it’s by no means an insurmountable number, you don’t want to find yourself trailing by more than five games entering September. As long as they can keep pace with the White Sox, they should certainly find themselves fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
In an attempt to shake things up, the Tigers are now going to have Brennan Boesch hitting fifth in the lineup instead of Delmon Young. During the month of July, Boesch hit .295 with a .538 slugging percentage. By comparison, Young hit for a disappointing .250 average and a .417 slugging percentage during that same time. If Boesch can keep that production level during August, it should lead to more runs being scored.
If that doesn’t work, don’t be surprised if the Tigers attempt to make a move through waivers, similar to how they acquired Young last year. When you have Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder in the heart of your lineup, there’s no reason why the Tigers shouldn’t be scoring more runs. Of course you can’t put all of the blame on the lineup, as Detroit’s starting pitchers have also struggled in the last few weeks.
For the 2012 season, the Tigers rotation has struggled to show signs of consistency. In fact, the Tigers starting pitchers have an ERA of 4.19 on the year, which ranks them 21st in all of Major League Baseball.
Of course the hope is that acquiring Anibal Sanchez will help strengthen their rotation, but if the Tigers want to make it back to the playoffs, their starting pitchers have to do better. There’s still plenty of baseball left to be played, and plenty of time to turn it around.
Tigers roar into first place
Entering today’s game, the Tigers found themselves a half-game back of first place in the AL Central. Leaving today, they now find themselves in first place.
It’s been a rocky road for the Tigers, full of ups and downs, twists and turns. Before the season began, people were panicked once they heard Victor Martinez was likely to be out for the season. Then they sign Prince Fielder to a 200-million dollar deal, and suddenly we expected them to win the division by at least 15 games.
In the perfect world, the Tigers would have led the division from wire-to-wire, but that’s not exactly realistic. In fact, it wasn’t until this day last year, when the Tigers took over the division lead and never looked back. I’ve said all along that the Tigers would win this division, and I still stand by that.
Rick Porcello easily pitched the best game of his career today (maybe second best if you count game 163 from a few years ago) as he held the White Sox to just one run in eight innings. It was a much needed boost for Porcello, who has been working hard to turn himself into a more consistent pitcher. Even more impressive, was the fact that the Tigers managed to score five runs of Chris Sale, who has arguably having as good of a year (if not better) than Detroit’s own Justin Verlander.
This team is starting to show its true colors, and fans should be getting excited. With the Tigers leading their division for the first time since the opening month of the season, it’ll be interesting to see how things will go from here on out. If Detroit can keep playing like they have in the last two weeks (which they certainly have the talent and ability to do), there’s no one in baseball who they can’t beat.
A Grimm start for Texas helps Detroit win
The Detroit Tigers struck early and often against Justin Grimm, who started for the Texas Rangers. It was only the second major league appearance of his career, and one he’d probably like to forget.
Grimm was unable to make it through the second inning before Tigers tagged him for eight hits and six runs. That was more than enough run support for the Tigers, who got plenty of run support for Rick Porcello.
Porcello looked good for his second straight outing, pitching six innings and allowing just one run. The win for Porcello is only the 5th of the year, who is looking to find more consistency from his outings. He did an excellent job of keeping the Rangers off balance and preventing them from putting runs on the board.
It’s got to be a good feeling for Porcello. The last time he faced the Rangers, he allowed nine runs in just one inning.
The Tigers will look to continue their winning ways, as Drew Smyly (2-2 3.96 ERA) will face Yu Darvish (9-4 3.45 ERA). Who will win game two of the 2011 ALCS rematch? Tune in to Fox Sports Detroit tomorrow at 8:05 to find out.
It’s a party
A lot of families bond doing various things, for mine, it usually revolves around baseball.
It’s not uncommon for my mom and her brothers to have what we affectionately refer to as a ‘Tigers Party.’ Simply put, we get together and watch the Tigers play. It’s the perfect combination of two things I love dearly, my family and baseball.
Tonight, we’re having the party at my parent’s house. It’s fun being able to answer questions about the Cincinnati Reds, since no one else in my family really knows that much about them.
