The Tigers have been ecstatic with the play of Brandon Inge so far this season. He has played in 45 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 43 for 157 (.274 avg, .902 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 12 homers and 33 RBIs. The Tigers think that Inge can keep drilling the ball for power but the real question is….can he really hit higher than .250 for a full season? Regardless, Inge is one of the main reasons that the Tigers are in first place in the American League Central right now.

The Tigers have placed starting LF Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his left shoulder. Guillen has played in 24 games for the Tigers this season and he is 18 for 90 (.200 avg, .511 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 1 steal. The reason the Tigers wanted to try Guillen out in LF was to keep him healthy but it hasn’t quite worked out to this point. The Tigers have recalled both Jeff Larish and Clete Thomas from AAA to replace Guillen. Larish is in his 2nd go around with the Tigers this season. He played in 9 games for the Tigers earlier this season and he was 3 for 18 (.167 avg, .544 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. Larish earned his return trip to Mo-Town by playing in 5 games in AAA-ball in which he was 7 for 19 (.368 avg, 1.267 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. 25-year old lefty swinging Clete Thomas could get a lot of playing time while Guillen is out of action. In his first game with the Tigers earlier this week, Thomas was 3 for 4 with a double, triple, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. But, Thomas wasn’t playing well in AAA when the Tigers called him up. He played in 23 games in AAA-ball before his promotion in which he was 21 for 89 (.236 avg, .720 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Tigers will likely miss Guillen’s bat while he is out of action.

The Detroit Tigers are expected to be without backup catcher Matt Treanor for the remainder of the season due to hip surgery. Treanor played in only 4 games for the Tigers this season and he was 0 for 13 (.000 avg, .071 OPS). The Tigers have recalled 29-year old righty swinging Dane Sardinha to replace Treanor as Gerald Laird’s backup. Sardinha has already played in 1 game for the Tigers going 0 for 2 (.000 avg). Sardinha has also played in 5 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .641 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. The Tigers will miss Treanor who worked well with the pitching staff.

The Tigers have placed outfielder Marcus Thames on the 15-day disabled list. Thames hurt himself in batting practice and he could miss up to 2 months. He has played in 6 games for the Tigers this season and he is 4 for 18 (.222 avg, .639 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The Tigers have recalled Ryan Raburn to replace Thames on the active roster. Raburn has played in 12 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 12 for 47 (.255 avg, .995 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Raburn has also played in 1 game for the Tigers so far going 0 for 2 (.000 avg). The Tigers will miss Thames’ power bat.

The Tigers have acquired 32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jason Tyner from the Brewers for future considerations. Tyner has played in 9 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 2 for 21 (.095 avg, .262 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He has also played in 440 games in his major league career so far and he is 373 for 1,358 (.275 avg, .637 OPS) with 168 runs scored, 1 homer, 94 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. Tyner’s upside is likely a backup for the Tigers at some point in 2009 but it never hurts to have players like him in AAA.