34-year old righty reliever Joaquin Benoit heated up with the weather for the Tigers this year. Since June 1st, Benoit is 3-0 with 2 saves, a 1.67 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He has only given up 23 hits while whiffing 40 batters in only 37 2/3 innings since June 1st. Benoit has now pitched in 62 games (0 starts) overall this year and he is 4-3 with 2 saves, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Benoit and Valverde have given he Tigers a lethal combo late in games this year.

28-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Verlander’s stats have finally matched his stuff in 2011. He has pitched in 31 games (all starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 22-5 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 157 hits in his first 229 innings this year with 232 whiffs and only 51 walks. I know that Jered Weaver is having an outstanding year for the Angels, but Verlander has to be the Cy Young winner in the A.L. this year. Verlander has now pitched in 196 games (all starts) in his first 7 years with the Tigers and he is 105-57 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has turned into one of the very best pitchers in all of baseball and he’s a big reason why the Tigers are going to win the A.L. Central this year.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Doug Fister has been excellent since coming over in a deal with the Mariners at the end of July. Fister has pitched in 7 games (all starts) for the Tigers so far and he is 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has only given up 43 hits in his first 44 1/3 innings for the Tigers while walking only 3 batters and whiffing 36 of them. Fister has been impressive and the Tigers need him to keep up the good work. Fister has now pitched in 28 games (all starts) overall this year for the Tigers & Mariners and he is 7-13 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Rick Porcello has rebounded from a rough 2010 season. He has started 20 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 11-6 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has given up 129 hits in only 116 innings so far this year but he has limited the damage by only walking 30 batters. He has now pitched in 78 games (all starts) for the Tigers in his first three years with the team and he is 35-27 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Tigers will need Porcello to finish this year strongly to help get the Tigers over the top in the A.L. Central.

The Detroit Tigers have two position players (catcher Alex Avila and 1B Miguel Cabrera) and two pitchers (starter Justin Verlander and closer Jose Valverde) going to the All-Star Game next week. 24-year old lefty swinging Alex Avila will be the starting catcher for the American League as he won the fan vote. Avila has played in 70 games so far this year for the Tigers and he is 68 for 229 (.297 avg, .902 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 28-year old righty swinging 1B Miguel Cabrera has been pitched around a lot this year, but when pitchers throw strikes to him…..he nails the ball. Cabrera has played in 86 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 95 for 293 (.324 avg, 1.010 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 17 homers, 56 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Cabrera has shown a great eye at the plate this year as he has walked 63 times while only whiffing 44 times. 28-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Verlander has been downright incredible this year as he has thrown a no-hitter already and he has 17 quality starts out of his 18 so far this year. Verlander has started 18 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 11-3 with a 2.32 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. He has only given up 88 hits in 135 2/3 innings so far this year and he has whiffed 130 batters while only walking 29. That shows just how downright nasty Verlander has been so far this year. 33-year old righty closer Jose Valverde has been up and down this year. He has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Tigers and he is 2-3 with 20 saves, a 3.00 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. In his 36 innings this year, Valverde has only given up 29 hits while whiffing 35 batters but he has walked 20 batters and that gets him into trouble some times. The Tigers will be well represented in the All-Star Game next week.