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.

Expectations are very high for starting CF Austin Jackson after the rookie season he turned in for the Tigers in 2010. The magic just hasn’t been there for Jackson so far this year. Jackson has played in 12 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 9 for 45 (.200 avg, .613 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Jackson is still whiffing at a high rate (14 times this year), so it’s going to be really hard to bring up his batting average. It’s looks as if the pitchers have figured Jackson out, so he will need to make some adjustments so he can start being an asset to the Tigers’ offense again.

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.

In his first 16 games with the Tigers, Peralta is 12 of 60 (.200 avg, .700 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 homers and 7 RBIs. With Brandon Inge back the Tigers have shifted Peralta over to shortstop. But, the Indians moved him to 3B because of his lack of range at SS. It will be interesting to see if Peralta starts to hit more consistently to make up for his mitt. The season has gone south for the Tigers quickly which even makes things worse when Peralta isn’t helping the team much.

25-year old lefty swinging rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch was hitting .332 on July 1st but since then the roof has caved in on him. Boesch is 27 of 144 (.188 avg) in July and August with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. His overall numbers still are solid as he has played in 96 games in which he is 97 of 355 (.273 avg, .800 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 14 homers, 55 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Boesch’s season has mirrored the Tigers’ year as they went in the tank the same time that he did. The Tigers need Boesch to start hitting again or they should play someone else in his place.