28-year old righty swinging Miguel Cabrera is moving across the diamond in 2012 to 3B. He played in 161 games for the Tigers last year and he was 197 of 572 (.344 avg, 1.033 OPS) with 111 runs scored, 30 homers, 105 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Cabrera walked 108 times last season while only whiffing 89 times, showing great patience at the plate. With Prince Fielder behind him in the order this year, look for Cabrera to get more good pitches to hit. Cabrera has now played in 631 games in his first four years with the Tigers and he is 755 of 2,347 (.322 avg, .974 OPS) with 403 runs scored, 139 homers, 461 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,351 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,597 of 5,041 (.317 avg, .950 OPS) with 852 runs scored, 277 homers, 984 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Cabrera had 13 errors in 152 games at 1B last year for the Tigers and he hasn’t played 3B in a long, long time. He is likely going to be a poor defensive 3B, but his bat will more than make up for it.

34-year old righty swinging Brandon Inge is going back to his super utility role. He played in 102 games for the Tigers last year and he was 53 of 269 (.197 avg, .548 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 3 homers, 23 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Inge has now played in 1,399 games in his first 11 years with the Tigers and he is 1,081 of 4,606 (.235 avg, .692 OPS) with 525 runs scored, 139 homers, 587 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. Inge played in 99 games at 3B for the Tigers last year and he had 9 errors while showing off outstanding range. He could replace Cabrera late in games for defensive purposes in 2012.

32-year old lefty swinging Don Kelly is also going to be in the mix to get some P.T. at 3B. He played in 113 games for the Tigers last year and he was 63 of 257 (.245 avg, .672 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 7 homers, 28 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Kelly has now played in 263 games in his first three years with the Tigers and he is 135 of 551 (.245 avg, .659 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Kelly has now played in 288 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 139 of 578 (.240 avg, .648 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Kelly played in 45 games at 3B for the Tigers last year and he had 4 errors while showing outstanding range. He, like Inge, could be a defensive replacement late in games for Cabrera.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: A+

29-year old righty swinging shortstop Jhonny Peralta really has a solid bat for his position. He played in 146 games for the Tigers last year and he was 157 of 525 (.299 avg, .824 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 21 homers and 86 RBIs. Peralta has now played in 203 games in his first two years with the Tigers and he is 212 of 742 (.286 avg, .790 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 29 homers and 124 RBIs. He has now played in 1,126 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,118 of 4,177 (.268 avg, .758 OPS) with 568 runs scored, 132 homers, 580 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Peralta only made 7 errors in 145 games at SS last year but he showed below average range. The Tigers don’t care about Peralta’s D too much as long as he continues to rake at the plate.

32-year old switch-hitting Ramon Santiago will be Peralta’s backup in 2012. He played in 27 games at SS last year for the Tigers and he made 2 errors while showing off outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2012: B+

30-year old righty swinging Ryan Raburn finds himself at the top of the depth chart for the Tigers heading into spring training at 2B. Raburn played in 121 games for the Tigers last year and he was 99 for 387 (.256 avg, .729 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 14 homers, 49 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Raburn is a hacker as he only walked 21 times while whiffing 114 times last year, so don’t expect a high batting average out of him in 2012. Raburn has now played in 500 games in his first six years with the Tigers and he is 368 for 1,368 (.269 avg, .779 OPS) with 209 runs scored, 53 homers, 204 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Raburn played in 56 games at 2B last year for the Tigers and he had 10 errors while showing poor range. Raburn is going to have to improve defensively if he’s going to win the starting job at 2B and keep it.

32-year old switch-hitting Ramon Santiago is going to battle Raburn for P.T. in 2012 at 2B. Santiago played in 101 games for the Tigers last year and he was 67 for 258 (.260 avg, .695 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 5 homers and 30 RBIs. He has now played in 645 games in his first 8 years with the Tigers and he is 447 of 1,777 (.252 avg, .663 OPS) with 219 runs scored, 25 homers, 164 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Santiago has now played in 672 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 455 for 1,824 (.249 avg, .658 OPS) with 229 runs scored, 25 homers, 166 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Santiago played in 75 games at 2B for the Tigers last year and he only had 1 error while showing good range there. Santiago isn’t as good of a hitter as Ryan Raburn is, but he’s light years better defensively. I can see Santiago getting a lot of P.T. at 2B in 2012 for the Tigers.

26-year old righty swinging Danny Worth is #3 in line at 2B for the Tigers. He played in 30 games for the Tigers last year and he was 10 for 37 (.270 avg, .632 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs. Worth has now played in 69 games in his first two years with the Tigers and he is 37 for 143 (.259 avg, .648 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Worth played in 15 error-free games at 2B for the Tigers last year but he showed pretty awful range. He is likely going to start the 2012 season in AAA.

34-year old Brandon Inge didn’t play 2B at all last year but he’s going to take grounders there this spring. He has been displaced at 3B by Miguel Cabrera, so manager Jim Leyland is trying to find ways to get him into the lineup in 2012.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2012: C

27-year old lefty swinging Prince Fielder is going to be the new cleanup hitter and starting 1B for the Tigers starting in 2012. He played in 162 games for the Brewers last year and he was 170 for 569 (.299 avg, .981 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 38 homers, 120 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Fielder has now played in 998 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 996 for 3,527 (.282 avg, .929 OPS) with 571 runs scored, 230 homers, 656 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Fielder is going to have a fun job protecting Miguel Cabrera in the batting order as he should see a lot of fastballs to mash. Fielder had 15 errors in 159 games at 1B last year, so he’s not the best defensive 1B around but the Tigers won’t care as long as he is raking with the bat in 2012.

Miguel Cabrera is going to be moving to 3B in 2012. He played in 152 games at 1B for the Tigers last year and he had 13 errors. If something happened and Prince Fielder had to miss some time, Cabrera would shift back to 1B to replace him.

The Tigers are in great shape behind the plate with starter Alex Avila and backup Gerald Laird. 25-year old lefty swining Alex Avila had a breakout year in 2011 for the Tigers. He played in 141 games for the Tigers last year and he was 137 of 464 (.295 avg, .895 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 19 homers, 82 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Avila has now played in 274 games in his first three years with the Tigers and he is 221 of 819 (.270 avg, .815 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 31 homers, 127 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Avila played in 133 games behind the plate for the Tigers last year and he had 5 errors and 7 passed balls. He also threw out 26 of 125 (20.8%) base stealers and Tigers’ pitchers had a 3.88 with him behind the plate. Avila is quickly becoming one of the best all-around catchers in all of baseball. I look for him to have another big year in 2012 for the Tigers.

32-year old righty swinging Gerald Laird played in 37 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 22 for 95 (.232 avg, .660 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Laird knows the Tigers’ pitching staff pretty well as he played for the Tigers in 2009 and 2010. Laird played in 224 games in his two years with the Tigers and he was 149 for 683 (.218 avg, .603 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 9 homers, 58 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Laird has now played in 635 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 483 for 2,003 (.241 avg, .658 OPS) with 266 runs scored, 35 homers, 204 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Laird played in 31 games behind the plate for the Cardinals last year and he had 3 errors and 3 passed balls. Laird only threw out 3 of 20 (15%) base stealers last year but Cardinals’ pitchers had a 3.51 ERA with him behind the plate. Laird will back up Alex Avila this time around for the Tigers instead of vice versa.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: A