Grading the 2010 Tigers Batters

by Jmayich on Sep 20, 2010 4:16 PM EDT

Hey, I will be grading each player individually and reason why they are what they are.

Alex Avila C He has improved his throwing but needs to put the ball in play more and improve that average to at least .250.

Gerald Laird D - Gerald has not done anything but been an average thrower with no offense

Miguel Cabrera A He has been an MVP this year. He has played great defense and hit very well. He just needs to not over swing on some first pitchs and imporve a little in not swinging at bad pitches but I understand him being anxious.

Scott Sizemore C - He needs to imporve on his defense and batting

Will Rhymes B + Will has been a good 2nd baseman with a decent average. He has great speed but needs to increase his average.

Ramon Santiago C + He is a good utility player

Jhonny Peralta B Has been average defender but that was expected. He has showed some pop in his bat and would be a good #6 hitter next year.

Brandon Inge C Great defense but little below average bat and too many strikeouts.

Brennan Boesch C + Amazing before all star break, pretty bad after. Needs to improve defense and contact.

Austin Jackson A He has played amazingly well. To me he should win gold glove but wont because he is a rookie. Great speed, can hit, and good contact. Needs to have a little more power which will come soon and cut down on strikeouts.

Don Kelly C Good utility player

Ryan Raburn B He had a bad first half but amazing second half. hopefully he can improveoverall and be good the whole season next year.

Johney Damon C He has been average but is a great teamate and great for all the young players.

Casper Wells B + Has shown he can be a good outfielder and is a pretty good hitter.

Share your thoughts and soon will be pitchers (O boy some will be tough)

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bless You Boys writing staff.

Tweet Comment 24 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

lot's of grade inflation

This team has talent for a .500 record and that’s what they have achieved (I’d call that a “C”). Having so many batters with grades of “B” is off the mark. You also neglected to list those on the IR (Mags and Guillen). Without those two, the hitting has really gone in the tank.

by MR_AZ on Sep 20, 2010 4:41 PM EDT reply actions

Grading "batters"

Just on offense, here are my grades:
C is league average for a starter at their position.

Avila D
Laird D-
Cabrera A+
Sizemore D+/ I
Rhymes C
Peralta B (as a Tiger)
Inge C
Boesch C- (Half A and half F)
Jackson B
Damon C
Raburn C
Kelly C
Santiago C+
Wells I
Ordonez A while he played
Guillen C while he played

Dombrowski F

If you survived 2003, you can get through this!

by Tigerdog1 on Sep 20, 2010 4:48 PM EDT reply actions

Wells I?!?!?!

Holy crap, he sure wasn’t that bad…

by DetroitSports on Sep 20, 2010 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I= Incomplete= not enough AB's to grade

If you survived 2003, you can get through this!

by Tigerdog1 on Sep 20, 2010 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Avila is improving the more he plays and gets hits that win games. The same goes for Will Rhymes. Santiago is not appreciated and can also get the clutch hit. Wells should play next year since Guillen will be on DL to start the season. Boesch WILL improve greatly as he goes for the first 3 pitches if they’re close as he doesn’t worry about working the count. I’m excited about Raburn/Wells/Dirks/Boesch next year. Raburn WILL start out stronger if they start him. The key is playing time and not signing free agents except Inge. If they don’t believe Danny Worth will hit, then I’d try to sign Peralta to play SS for i year. Worth is the future when fe hits .270.

by StephenGrosberg on Sep 21, 2010 9:33 AM EDT reply actions

Boesch only took 3 walks in August and he still looked like garbage

You’ve gotta take the good with the bad.

As far as Worth goes, even if he hits .270 he’s still going to have a terrible OBP. I don’t think his glove is good enough to warrant the Adam Everett treatment of looking the other way while he hits.

by ozymandius1024 on Sep 21, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Miggy A+
AJax B+

Everyone else: Not good enough

B.Inge's facial hair advisor
Rod Allen's humor consultant

by BrianCMU. on Sep 21, 2010 5:37 PM EDT reply actions

I just hope...

That Tigers fans are prepared when AJax hits around .270 with the same power next season…

A BABIP above .400 is just crazy lucky… even though i think he does have the most level, linedrive swing in the Bigs…

by jpolut on Sep 22, 2010 7:04 AM EDT reply actions

and they'll call it a "sophomore slump" Hah!

He just needs to continue making more contact

If you survived 2003, you can get through this!

by Tigerdog1 on Sep 22, 2010 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

exactly

cut the K’s, maybe walk a little more.

Deputy Editor, Bless You Boys

Free Scott Sizemore!

by David Tokarz on Sep 22, 2010 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions

A lot of it is luck...

but you have to consider his speed and his high K rate as factors that inflate his BABIP. You still need a lot of luck to get to .400, so I do expect a drop, maybe not as sharp as .270 though.

by crc33 on Sep 22, 2010 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Austin is pretty darn slow out of the batter's box

So I don’t think I’d give him the “speed” advantage as much as someone like Ichiro, Brett Gardner, or Ellsbury (though them all being lefties could help as well).

by ozymandius1024 on Sep 23, 2010 8:23 AM EDT up reply actions

I belive

That he’s always had average speed out of the box, but it shines defensively and on the basepaths.

Deputy Editor, Bless You Boys

Free Scott Sizemore!

by David Tokarz on Sep 23, 2010 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Absolutely

But baserunning and defense don’t factor into his babip.

by ozymandius1024 on Sep 23, 2010 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Well duh...

Sorry, just giving some of what I’ve seen in scouting reports.

Deputy Editor, Bless You Boys

Free Scott Sizemore!

by David Tokarz on Sep 23, 2010 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I can deal with the Ks

I just want him to get his walks up so he can wreak havoc on the basepaths. He doesn’t have to hit for power to be a poor man’s Tim Raines :)

by ozymandius1024 on Sep 23, 2010 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

As long as he gets on base more than he is who cares how he does it?

Deputy Editor, Bless You Boys

Free Scott Sizemore!

by David Tokarz on Sep 23, 2010 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions

I just don't want him turning into a crappy slap hitter like Juan Pierre

Cause he’s swinging early in the count trying not to K instead of working the count, taking some walks, and getting on base.

by ozymandius1024 on Sep 24, 2010 7:10 AM EDT up reply actions

It does help a little.

Being lefties.

Ryan Raburn antagonist.
Scott Sizemore liberationist.

by 13194013 on Sep 23, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll take .270

The dude plays a great CF and I think the power will come along a bit next year. Maybe 8HR instead of 3-4 this year.

I think a few K’s will turn into walks as he learns to foul balls off a little better on 2-2 or 3-2 counts. I agree that he’ll probably hit closer to .250 than .300 next year, a better K/BB ratio will help get him on base more and he’s still a good ballplayer.

Granderson was my Tiger, then Sizemore, then Willis. Since they're all gone, I'm taking Raburn and hoping the pattern holds.

by momotigers on Sep 24, 2010 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions