23-year old righty swinging CF Austin Jackson was blocked from the majors in New York due to the depth of the team.  They traded him to the Tigers over the winter in the Curtis Granderson trade and the Tigers made him the leadoff man and starting CF.  Jackson ran with his new job this year putting in an excellent rookie year.  Jackson has played in 146 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 179 of 598 (.299 avg, .760 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 4 homers, 41 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.  Despite not having many homers, Jackson still has hit the ball hard as he has 34 doubles and 10 triples this year.  Jackson’s only real weakness this year has been his penchant for whiffing as he leads the American League with 164 of them.  That is nitpicking however as Jackson has a ton of natural talent and he gives the Tigers another young star to build around with Miguel Cabrera.

36-year old lefty swinging DH/LF Johnny Damon appears to be slowing down a bit. He has played in 139 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 141 of 519 (.272 avg, .759 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 8 homers, 48 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Tigers expected much more out of Damon with the bat this year especially after Magglio Ordonez went down to injury…..but it just didn’t happen. This will likely be Damon’s only year with the Tigers but he will likely find a starting job over the winter with some other team.

27-year old righty swinging 1B Miguel Cabrera has been a one man wrecking crew in the Tigers’ lineup most of this season. He has played in 144 games for the Tigers this year and he is 171 of 526 (.325 avg, 1.025 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 34 homers and 119 RBIs. Cabrera also showed great discipline this year as he has walked 85 times already this year. Cabrera is one of the best pure hitters in all of baseball and he carried the Tigers’ offense this year which makes him the MVP in my mind. This marks the 4th time in 7 full seasons that Cabrera has scored at least 100 runs in a season. He also hit 30+ homers for the sixth time in his career and he went over 100 RBIs for the 7th season in a row. Cabrera is well on his way to the Hall of Fame as the only thing that could stop him is if he suddenly becomes injury prone and I don’t see than happening.

UPDATE: (9/30/2010) - The Tigers have shut down Miguel Cabrera for the year with a high ankle sprain. Cabrera finishes up the 2010 season having played in 150 games for the Tigers in which he was 180 of 548 (.328 avg, 1.042 OPS) with 111 runs scored, 38 homers, 126 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He also had a sterling .420 onbase percentage this year. Cabrera has now played in 470 games in his three years with the Tigers and he is 558 of 1,775 (.314 avg, .954 OPS) with 292 runs scored, 109 homers and 356 RBIs.

The Tigers might consider bringing back SS/3B Jhonny Peralta for the 2011 season if he finishes the year strong. He has played in 42 games for the Tigers since coming over from the Indians and he is 42 of 158 (.266 avg, .763 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 7 homers and 29 RBIs. Peralta has now palyed in 133 games overall for the Tigers & Tribe this year and he is 124 of 492 (.252 avg, .718 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 14 homers and 72 RBIs. Shortstop has been a black hole for a few years now for the Tigers so I could see them bringing Peralta back in 2011.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Verlander has some of the best pure stuff in all of baseball but he just hasn’t graduated to being a dominating pitcher. He’s a darn good one but with his kind of stuff he should always have right around 20 wins a year. He has pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Tigers this year and he is 14-8 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has whiffed 172 batters in 184 1/3 innings while only allowing 163 hits so far this year. Verlander has now pitched in 160 games (all starts) in his six years with the Tigers and he is 79-51 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Maybe one year Verlander will put together a really dominating year.