Manager Jim Leyland will try to get the Tigers to be at least one game better than last season when they lost a one game playoff with the Twins. Leyland led the Tigers to a 86-77 (52.8%) record last season falling just one game short of the playoffs. Leyland has compiled a 343-306 (52.9%) in four years with the Tigers. Leyland now has a 1,412-1,437 (49.6%) in 18 years in the majors as a manager. Leyland has won 2 League Pennants (one with the Tigers) and 1 World Series. Look for him to get the most out of his players in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MANAGER IN 2010: B

The Tigers have imported Jose Valverde, Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth to the bullpen giving them a lot of depth and talent in the pen. 32-year old righty Jose Valverde will be the closer for the Tigers in 2010. He pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 4-2 with 25 saves, a 2.33 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Valverde only gave up 40 hits in 54 innings for the Astros last season while whiffing 56 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. Valverde comes right at hitters and he is definitely going to be a upgrade over Fernando Rodney.

23-year old righty Ryan Perry has one of the better young bullpen arms in all of baseball. Perry pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Tigers as a rookie last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Perry whiffed 60 batters in only 61 2/3 innings last season but he walked 38 batters and that is way too many. If Perry cuts down on his walks this season he will be a very solid set-up man for the Tigers in 2010.

25-year old righty Joel Zumaya is a big time tease as he consistently pops triple digit fastballs towards the plate when healthy. But that hasn’t been too often in his career to date. Zumaya pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 4.94 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. In his four years with the Tigers, Zumaya has pitched in 140 games (0 starts) in which he is 11-11 with 4 saves, a 3.15 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has only given up 137 hits in 171 1/3 innings in his career with the Tigers and he has whiffed 176 batters showing how nasty his stuff is. But, he has walked 103 batters and that’s way to many to trust Zumaya late in ball games. If Zumaya can stay healthy all year and throw strikes he could have a breakout year in 2010 for the Tigers.

27-year old lefty Phil Coke will likely be the top lefty out of the pen for the Tigers in 2010. Coke pitched in 72 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 4-3 with 2 saves, a 4.50 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He only gave up 44 hits in 60 innings pitched last season but 10 of them were homers. If he keeps the ball in the park more in 2010 look for him to cut his ERA down to about 3.50.

23-year old lefty Daniel Schlereth has the potential to pitch late in games down the road for the Tigers. He pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs last season and he was 1-4 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He walked 15 batters in only 18 1/3 innings for the D-Backs last season but he did whiff 22 batters showing off his arm strength. Schlereth also pitched in 22 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season in which he was 0-0 with 4 saves, a 0.98 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

28-year old righty Zach Miner is a good guy to have around for the Tigers because he eats up a lot of innings in long relief and he can also start games on short notice. Miner pitched in 51 games (5 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 7-5 with 1 save, a 4.29 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. His biggest problem is his control however as he walked 45 batters in only 92 1/3 innings for the Tigers last season. If he tightens up his control a bit the Tigers will be very happy with him in 2010.

31-year old lefty Bobby Seay looks like trade bait to me. He pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 6-3 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Seay will likely start the season on the D.L. but he would have had a hard time beating out Coke and Schlereth even if he was healthy.

27-year old lefty Fu-Te Ni was awful impressive in his first year in the majors. He pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-0 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Ni gives the Tigers the most depth of any team in the pen from the left side.

32-year old lefty Brad Thomas pitched the last few seasons overseas. He last pitched in the majors in 2004 with the Twins. In three years with the Twins, Thomas pitched in 11 games (5 starts) in which he was 0-3 with a 9.89 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP. He is a big time longshot to make the Tigers in 2010.

26-year old righty Casey Fien will be back for the Tigers in 2010. He pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season in which he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Fien also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 2-1 with 14 saves, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLPEN IN 2010: B

The Tigers could sport a starting rotation of five under 30 year old pitchers (unless Nate Robertson wins the #5 job) in 2010. It all starts with 27-year old righty Justin Verlander. Verlander started 35 games for the Tigers last year and he was 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He only gave up 219 hits in 240 innings last season while whiffing a major league leading 269 batters. Verlander has nasty stuff and there is no reason to think he won’t have another big year in 2010. In his four full years with the Tigers, Verlander has started 130 games in which he is 65-41 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.

