32-year old switch-hitting DH/C Victor Martinez is on fire this month with a bat in his hands. Martinez has played in 9 games so far in September and he is 13 for 36 (.361 avg, 1.036 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. He is really seeing the ball well this month as he has only whiffed 2 times in September so far. Martinez has now played in 128 games this year for the Tigers and he is 155 for 476 (.326 avg, .832 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 10 homers, 90 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Martinez has given Miguel Cabrera solid protection in the lineup and they need that to continue in the playoffs.

25-year old righty swinging LF Delmon Young has been playing solid baseball since coming over in a deal with the Twins. Young has played in 13 games for the Tigers so far and he is 17 for 56 (.304 avg, .757 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs. He has been swinging at everything though as he has only whiffed 4 times for the Tigers and has yet to walk! Young has now played in 97 games overall this year for the Twins & Tigers and he is 98 for 361 (.271 avg, .677 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 6 homers, 42 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Tigers hope that Young keeps hitting well and he might, because he’s going to see a lot of fastballs hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera.

30-year old 2B/OF Ryan Raburn has been sleepwalking through this season and it cost him a starting job. He is trying to salvage his year as he always seems to finish years strongly. He has played in 12 games so far this August and he is 13 for 41 (.317 avg, .854 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Raburn has now played in 97 games overall this year for the Tigers and he is 74 for 319 (.232 avg, .658 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 11 homers, 39 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He will likely have to get most of his P.T. at 2B the rest of this season after the Tigers dealt for Delmon Young. Raburn can still be an asset for the Tigers if he can finish strongly with the bat in 2011.

28-year old righty swinging 1B Miguel Cabrera has been awesome, as usual, for the Tigers this year. He has played in 105 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 115 for 365 (.315 avg, .994 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 22 homers, 68 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Teams have been walking Cabrera a lot this year (74 times) which makes his numbers even more eye popping. They are giving him a ton of respect as Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta are having huge years batting behind him this year. Cabrera could set new career highs in walks (89) and runs scored (112) this year if he continues on his current pace. Cabrera has now played in 575 games in his first four years with the Tigers and he is 673 for 2,140 (.314 avg, .962 OPS) with 364 runs scored, 131 homers, 424 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

29-year old righty swinging shortstop Jhonny Peralta has been added to the American League All-Star team to replace Derek Jeter who is bowing out. Peralta deserved to go to the All-Star Game over Jeter anyway based on performance. Peralta has played in 81 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 91 for 291 (.313 avg, .896 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 14 homers and 50 RBIs. Peralta is putting up outstanding numbers this year as he is providing a lot of punch out of the sixth hole in the Tigers’ batting order. They hope he keeps up the good work in the second half.