AL Central Second-Half Preview
DETROIT TIGERS
(52-42)
July 12, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter (48) at bat against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
If you would have told me at the beginning of the season the Tigers would be just 10 games over the .500 mark come the all-star break, I would have probably laughed you out of the room. But alas, here we are getting ready to start the second half of the season, and here are the Tigers just 10 games over the .500 mark with a 1.5 game lead over the Cleveland Indians.
They are 29-19 at home and just 23-23 on the road, and get this … they are the only team in their division without a losing mark away from their home field.
Detroit enters the weekend with a 6-4 record in their last 10 games and an overall winning percentage of .533, as they’ve scored 477 runs and allowed 388.
With all that said, they rank (as a team) second in runs scored in all of baseball, first in batting average (.281), second in on-base percentage (.348) and third in slugging percentage at .437.
What I like about this team is their lineup … Miguel Cabrera (.365 BA, 30 home runs, 95 RBIs, .458 OBP), Prince Fielder (.267 BA, 16 HR, 69 RBIs, .363 OBP), Victor Martinez (.258 BA, 8 HR, 50 RBIs, .314 OBP) and Torii Hunter (.315 BA, 7 HR, 44 RBIs, .352 BA), for starters.
Then there are Alex Avila at catcher, Austin Jackson in centerfield and Jhonny Peralta at shortstop. That lineup has everything a team needs, and for that reason alone, I see them winning the division by at least eight games, if not more.
I haven’t even spoke about the pitching, with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander leading the staff. Scherzer has a 3.19 ERA with a 13-1 overall mark, winning his first 13 games of the year. His 152 strikeouts stand out, and his WHIP is just 0.98 in 19 starts (129.2 IP).
Verlander probably won’t be winning another CY Young Award this season, as his ERA is a tad higher than his career average, at 3.50 compared to a career average of 3.41. He has 125 strikeouts in 20 starts (126.0 IP) with a WHIP of 1.34.
If this team can get all hot at the same time, there is no hope for the rest of the division, but if they don’t, …well, it could be like last season all over again with a lesser team challenging for the playoff spot from the Central.