27-year old righty swinging 1B Miguel Cabrera has really been awesome this season for the Tigers. Cabrera has played in 73 games for the Tigers this year and he is 93 of 278 (.335 avg, 1.041 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 20 homers and 66 RBIs. He has now played in 393 games in his three years with the Tigers so far and he is 471 of 1,505 (.313 avg, .938 OPS) with 237 runs scored, 91 homers and 296 RBIs. The trade the Tigers made with the Marlins was a absolute steal even with Dontrelle Willis stinking it up. I see no reason to think that Cabrera won’t win a A.L. MVP soon.

The Tigers have placed 25-year old righty reliever Joel Zumaya on the 15-day disabled list with a non-displaced fracture of the tip of his elbow. He will miss the rest of the season. This is a big blow to the Tigers as Zumaya was really pitching well this season. Zumaya pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this season and he was 2-1 with 1 save, a 2.58 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has now pitched in 171 games (0 starts) in his five years with the Tigers and he is 13-12 with 5 saves, a 3.05 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. It’s a shame that Zumaya can’t stay healthy as he has electric stuff. The Tigers have called up 26-year old righty reliever Casey Fien from AAA to replace Zumaya in the pen. He has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 1-0 with 3 saves, a 2.29 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. The Tigers hope he’s better this time around. He got his first taste of the majors last season and he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.

36-year old righty swinging RF Magglio Ordonez finished last season strongly but he seemed to lose his power swing. He played in 131 games in 2009 for the Tigers and he was 144 of 465 (.310 avg, .804 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 9 homers and 50 RBIs. This season though it seems as if Ordonez has got his power back. He has played in 63 games for the Tigers and he is 79 of 245 (.322 avg, .906 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 10 homers and 49 RBIs. Ordonez is also showing a very keen eye at the plate as he has walked 31 times while whiffing 26 times this year. Ordonez’ play this season is a big reason why the Tigers are right on the Twins’ tail in the A.L. Central.

Recently signed 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Ben Johnson is off to a slow start in AAA for the Tigers. Johnson has played in 12 games in AAA so far for the Tigers and he is 7 of 42 (.167 avg. 571 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Johnson last played in the majors in 2007 with the Mets. He has played in 98 games in his major league career and he is 51 of 222 (.230 avg, .728 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 7 homers, 26 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. If Johnson doesn’t improve soon his stay with the Tigers will be short.

The Tigers have demoted 21-year old righty starting pitcher Rick Porcello to AAA. He has started 13 games for the Tigers this year and he was 4-7 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He has given up a stunning 97 hits in only 70 1/3 innings this year as he has literally been pitching batting practice this year. This comes as a big surprise because he was pretty darn good as a rookie last year for the Tigers. Last season Porcello started 31 games in which he was 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Tigers hope Porcello straightens out in AAA because they were depending on his this year.