Detroit Tigers' Pitchers Set to Finish in '07

My, my, my, how things change in the topsy-turvy world of the Major League Baseball. Before last season, the Detroit Tigers had "clawed" their way to an anemic 502 loses from 2001-2005. Motown's Tigers were anything but ferocious. This storied franchise had become laughable. Then, last season Detroit made it to the brink of baseball's highest achievement.

As a matter of fact, one can date all the way back to 1989 while detailing the organization's ineptitude. The club had failed to lose fewer than 80 games in a season just twice. More to the point, the clawless Tigers had played .500-ball on only two occasions during the previous 16 summers. Both of those times saw the Tigers struggle to a mediocre season. In 1993 the club finished the season in fourth place with its slightly-above-average 85-77 ledger. Detroit did finish in second place once during that span. However, considering the Tigers won even one less game than the 1993 version, the achievement is less noteworthy.

After some tweaking by Detroit's newly formed Dynamic Duo of General Manager Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland, the team formed the 2006 version of the Tigers. In essence, The General Manager and Skipper, respectively, restored the roar. Unexpectedly, while wiping out years of fan frustration, Detroit owned the best record in baseball for much of the season en route to the World Series.

The dream season of '06 started on the mound. Detroit inked veteran all-star pitcher Kenny Rogers. Not only did Rogers impress on the hill, but he also taught the solid, but untested and inexperienced staff what it meant to compete at a new level. With Rogers leading the way, Nate Robertson, Mike Maroth, Justin Verlander, and Jeremy Bonderman followed.

With Rogers captaining the ship once again, expect the Tigers to surpass their near-glorious season of 2006. The Gambler, as Rogers is called, not only has 206 career wins and a perfect game under his belt, but the 18-year veteran is also a slick fielder, earning five gold gloves in the past seven seasons. In the final year of his two-year, $16 million contract, Rogers has been a big part of Detroit's resurgence. However, Tigers' fans will be expecting more even more from The Gambler this season. The lefty posted a 17-8 record with an ERA of 3.84.
PREDICTION: 16 wins and an ERA hovering around 4 (The Gambler will deal a similar hand this season)

Nate Robertson is another starter the Tigers are counting on. Not only will he be expected to eat up innings, but the 29-year old will also need to be more productive during the regular season if Detroit hopes to duplicate its efforts of a season ago. The Witchita, Kansas native posted career highs in wins (13) and innings pitched (208.2). He needs to improve on that record, while still tossing a lot of innings.
PREDICTION: 15 wins and a 4.1 ERA (Similar to Rogers' numbers, yet the gambler will see many more headlines)

Mike Maroth will fill another rotation slot for Leyland. The most outstanding accolade for Maroth to date has to be his most forgettable. He was on the rubber for 21 losses in 2003. Maroth became the first pitcher to lose 20 games since Oakland's Brian Kingman earned the distinction in 1980. Though drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1998, Detroit is the only professional team for which he has pitched. Definitely not an all-star caliber arm, the career 45-60 pitcher hopes to rebound for a nice season. In fact, if he can stay healthy, Maroth should be able to hurl plenty of innings, while posting slightly above average numbers.
PREDICTION: 13 Wins and a 3.8 ERA

The unenviable sophomore jinx often follows productive rookie seasons. However, Tigers' rookie phenom Justin Verlander is out to dispel that theory. Following his impressive rookie campaign, which saw him notch a 17-9 record, to go along with a 3.6 ERA, the young flamethrower is hoping to improve on his highly-set standards. Last season's AL Rookie of The Year will continue to frequent the 100 mile/hour mark on the radar gun. Likewise, barring injury, he'll continue blowing away opposing batters. Expect even bigger numbers this year. It's highly unlikely Leyland will coddle the youngster, giving him days off as he did at the end of the regular season last year.
PREDICTION: 20-11, 3.6

The extent of the Tigers 2007 success will lay on the arm of Jeremy Bonderman. Just four months older than Verlander, he seems poised to have the season of an experienced veteran. Young success is nothing new to J.B.. As a junior in high school, he was a first round draft choice of the Oakland A's. After being acquired by the Tigers in 2002, the young hurler struggled to a 6-19 record in 2003. Also, he seemingly tossed batting practice to opponents as he was lit up to the tune of a 5.56 ERA. He followed that up the next season with an improved 11-13 slate and a more-respectable 4.89 ERA. The 2005 campaign saw him improve even more. Following the opening day start, he worked a 14-13, 4.57. Just like fine wine gets better with time, 2006 saw Bonderman post a strong, but can-do-better, 14-8 record. His ERA also continued to drop. It fell to 4.08.

With the development of a more effective change up, expect Bonderman to have a cy-young-type year, worthy of his newly inked 4-year, $38 million contract. Bonderman is set to prove he is worth the investment.
PREDICTION: 25 wins and a 3.3 ERA

With the rotation set, the hurlers should log plenty of innings, taking a lot of stress off of an impressive bullpen of Joel Zumya, Fernando Rodney, Zach Miner, Jason Grilli, Will Ledezman, newly-acquired Jose Mesa, and closer Todd Jones.
The summer of 2006 left Detroit fans with a heartbreaking World Series loss. Though the Tigers will definitely not be sneaking up on teams this season, 2007 sould be even more fulfilling.
PREDICTION: 94-67, AL Championship, World Series Championship, a Cy Young winner, and a strong MVP candidate...

MVP Candidate?

(Find out next week)