I’ll chalk that up as one of the positive experiences of my quest to watch 500 baseball games this year. It really does force me to learn and research about players on every team, and not just my beloved Tigers.
Rick Porcello will be getting the start for the Tigers tonight, who is coming off one of his best starts of the year. In his last outing, Porcello held the Yankees to just one run in six innings. It’s going to be hard to do that against the Reds, who have one of the best left-handed hitters in all of baseball, in Joey Votto.
One thing that does bode well for the Tigers is the fact that Cincinnati’s stadium, the Great American Ball Park is notorious for being very friendly to hitters, allowing 78 home runs already this year. If Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder can pull a few fly balls, they should be able to score enough runs to get the Tigers a win.
Time to beat the Tribe
The Tigers begin an important three game series against the Indians tonight, as they look to make up some ground in the AL Central.
Entering play tonight, the Indians lead the AL Central, with the White Sox two and a half games back, and the Tigers three behind the pace. If the Tigers can sweep the Indians on the road, there’s a chance that they could find themselves tied for first place in the division.
The Tigers have played 18 games on the road this year and have gone 9-9 so far this year. The Tigers need to desperately get some momentum, as well as wins. It’s been over a month since they’ve won two games in a row, and there’s no better time to do it than now, when we’re playing against a team in our division.
If Rick Porcello can keep his sinker down in the zone and induce plenty of ground balls, the Tigers should have no problem getting a win tonight.
Tigers split the double dip
After last night’s game was rained out, the Tigers and Rangers played a doubleheader to make it up. The Rangers looked dominant in the first game, but the Tigers came roaring back in the second.
To say that Rick Porcello struggled in the first game is putting it nicely, but if you can’t bring you’re A-game against the Rangers, they’re going to make you pay. After scoring eight runs in the first inning, Porcello’s day was over. Home runs by Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera brought the Tigers closer, but it was too little, too late.
There’s really no need to panic about Porcello, as you’re going to your ups and downs as the season goes on. Porcello looked great in his first two starts, so let’s not forget that.
Looking to avoid losing their third straight home game, Justin Verlander did what he did so many times last year, and that’s put a tally in the win column.
It was obvious that the Rangers were trying to drive up Verlander’s pitched count and that approach nearly worked.
After six innings, Verlander had allowed only one run on four hits, but had thrown 115 pitches. That meant his day was done and the Tigers headed to their bullpen. Octavio Dotel held the Rangers in check, but Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde definitely provided a bit of late-inning excitement for all the fans watching the game.
But all that matters is that we were able to get the win and split the doubleheader. Hopefully the Tigers can continue to roll tomorrow so we can split this four game series before the Mariners come to town.
Comerica Park, here I come!
So far this year I’ve watched 25 baseball games, but tomorrow I finally get to watch my first one in person.
My work schedule hasn’t exactly been accommodating, and dealing with an ankle injury has made it difficult for me to walk the last week and a half, but I finally think I’m ready. The Tigers are having a season that is expected to be the most exciting and competitive as there’s been in my lifetime.
Not only am I getting a chance to watch my beloved Tigers, I get a chance to watch Tampa Bay’s rookie sensation Matt Moore making his 2012 debut.
The Rays were so impressed with what they saw in Moore, that despite only pitching three games in the Major Leagues (five if you include the postseason), they signed him to a contract through the 2019 season. It’s not common for someone with such little experience to get a contract for that many years (not to mention dollars), so obviously the Rays think quite highly of the 22-year old.
For the Tigers, they will be featuring their own version of a young sensation, when Rick Porcello (23-years old) takes the mound. Although Porcello doesn’t nearly have the hype that Moore has, they have their similarities. Moore made him Major League debut when he was 22, Porcello made his when he was only 20. It’s hard to believe this is Porcello’s fourth season for the Tigers, quietly racking up 38 wins along the way.
I’m just glad baseball is back, and even happier that I’ll be able to see it in person.
