2015 AL Central Preview: Detroit Tigers

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Manager

Brad Ausmus – This is Ausmus’s second year at the helm of the Tigers the first team that he has ever managed. In his first year the team went 90-72, winning the division, and lost to the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Catcher

Alex Avila – The incumbent starter. Has battled injuries behind the plate and has seen his batting average drop three consecutive seasons. Avila threw out 34-percent of attempted base stealers last year.

James McCann – Rookie who made his debut last year and only has 12 at-bats under his belt. Hit .295 at Triple-A and threw out 42-percent of attempted base stealers.

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First Base

Miguel Cabrera – One of the best hitters that the game has ever seen. Played through injuries last year and still managed to .313 and swat 25 home runs. Only downside to his stats last year was an increase in strikeouts from 94 to 117.

Soon to be 32 years old and has played in over 1,800 games which leads to questions whether health will start to become more of an issue.

Second Base

Ian Kinsler – The four-time All-Star had a good first year in Detroit after coming over in the Prince Fielder trade from Texas. He batted .275 and career high in hits as well as RBIs. He’ll be turning 33 in June and one has to wonder how long before a decline begins.

Shortstop

Jose Iglesias – Known as a defensive stalwart at shortstop Iglesias missed all of last year with a shin injury. He’ll look to remain healthy this year and provide stellar defense up the middle of the infield.

Third Base

Nick Castellanos – A former top prospect who had a solid rookie year last year batting .259 with 11 home runs and 66 RBIs. He’ll look to improve upon those numbers as well as the poor defensive numbers that he put up.

Left Field

Yoenis Cespedes – Cespedes is on his third team within a year after starting last year in Oakland and then being traded to Boston. There is no doubting his power or the strength of his arm, but he’s more often a boom or bust guy. With free agency pending he’ll look to cash in with a big year.

Center Field

Anthony Gose – Gose came over via a trade with Toronto in the off season. He’ll take over the center field duties from Rajai Davis who will be assuming a backup role. Gose will provide speed but in his limited playing time has not hit for much of an average.

Right Field

J.D. Martinez – Martinez was a top prospect with the Astros who could never put everything together. After being released by the Astros he was signed by the Tigers and lit the world on fire posting a .315/.358/.553 slash line.

Martinez has attributed his year to learning from the likes of Cabrera and Martinez. He should put up good numbers as he’ll still be hitting behind those two providing plenty of RBI opportunities.

Bench

Rajai Davis – Davis played in a 134 games last year and started 118 of them. He’ll be taking a secondary role this year as he lost his starting role to Gose. He’ll be making appearances as pinch runner late in games when the Tigers need runs.

Andrew Romine – Romine is the backup infielder. He played in 94 games last year but hit a paltry .227 for the season. He’ll be the guy who fills in when Kinsler and Iglesias need a day off.

Next: Pitching Staff

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