32-year old righty swinging Brandon Inge will be back as the starting 3B for the Tigers in 2010. He played in 161 games for the Tigers last season and he was 129 for 562 (.230 avg, .720 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 27 homers and 84 RBIs. That is about the best you can expect out of Inge because of his penchant for whiffing which he did 170 times last season. That is what always keeps him from putting up a decent batting average. Inge made 20 errors in 161 games at 3B for the Tigers last season while showing slightly above average range. He has a gun for a arm at 3B as he is a converted catcher.

30-year old switch hitting Ramon Santiago will backup Inge at 3B this season. He didn’t make any errors in 2 games there last season for the Tigers while showing average range. 29-year old righty swinging Ryan Raburn could play 3B in a pinch but he’s a horrible defender there. He made 4 errors in 6 games at 3B for the Tigers last season while showing awful range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: C