The addition of Delmon Young will likely cut into Magglio Ordonez’ P.T. when Brennan Boesch gets healthy. Ordonez has played in 74 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 61 for 268 (.228 avg, .582 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 1 stolen base. It’s a shame to see Ordonez’ career with the Tigers winding down like this as he has been a really good player for them. Father time is catching up to Ordonez, so it’s smart to start cutting his P.T. going forward.

34-year old righty swinging 3B Brandon Inge has had an awful time with the bat so far this year. Inge has played in 70 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 38 for 215 (.177 avg, .483 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has also been pathetic as pitch selection this year as he has whiffed 60 times while only walking 17 times. Don’t be surprised one bit if the Tigers make a deal for a 3B as they don’t have many alternatives on the active roster.

UPDATE: (7/21/2011) - The Tigers have designated Brandon Inge for assignment. He will most certainly clear waivers and play most of the rest of the 2011 season in AAA-ball. Inge has played in 1,367 games in his 11 years with the Tigers and he is 1,066 for 4,552 (.234 avg, .691 OPS) with 514 runs scored, 137 homers, 581 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. Inge is the Tigers’ all-time leader in whiffs with 1,169 of them.

UPDATE: (7/26/2011) - Brandon Inge has accepted an outright assignment to AAA to remain with the Tigers. That means he will get his full pay to play for the Toledo Mud Hens.

24-year old right swinging CF Austin Jackson finished second in the voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year last year. He played in 151 games for the Tigers last year and he was 181 of 618 (.293 avg, .745 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 4 homers, 41 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. But, he whiffed 170 times and I said there was no way he would hit anywhere near .293 again if he didn’t cut down on his whiffs. This year, Jackson has struggled big time. He has played in 85 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 81 for 326 (.248 avg, .676 OPS) witih 41 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Jackson has already whiffed 98 times this year, as he is actually getting worse at making contact and I didn’t think that was possible after last year.

30-year old LF/2B Ryan Raburn earned the starting job in LF when the 2011 season started based on how well he played in 2009 and 2010. In those two years, Raburn played in 228 games in which he was 180 for 632 (.285 avg) with 98 runs scored, 31 homers, 107 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. This year though, Raburn has been awful. Raburn has played in 56 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 40 for 195 (.205 avg, .576 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers, 22 RBIs and 1 stolen base. If Raburn continues to slump, Jim Leyland will have to bench him.

37-year old righty swinging RF Magglio Ordonez just can’t seem to stay healthy. He only played in 84 games last year due to a broken ankle and that ankle is giving him problems again this year. Ordonez has only played in 10 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 6 for 33 (.182 avg, .502 OPS) with 1 run scored. He has not been overmatched at the plate though as he has walked 5 times while only whiffing 3 times so far. Ordonez can still hit the heck out of the baseball but it just doesn’t matter if he can’t stay on the field.