33-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Penny has been very inconsisent for the Tigers. Take May for instance. In Brad Penny’s first two starts in May, he was 3-0 with a 0.83 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. But, in his last two starts of May, Penny was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP! Penny has now pitched in 11 games (all starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 4-4 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Even though Penny has been inconsistent, the Tigers will take his overall numbers so far this year.

33-year old righty reliever Joaquin Benoit got a big deal from the Tigers as a free agent over the winter. The Tigers gave Benoit the deal based on how well he pitched in 2010 with the Rays. Benoit pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Rays in 2010 and he was 1-2 with 1 save, a 1.34 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP. He only gave up 30 hits in 60 1/3 innings last year for the Rays while whiffing 75 batters and only walking 11. Those are eye popping numbers but it came out of nowhere, as Benoit’s career numbers are far from impressive. This season, Benoit has been a disaster so far this year for the Tigers. He has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 1-3 with a 7.98 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP as he has given up 21 hits in his first 14 2/3 innings this year.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman has been up and down for the Tigers this year.  He has pitched in 21 games (20 starts) for the Tigers this year and he is 6-7 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  The Tigers are glad that he has stayed healthy this year as in 2008 + 2009 he pitched in 20 games (13 starts) in which he was 3-5 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP.  Bonderman is talking about retirement after this season due to injuries but he has shown enough this season to show that he indeed has something left in the gas tank.

The Tigers have released 26-year old righty starting pitcher Billy Buckner. He pitched in 8 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Tigers and he was 3-5 with a 9.40 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 60 hits (8 homers) in only 37 1/3 innings for the Tigers in AAA ball before his release. Well this trade didn’t help either team as the D-Backs have cut Dontrelle Willis while the Tigers pulled the plug on Billy Buckner.

The Tigers have demoted 21-year old righty starting pitcher Rick Porcello to AAA. He has started 13 games for the Tigers this year and he was 4-7 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He has given up a stunning 97 hits in only 70 1/3 innings this year as he has literally been pitching batting practice this year. This comes as a big surprise because he was pretty darn good as a rookie last year for the Tigers. Last season Porcello started 31 games in which he was 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Tigers hope Porcello straightens out in AAA because they were depending on his this year.