Breaking it down: Final draft of 2012
As I’ve done with all of my other fantasy baseball drafts, I’m going to give you a round by round breakdown of it. Hopefully this can help you prepare in case you haven’t had your draft yet. This was for an eight person, head to head league. It’s important to realize that the less people are playing, the average roster will be significantly better in comparison to a 12 team league. Also, I just wanted to mention if you ever have any fantasy baseball questions for me during the season, feel free to comment on one of my blogs, or send me a tweet @brjeffers13 and I’ll do my best to help you. If I think it’s a good enough question, I’ll even write a blog with more in depth analysis.
Round 1 (3rd overall): Jose Bautista-After Miguel Cabrera and Matt Kemp were off the board, I decided to take Bautista instead of Albert Pujols, who is ranked third in most pre-draft rankings. Some reasons for this include the fact that Bautista is eligible at multiple positions, giving me depth at both third base, as well as the outfield. His 2011 numbers pretty much exceeded those of Pujols, plus you’re going to get more stolen bases. I’m not sure that Bautista will duplicate the numbers he put up last year, but I highly doubt there will be a significant drop off.
Round 2 (14th overall): Adrian Gonzalez-It’s hard to not love Gonzalez, as he’s been a consistently dominant hitter for many years, and he’s playing in a very hitter-friendly ballpark in Boston. I’ll gladly take a guy who will hit around .300 with 30 home runs, and 100 RBIs in the second round, and you should, too.
Round 3 (19th overall): Dustin Pedroia-I consider Pedroia the second best offensive second baseman behind Robinson Cano, and at a position where there’s not exactly a whole lot of big talent around the league, I wanted to get a well above average second baseman while there was still one on the board. Some people would say you should draft a quality starting pitcher with this pick, but I don’t feel that was necessary with it being a league with only eight teams.
Round 4 (30th overall): Cole Hamels-Definitely an interesting pick on my part, but you can consider me a fan of Hamels. With Kershaw, Verlander, Lee and Halladay already off the board, I wanted to make sure I was able to get a proven starting pitcher. Even though not everyone agrees with it, I love taking solid players in a contract year, as they always have a little extra incentive to perform.
Round 5 (35th overall): Jered Weaver-There’s really no reason to suspect that Weaver won’t have another strong year in 2012, and with the improved offense behind him, he should be able to be a bit more comfortable on the mound. I thought this was one of the easiest picks I made in the draft, as I almost selected him a round earlier.
Round 6 (46th overall): Hunter Pence-Some people are still not sold on the fact that Pence is an All-Star outfielder, and I don’t get it. In the last three years, Pence is hitting .292 while averaging about 24 home runs a year. Don’t forget that he’s also likely to steal you a about 10 bases or so a year, and those add up through the course of a year.
Round 7 (51st overall): Mike Napoli-Another person that I love because of him being eligible at both catcher and first base. There’s a quick drop off amongst most catchers in Major League Baseball, so I love being able to get a guy that should be amongst the best in the league. I plan on using him primarily as a catcher, except on days that Adrian Gonzalez has off, then I can shift him to first base to fill the void.
Round 8 (62nd overall): Ben Zobrist-I have a feeling that I’m either going to love or hate this pick. I went with a guy who hits for a decent average, has speed, and plays multiple positions. Hopefully he can hit about .275 this year with 20 home runs, 15 stolen bases and keep his slugging percentage around the .435 it’s been in his career. If he does, then I got a ton of value from this pick.
Round 9 (67th overall): Stephen Strasburg-Simply put, if Strasburg is healthy, he should’ve been picked about five rounds earlier. I played the risk vs. reward card here, and I’m hoping it’ll pay dividends.
Round 10 (78th overall): Desmond Jennings-Although I have absolutely no clue what kind of average Jennings will have in 2012, I expect him to steal a ton of bases and hit around 15 home runs for Tampa Bay this year. I’ve noticed that a lot of people don’t pay attention to stolen bases in fantasy baseball, so there’s always value in picking up a speedster or two, as it’ll likely be enough to win the stolen base category in most leagues.
