29 year old Brandon Inge has really started to look comfortable at 3B and it’s really helped his hitting as he put up some solid power numbers last year.  Inge hit .253 last season, scored 83 runs, smacked 27 homers, knocked in 83 runs and had a .776 OPS.  Those numbers are pretty amazing seeing how Inge was batting in the bottom third of the order most of last season.  Inge probably has the most range of any 3B in baseball but he made 22 errors last season and he needs to cut down on that number.  Look for Inge’s power numbers to go up a tad and his defense to improve.

Omar Infante or Neifi Perez will play third when Inge needs a day off and either of them would be a good defender there.

31 year old switch hitting Carlos Guillen was outstanding last season for the Tigers.  He continued his fine hitting as he had a .320 batting average, scored 100 runs, cracked 19 homers, drove in 85 runs, stole 20 bases and had an outstanding .920 OPS.  As long as he stays healthy there’s no reason to think he won’t hit that well again as he has a .320 average in three seasons for the Tigers, covering 376 games in 3 years.  The area one area he could improve on is his defense as he tied for the major league lead with 28 errors.  His range was a little bit below average but that could have been because his knees were bothering him.

25 year old Omar Infante is the top back up at shortstop.  He only played 10 games there last season because he was needed at 2B, but he showed great range at shortstop and only made 1 error there last season.

33 year old switch hitting Neifi Perez will likely be one of the Tigers top backups in the infield and he’s a natural shortstop.  He had an awful year with a bat in his hands as he had a .243 batting average with a .576 OPS.  Look for him to improve on those numbers as he’s been a decent hitter most of his career.  Perex played 28 games at shortstop last season and he made 3 errors, but he still showed decent range.

27 year old Ramon Santiago was with the Tigers most of last season but he didn’t get much playing time.  He hit .225 with a .506 OPS in 43 games last season.  He has never been much of a hitter and will have a hard time making the Tigers team when they go north for the season.  More likely is that Santiago will play in AAA and be an insurance policy for the big league team.  Santiago played 27 error-free games for the Tigers last season at shortstop.

31 year old Placido Polanco has played well for the Tigers since the day they got him (June 8th, 2005).  He has a .313 average with a .759 OPS for the Tigers over 196 games with them.  Last season he missed a lot of time due to injury as he only played in 110 games.  He wound up hitting .295 with 4 homers, 52 RBIs and a .693 OPS last season.  The Tigers expect him to be much better this season with his return to full health.  He also has been a very good defender for the Tigers.  He showed off outstanding range last season and he only made 6 errors in 108 games.  Look for him to hit about .300 and provide stellar defense for the Tigers this season.

25 year old Omar Infante filled in when Polanco was hurt last season and he did a very good job.  He hit .277 with 4 homers, 25 RBIs and a .740 OPS in 78 games for the Tigers last season.  He also showed off great range as he’s a natural shortstop and he only made 4 errors in 307.1 innings at 2B for the Tigers last season.  He can also handle SS and 3B on defense.  He will be very valuable to the Tigers this season.

30 year old Kevin Hooper will probably spend most of the season in AAA ball this year for the Tigers and be insurance in case of injuries.  He hit .276 with a .636 OPS in 121 games for Toledo last season.  He played 8 games for the Tigers last September and went 0 for 3.

33 year old Neifi Perez played well on defense for the Cubs and Tigers last season at 2B as he played in 67 games there and showed great range and only made 5 errors there. 

27 year old switch hitter Ramon Santiago played 12 games for the Tigers at 2B and he didn’t make an error there, so he could get some playing time for them again this season.

The Tigers gave up a lot for the 38 year old DH so he better produce.  Last year was a lost season for Sheffield as he missed four months of the season with a wrist injury.  When he played he didn’t look like his old self as he only hit 6 homers and knocked in 25 runs in 151 at bats.  He did hit .298, which was higher than he hit in his two previous seasons, but his OPS was .805 which is pretty low for him.  Still, the winter off should help his wrist regain strength and he averaged 110.5 runs scored, 35 homers and 122 RBIs during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.  Look for Sheffield’s numbers to come down a little bit from those as the Tigers line up isn’t as good as the ones the Yankees had in 2004+2005.  But they will still be good.

32 year old Sean Casey had an excellent post-season and he parlayed that into a new contract.  He will be the starting first baseman for the Tigers and he’s an excellent defender as he only made 2 errors last season!  He had an off-season last year with the bat in his hand as he only hit .272 with 8 homers and 59 RBIs.  He also only had a .724 OPS which is pretty poor for a first baseman.  The Tigers hope that they get the Sean Casey from 2004-2005 that averaged .318, 88 runs scored, 16.5 homers and 78.5 RBIs.

26 year old Chris Shelton hit 9 homers in the first two weeks of last season but found himself in the minors a couple of months later.  He hit .273 with 16 homers, 47 RBIs and a OPS of .806.  He gets into trouble when he tries to hit homers as his 107 whiffs in 373 at bats suggest.  If he tones his swing down a little bit, he will be with the Tigers all season this year.  He still is learning how to play first base as he made 6 errors last season which is a little too much for 115 games.