The Tigers weren’t sure that Austin Jackson would be able to handle the pressure of batting leadoff as a rookie but he seems at home at the top of the lineup. Jackson has played in 18 games this season for the Tigers and he is 25 of 79 (.316 avg, .840 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Jackson is not only excelling at getting on base but in addition to his homer he has 5 doubles and 2 triples as he is showing good power so far. With Johnny Damon protecting Jackson in the lineup he should continue to see good pitches to hit. I think the Tigers might have been the winners of the big three team trade with the Yankees and D-Backs over the winter as Jackson, Max Scherzer and Phil Coke have all been outstanding so far this season.

Starting DH Carlos Guillen has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Guillen hurt himself last night rounding third base against the Angels when his spikes got caught in the grass. He has played in 16 games for the Tigers this season and he is 19 for 61 (.311 avg, .834 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This is a big blow to the Tigers who were hoping that DHing Guillen would be a way to keep him healthy all year long…..but they were wrong. The Tigers have recalled 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brennan Boesch from AAA to replace Guillen on the active roster. Boesch was the Tigers’ #25 ranked prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has played in 15 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 22 for 58 (.379 avg, 1.075 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Boesch has now played in 453 games in his 5 years in the minors and he is 493 of 1,807 (.273 avg, .753 OPS) with 220 runs scored, 53 homers, 314 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Boesch will likely get a lot of at bats while Guillen is out of action but I also see Ryan Raburn getting increased playing time also.

The Detroit Tigers got off to a fast start this season but they are fading a bit now. They are 7-5 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the A.L. Central, 1.5 games behind the Twins. The Tigers have been outscored 61-58 on the season now as the pitching has not been doing as well as they did earlier in the year. The Tigers need to get their act together this week on the road as they play 4 games at Anaheim against the Angels and then three games in Texas against the Rangers this weekend.

25-year old righty starting pitcher Max Scherzer is off to a good start for the Tigers. In his first three starts this season, Scherzer is 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has given up 16 hits in 17 innings but his control has been excellent as he has only walked 5 batters while whiffing 10. Scherzer has outstanding stuff and he is really aggressive especially with his fastball. I don’t see any reason to think that he is going to slow down any time soon.

Johnny Damon is off to a slow start with the Tigers this season. In his first 9 games, Damon is 6 for 31 (.194 avg, .600 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 4 RBIs. I wouldn’t worry about Damon too much as he could break out at any time. After all, he is a .288 career hitter in the majors. With Ordonez and Cabrera hitting like they are behind him it’s only a matter of time until Damon spikes his batting average upward.