Round 11 (83rd overall): James Shields-“Big Game” James seems to be consistent every year, and still manages to stay off the radar each year. Hopefully Shields can prove that 2011 wasn’t a fluke, when he won 16 games with a 2.82 ERA, while striking out 225 hitters along the way.
Round 12 (84th overall): J.J. Putz-Besides the fact I met and interviewed Putz a month ago (you can watch the interview HERE), Putz proved he is without a doubt one of the most dominant closers in baseball. Playing for the Diamondbacks should give him plenty of save opportunities, and I don’t see him blowing too many of them.
Round 13 (99th overall): Jimmy Rollins-This is one of the picks I think I might regret a bit, but I’m okay with in the grand scheme of things. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not exactly a ton of quality shortstops in MLB, so I thought I’d take a guy with speed and plenty of offensive upside. I knew the shortstop I wanted to take would likely be available in the later rounds, so I didn’t need to waste a pick in taking him here. If I wasn’t able to get him, I’d at least have a shortstop that wouldn’t hurt my team.
Round 14 (110th overall): Lance Berkman-First and foremost, I do not think Berkman is likely to repeat the numbers he put up in 2011, but I do expect him to hit at least .270 with 20 home runs. For a guy who I can put in my lineup as either an outfielder or first baseman, I’ll take it.
Round 15 (115th overall): Andrew Bailey-Let’s face it, the guy is going to be a closer for the Boston Red Sox. That means he’s going to get plenty of save opportunities, and at this point in the draft, there wasn’t too many other options that I could say the same thing about.
Round 16 (126th overall): Carlos Beltran-I love how Beltran fits in with the St. Louis offense, and expect him to have a solid year at the plate. If he can stay healthy, there’s no reason why he won’t hit .285 with 20 home runs, and have a slugging percentage around .500. Again, this was a risk vs. reward selection, and I think there is enough value in Beltran to make it completely justifiable.
Round 17 (131st overall): Josh Beckett-Now that there’s no more beer in the clubhouse, there should be no distractions for Boston’s starting rotation. With that being said, I expect Beckett to quiet critics and have a solid 2012 season. It’s not common that your 17th round pick will win you 15 games and have an ERA around 3.00, but that’s exactly what Beckett should do this year.
Round 18 (142nd overall): Max Scherzer-In 2011, Scherzer was 15th in the American League in strikeouts, and had an elevated ERA due to a few bad outings. I expect Scherzer to find his true form in 2012, and with Detroit’s revamped offense behind him, he should be able to win at least 15 games.
Round 19 (147th overall): Delmon Young-After coming to Detroit late in 2011, Young was an absolute hitting machine. With Brennan Boesch (hitting second), Miguel Cabrera (third), and Prince Fielder (fourth) hitting in front of Young, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to get an opportunity to have a career high in RBIs this year.
Round 20 (158th overall): Jhonny Peralta-I wish I had an answer as to why Peralta is ranked so low in most fantasy leagues, but he’s a proven hitter in a stacked lineup. I was hoping he would be available in the later rounds, and sure enough, he was. This is an absolute steal as far as I’m concerned.
Round 21 (163rd overall): Yadier Molina-Simply put, he was the best catcher available at this point in the draft. I’m a huge fan of having two people who can play each position (if possible, and without passing up a significantly better player at another position at the same time), so I wanted to make sure I had at least two catchers on my roster. I don’t expect Molina to hit over .300 like he did last year, but he’s a good enough hitter that he could be a starting catcher in most fantasy leagues.
Round 22 (174th overall): Rick Porcello-I may have performed a big fantasy baseball no-no here, but I took someone because of my home-team bias. Don’t get me wrong, I like Porcello quite a bit, I just don’t think he was the best available starting pitcher on the board. I could see Porcello winning 14 games with an ERA slightly above 4.00, and that’s fine with me.
Round 23 (179th overall): Ervin Santana-I think everyone gave up on the draft, because I’m not sure how Santana was still available at this point. If he pitches anything like he did last year in 2012, I’d expect him to easily rack up 16 wins for the Angels.
Brad Jeffers
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