The Tigers are in great shape behind the plate with starter Alex Avila and backup Gerald Laird. 25-year old lefty swining Alex Avila had a breakout year in 2011 for the Tigers. He played in 141 games for the Tigers last year and he was 137 of 464 (.295 avg, .895 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 19 homers, 82 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Avila has now played in 274 games in his first three years with the Tigers and he is 221 of 819 (.270 avg, .815 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 31 homers, 127 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Avila played in 133 games behind the plate for the Tigers last year and he had 5 errors and 7 passed balls. He also threw out 26 of 125 (20.8%) base stealers and Tigers’ pitchers had a 3.88 with him behind the plate. Avila is quickly becoming one of the best all-around catchers in all of baseball. I look for him to have another big year in 2012 for the Tigers.

32-year old righty swinging Gerald Laird played in 37 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 22 for 95 (.232 avg, .660 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Laird knows the Tigers’ pitching staff pretty well as he played for the Tigers in 2009 and 2010. Laird played in 224 games in his two years with the Tigers and he was 149 for 683 (.218 avg, .603 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 9 homers, 58 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Laird has now played in 635 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 483 for 2,003 (.241 avg, .658 OPS) with 266 runs scored, 35 homers, 204 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Laird played in 31 games behind the plate for the Cardinals last year and he had 3 errors and 3 passed balls. Laird only threw out 3 of 20 (15%) base stealers last year but Cardinals’ pitchers had a 3.51 ERA with him behind the plate. Laird will back up Alex Avila this time around for the Tigers instead of vice versa.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: A