The Detroit Tigers ended the first half of the 2011 season with a 49-43 record which gives them a 1/2 game lead on the Cleveland Indians in the A.L. Central. The Tigers are also 6 games behind the Yankees for the Wild Card in the American League. The Tigers are likely going to be looking to make a couple of deals at the end of the month to add reinforcements both in the field and on the pitchers’ mound. Here is a look at the players making the biggest impact for the Tigers so far this year:

Team MVP: 28-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Verlander has been absolutely awesome for the Tigers this year. He has started 20 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 12-4 with a 2.15 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He has only given up 101 hits in his first 151 innings this year and he has whiffed 147 batters while only walking 31 of them, which shows his dominance. Verlander also has a no-hitter this year as he has been incredible giving the Tigers a chance to win every day he takes the mound.

Biggest Surprise: 29-year old righty swinging SS Jhonny Peralta is having the best all-around season in his major league career and it got him to the All-Star team. Peralta has played in 82 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 92 for 295 (.312 avg, .891 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 14 homers and 50 RBIs. Peralta has added an outstanding batting average to his power bat making him one of the best all-around shortstops in all of baseball this year.

Biggest Disappointment: 34-year old 3B Brandon Inge has been brutally bad with a baseball bat in his hands this year. Inge has played in 67 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 38 for 207 (.184 avg, .501 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Inge has whiffed 57 times already this year and it has the Tigers starting to scour the trade market for a 3B.

The Tigers were beaten 2 out of 3 games by the Yankees over the weekend as they were outscored 23-19. The pitching just didn’t hold up for the Tigers who gave up 9 homers to the Yankees over the weekend. The starting pitching, in particular, was a problem for the Tigers in this series. Max Scherzer & Brad Penny combined to go 1-1 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP against the Yankees whose batters seemed to be running up to the plate to bat against them. They gave up 16 hits (5 homers) and they walked 6 batters in only 9 1/3 innings over the weekend. The Tigers have a good offense but they are going to need better pitching if the want to win the A.L. Central this year.

The Detroit Tigers are in second place in the A.L. Central with a 48-38 record which has them 1/2 a game behind the White Sox. The Tigers have really finished the first half strong and they need to keep up the good work to hang with the White Sox and Twins the rest of the year. Here is a look at the surprises and disappointments of the first half for the Tigers:

Pleasant Surprises: 25-year old lefty swinging rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch has come out of nowhere to give Miguel Cabrera solid protection in the batting order. Boesch has played in 65 games for the Tigers this year and he is 83 of 243 (.342 avg, .990 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 12 homers, 49 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Boesch isn’t the only surprise for the Tigers as 36-year old righty swinging RF Magglio Ordonez has his power stroke back. Ordonez has played in 75 games for the Tigers this year and he is 91 of 291 (.313 avg, .867 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 11 homers and 56 RBIs. The Tigers were hopeful that 32-year old righty reliever would be able to handle a move to the A.L. after spending his whole career in the N.L. He has passed that test with flying colors. Valverde has pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this year and he is 1-1 with 19 saves, a 0.92 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. He has only given up 16 hits in 39 innings for the Tigers this year. 29-year old converted starter Eddie Bonine has found a new lease on life in the pen for the Tigers. Bonine has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Tigers so far this season and he is 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

Disappointments: 30-year old righty swinging catcher Gerald Laird is hitting like a pitcher this year. Laird has played in 52 games for the Tigers this year and he is 32 of 167 (.192 avg, .524 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Look for Alex Avila to keep getting more P.T. in the second half of the season if Laird continues to struggle. 33-year old righty swinging shortstop Adam Everett was so bad for the Tigers that they released him. He played in 31 games for the Tigers this season and he was 15 of 81 (.185 avg, .468 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. 21-year old righty starting pitcher Rick Porcello was really good as a rookie last season but he’s already in AAA. Porcello has started in 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 whopping 97 hits in only 70 2/3 innings this season. It’s disappointing that 25-year old righty reliever Joel Zumaya hurt himself so bad because he was pitching the best ball of his major league career. Zumaya pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this year and he was 2-1 with 1 save, a 2.58 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

The Detroit Tigers got off to a fast start this season but they are fading a bit now. They are 7-5 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the A.L. Central, 1.5 games behind the Twins. The Tigers have been outscored 61-58 on the season now as the pitching has not been doing as well as they did earlier in the year. The Tigers need to get their act together this week on the road as they play 4 games at Anaheim against the Angels and then three games in Texas against the Rangers this weekend.

The Tigers are in first place in the A.L. Central with a 5-1 record, 1/2 a game ahead of the Twins. The Tigers have outscored their oppenents 35-22 so far this season as they have really been outstanding so far this season. But, all of there games so far have been against the Indians & Royals who are the whipping boys of the A.L. The good news is that the Tigers start another three game series at home against the Royals before heading out to Seattle for a three gamer against the Mariners. It should be another good week for the Tigers.