The Tigers were 2-4 last week despite outscoring their opponents 33-31 last week.  It really hurt the Tigers to have the Cleveland Indians stroll into Detroit and sweep them in a 3-game series.  The Tigers entered this week with a 29-20 record which had them in 2nd place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind the Indians.

20 year old righty swinging Cameron Maybin is tearing up Hi A pitching so far this season.  The Tigers #1 rated prospect according to Baseball America has played in 45 games this season and he’s 50 for 160 (.313 avg, .900 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.  Maybin’s only problem so far is that he has whiffed 54 times already this season.  Maybin will be put on the fast track to Detroit as he has a great skill set.

Grilli pitched well last season as the Tigers’ mop up man, but this season he’s been terrible.  In 14 games this season, Grilli is 2-1 with a 6.98 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP!   Grilli has thrown 19.1 innings this season and he’s allowed 28 hits, walked 9 batters and has whiffed 12.  Jim Leyland is going to quit using Grilli if he doesn’t start to pitch better soon.  In fact, Grilli could be pitching for his job as Zach Miner is a better pitcher than he is and he’s stuck in AAA.

Justin Verlander has been the Tigers best starting pitcher so far this season without a doubt.   Many wondered before the season if Verlander’s heavy workload of last season would cause him to have a sophomore slump…..but he’s been better than he was last season so far.  Verlander has started 9 games so far this season and he’s 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP!  In 57 innings this season, Verlander has allowed 49 hits, hit 5 batters, walked 17 and whiffed 39 batters.  Look for Verlander to be the ace of the Tigers all season long as he has the best stuff on the entire pitching staff.

The Tigers went 4-3 last week as they outscored their opponents 39-29.  The Tigers started really ripping the ball last week as a team and it paid off.  The Tigers entered this week with a 27-16 record which had them tied for 1st place in the American League Central with the Cleveland Indians, 4.5 games ahead of the White Sox.