24-year old lefty swinging Alex Avila will head into 2011 as the Tigers’ starting catcher. Avila played in 104 games for the Tigers last season and he was 67 of 294 (.237 avg, .710 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 7 homers, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Tigers will try to get Avila to make more contact as he whiffed 71 times last season without hurting his power. Avila had 4 errors and 6 passed balls in 98 games behind the plate so the Tigers are going to need him to improve his concentration a bit. He does have an outstanding throwing arm though. He nailed 20 of 63 (31.7%) of runners trying to steal against him last season and Tigers’ pitchers had a 4.47 ERA with him behind the dish. Avila has a nice upside as he has potential to be a good all around catcher in the major leagues.

30-year old righty swinging Max St. Pierre might have a good chance of making the Tigers because they won’t want Victor Martinez to be the only other catcher on the roster. Martinez is going to be pretty much the full time DH for the Tigers in 2011. St. Pierre played in 59 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 52 of 190 (.274 avg, .832 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 10 homers, 36 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He also played in 6 games for the Tigers last season in which he was 2 for 9 (.222 avg, .556 OPS) with 1 run scored. He didn’t make any errors or have any passed balls in 4 games behind the plate for the Tigers last season. Tigers’ pitchers had a 4.24 ERA with St. Pierre behind the dish.

32-year old switch hitting Victor Martinez will be the full time DH for the Tigers in 2011. He can also catch and play 1B if the need arises for the Tigers next season. Martinez had 6 errors and he had 4 passed balls in 110 games behind the plate for the Red Sox last season. Martinez only threw out 17 of 126 baserunners (13.5%) trying to steal against him last season and Red Sox’ pitchers had a 4.28 ERA with him behind the plate. If Martinez catches for the Tigers this season, that’s when opposing teams will start the track meet.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TIGERS CATCHERS IN 2011: C

The Tigers have designated 29-year old righty starting pitcher Armando Galarraga for assignment. Galarraga pitched in 25 games (24 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. In his three years with the Tigers, Galarraga has pitched in 84 games (77 starts) in which he is 23-26 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Tigers will likely try to deal him to a team desperate for starting pitching.

UPDATE: (1/24/2011) - The Tigers have dealt Armando Galarraga to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 20-year old righty starter/reliever Kevin Eichhorn & 22-year old lefty reliever Ryan Robowski. Eichhorn came into the 2010 season as the D-Backs’ #18 rated prospect according to Baseball America. Eichhorn played in 15 games (all starts) in Rookie+A-ball last season and he was 5-6 with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has now pitched in 27 games (15 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 5-8 with a 4.80 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Eichhorn whiffed 108 batters while only walking 28 in his first 105 innings in the minors showing impressive control. Ryan Robowski pitched in 35 games (0 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 2-4 with 2 saves, a 5.17 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He has now pitched in 56 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 5-7 with 8 saves, a 4.82 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The Tigers did well to get a couple of decent prospects for Galarraga.

The Tigers have signed 32-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Penny to a 1-year, $3 million dollar deal with another possible $3 million bucks in incentives. Penny pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has now pitched in 288 games (284 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 108-88 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. I believe this is a good gamble for the Tigers but it certainly doesn’t come without risk. Penny only pitched in the American League 1 year (2009 with the Red Sox) in which he pitched in 24 games (all starts) and he was 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. It will be interesting to see who well Penny pitches for the Tigers in 2011. He’s likely to either be really solid or really stinky in 2011.