2010 Projected Roster: Detroit Tigers

UPDATE:  Looks like Bobby Seay will begin the season on the DL after having another MRI on his shoulder.  Robbie Weinhardt takes his place on my projected roster.

Each day this week (through Thursday), I will post my 2010 projected rosters for the Detroit Tigers and their full-season minor league affiliates, along with some commentary.  Of course, this is all mere speculation on my part; it is mostly an exercise intended to enhance my knowledge (and hopefully the reader's) of the Tigers' prospects and farm system.  In doing this, I have been heavily reliant on both baseball-reference and Matt Wallace's Take 75 North (which you should subscribe to, if you don't already), as well as demondeaconsbaseball's previous depth chart posts.

2010 Detroit Tigers Projected Roster:

C              Gerald Laird

1B            Miguel Cabrera

2B            Scott Sizemore

3B            Brandon Inge

SS            Adam Everett

RF            Magglio Ordonez

CF            Austin Jackson

LF            Johnny Damon

DH           Carlos Guillen

C              Alex Avila

IF             Ramon Santiago

IF/OF       Ryan Raburn

OF            Clete Thomas

SP            Justin Verlander

SP            Rick Porcello

SP            Max Scherzer

SP            Nate Robertson

SP            Jeremy Bonderman

CL            Jose Valverde

SU            Joel Zumaya

SU            Bobby Seay   Robbie Weinhardt

RP            Ryan Perry

RP            Phil Coke

RP            Fu-Te Ni

RP            Zach Miner

DL            Dontrelle Willis, Bobby Seay

Commentary after the jump:

The Lineup: C-

The only sure things on offense are that Miguel Cabrera is a monster and that Everett's (and Inge's and Laird's?) batting average will be lower than Miguel Cabrera's BAC last October (low blow?).  Otherwise, the Tigers have two unproven, but interesting, rookies (Sizemore and Jackson) and several aging veterans who may or may not produce this year (Ordonez, Guillen, Damon).  The offense has a lot of potential if Sizemore and Jackson live up to the hype and if the Ordonez and Guillen rebound, but I'm not particularly optimistic that this will all happen.  I suspect that the offense will be slightly below league average, but probably not as bad as last year.

The Bench: B+

The Tigers have a good mix of pop off the bench (Avila and Raburn) and quality defense (Thomas and Santiago).  Production off the bench should be solidly above league average.

The Starters: B

We all know that Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the MLB.  Porcello and Scherzer are very good two and three starters, though I wouldn't be surprised if Porcello regresses a bit this year.  After that, well, not so pretty.  It looks like Nate Robertson may have pitched himself into the fourth spot, and while Bonderman hasn't done as well, I think the Tigers give him a shot.  I suspect Willis ends up on the DL before opening day.

The Bullpen: B+

The bullpen looks to be one of the Tigers' strengths this year.  Due to Joe Nathan's injury and some questions about Bobby Jenks's health and conditioning, we may have the second best closer in the AL Central (after Joakim Soria).  A healthy Zumaya would be an obvious boon, and if Seay and Miner can recover from what seem to be minor injuries, so much the better.  What could really push the bullpen into the A range, however, would be if Ryan Perry breaks out a la 2006 Joel Zumaya, meaning he would have to figure out how to consistently throw strikes.

Conclusion:

No surprises on this roster.  We're all familiar with the Tigers' situation this year: good pitching, good defense, questionable offense.  I think a second place finish with 82-84 wins sounds about right.

Tomorrow: Toledo Mud Hens (AAA)