Breaking Down The Tigers - Part 3 of 5

We discussed the Tigers’ Outfield yesterday, and set a couple scenarios for a batting lineup. The Tigers have some unknowns in the field, but things might come together better than we might think.

One positive area for the Tigers could be the Starting Pitching. The Tigers have four definite starters, and a fifth position that could be filled by two or three different people. We may not know who that fifth person is until a good portion of Spring Training is completed.

Let’s examine the four we know, and speculate on the others.

Jason Johnson. Jason is entering his second season with the Tigers, and the final year of his contract. He was disappointing last year, with a 5.13 ERA, eight wins, and 15 losses. Blisters on his throwing hand contributed too much of this. He had trouble gripping the ball, and spent some time out of the rotation. If his past is indicative of his future, Jason will have a good season this year. Jason looks to be a career every-other-year pitcher. Jason has a great fastball with speeds of 92-94 MPH on average, and often has a quick sinking motion to it. Johnson also has a slider, and a changeup, both thrown well. An arsenal of pitches is definitely not Johnson’s fall out. Johnson is a diabetic, and has a tendency to wear down. He receives injections during the games, and he says they help. Johnson needs to get his hand healthy so he can grip the ball, and get his earned runs down. He also needs to find ways to keep his stamina up, or the coaching staff needs to prepare a middle reliever for days he pitches. Johnson could remain the team’s Ace this season, although I feel it would benefit him to be a number two pitcher. He would have less pressure, and wouldn’t have to face the best of the best.

Mike Maroth. Maroth is my nomination for Ace. He is durable, and can go long innings throughout the season. He’s been injury free, and consistently improving each year. He doesn’t have a real quick fastball – 86 MPH – but does have a two-seam and a four-seam version. Additionally, Maroth commands a good curveball, and changeup. He rarely throws over the middle of the plate, and throws a lot of strikes. He’s best when getting ahead in the count early. His mental toughness will keep him winning for years to come. He’s also not a finished product. At 27, he’s getting into the part of his career where he starts to show us what he can really do. He has increased his strikeouts from 58 to 87 to 108 in three seasons. He decreased his earned runs, and homeruns given up last season. His fielding is also strong with zero errors for 2004, and a 1.000 fielding percentage. Maroth just needs to continue to get into his groove, and keep working on getting batters out. One of his strongest points is keeping the batter off-balance. He should keep focus on improving in this area. It could be his best weapon.

Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman is the youngest of the Tigers. Coming into his third season will tell us a lot about what kind of future Bonderman really has. So far, all indications are good. He has a career 5.20 ERA with 17 wins and 32 losses, 19 of them coming in the dismal 119 loss 2003 season. Bonderman has the makings of a strong strikeout pitcher. He increased his season total from 108 to 168 last year. Bonderman has a 95-98 MPH fastball – his finest quality – and also carries a slider and a changeup. He his walks total is also low. He has a tendency to hang onto his slider too long, and must try and work that out in Spring Training. He also needs to work on his changeup, which is his worst pitch.

Nate Robertson. Roberton’s worst quality is longevity. He starts games strong, and wears down quickly. He has a fastball in the low 90s, as well as an above average slider. His fastball has a tendency to rise during games, and, as a result, gives up a lot of hits. He’s very inconsistent, and doesn’t handle winning well. He started out 9-3, and ended up 12-10. His second year as starter will tell the story of his career. He has to work on his stamina, and he must keep his pitches down, even when he’s fatiguing. If he cannot fix his durability, he may be better suited as a long middle reliever.

So there are the four guys that we can count on to be starters when the final rotation is set. We still haven’t talked about that fifth position. There are two guys, Wil Ledezma and Gary Knotts, but I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to discuss them. One of them is going to be in the bullpen, and one of them is going to be on the mound. There is also still that remote possibility that Dombrowski could bring in another starter, and bump both of them to the bullpen.

I see good things in the starting rotation. It is the most positive area we’ve looked at, in my opinion, so far. Tomorrow we’ll discuss the bullpen.

Stats provided by ESPN