21-year old righty Rick Porcello had a very impressive rookie year in 2009 and the Tigers hope he will build on that success this season. He started 31 games for the Tigers last year and he was 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Despite having good stuff, Porcello only whiffed 89 batters in 170 2/3 innings but I look for him to improve on that starting this year. Porcello did sport good control as a rookie last year as he only walked 52 batters. Porcello has a high upside and I look for him to improve in 2010.

25-year old righty Max Scherzer came over in the Edwin Jackson trade over the winter. He, like Verlander, has outstanding top of the rotation stuff. Scherzer started 30 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Scherzer whiffed 174 batters in only 170 1/3 innings last year which shows just how nasty his stuff is. He also pounds the strike zone as he walked 63 batters last year. I think he makes a huge jump this season for the Tigers.

27-year old righty Jeremy Bonderman is penciled in as the #4 starter for the Tigers in 2010. Bonderman pitched in only 8 games (1 start) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-1 with a 8.71 ERA and a 2.32 WHIP. He was injured last season but the Tigers expect him to be healthy at least when the season starts. Bonderman has won at least 11 games in 4 of his 7 years with the Tigers.

28-year old lefty Dontrelle Willis is having a solid spring as he is hoping to get the #5 job in the rotation for the Tigers this spring. Willis started 7 games for the Tigers last season and he was 1-4 with a 7.49 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. In his two years with the Tigers, Willis has pitched in 15 games (14 starts) in which he is 1-6 with a 8.27 ERA and a 2.05 WHIP. He has walked a stunning 63 batters in only 57 2/3 innings with the Tigers. There are whispers that the Tigers could release Willis at the end of spring training. What a waste he has been for the Tigers.

32-year old lefty Nate Robertson is trying to beat out Willis for the #5 job in the rotation. Robertson pitched in 28 games (6 starts) for the Tigers last year and he was 2-3 with a 5.44 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. He has won 10+ games in 2 of his 7 years with the Tigers. Robertson is a below average starter in the major leagues.

28-year old righty Armando Galarraga will start this season in AAA. He pitched in 29 games (25 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 6-10 with a 5.64 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Galarraga gave up 158 hits in 143 2/3 innings for the Tigers last season and he walked 67 batters which is way too many. I’m starting to think that his solid 2008 season with the Tigers was a fluke.

28-year old righty Eddie Bonine could make it as either a starter or a reliever for the Tigers this season. He pitched in 10 games (4 starts) for the Tigers last year and he was 1-1 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Bonine also started 17 games in AAA-ball last year where he was 4-5 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROTATION IN 2010: B-

36-year old righty swinging Magglio Ordonez got off to a slow start in 2009 before finishing strong. He played in 131 games for the Tigers last season in which he was 144 of 465 (.310 avg, .804 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 9 homers, 50 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Tigers really need Ordonez to get his power stroke back because they don’t have a lot of thump in the batting order for 2010. Ordonez made 2 errors in 104 games in RF last season for the Tigers while showing poor range. He did have 6 assists last season showing a decent throwing arm.

28-year old righty swinging Ryan Raburn will be Ordonez’ top backup in 2010. Raburn played in 113 games for the Tigers last season and he was 76 of 261 (.291 avg, .891 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 16 homers, 45 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Raburn played 14 error-free games in RF last season while showing average range. If Ordonez’ play continues to slide look for Raburn to get a lot of P.T. in RF in 2010.

26-year old lefty swinging Clete Thomas will likely also get some P.T. in RF for the Tigers in 2010. He played in 87 games in RF for the Tigers last season making 2 errors while showing good range. He had 5 assists out of RF as he has a very strong throwing arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B-

23-year old righty swinging Austin Jackson came over in the big Curtis Granderson/Edwin Jackson trade over the winter and he will be expected to leadoff and start in CF for the Tigers in 2010. Jackson played in 132 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 151 of 504 (.300 avg, .759 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 4 homers, 65 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. The Yankees don’t usually give up top prospects in trades so it will be interesting to see if Jackson is the real deal or not. He is a solid defensive center fielder.

26-year old lefty swinging Clete Thomas is the fallback plan so the Tigers need Jackson to be for real. Thomas played in 102 games for the Tigers last season and he was 66 of 275 (.240 avg, .709 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Thomas played in 7 error-free games in CF last season for the Tigers while showing above average range.

30-year old lefty swinging Don Kelly will be back for the Tigers in 2010. He played in 31 games for the Tigers last season and he was 14 of 56 (.250 avg, .651 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Kelly didn’t play any games in CF last season for the Tigers but he would be at least average defensively there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: C