Taking A Closer Look At The Detroit Tigers Outfielders
Entering the 2014-2015 off-season the Detroit Tigers had plenty of question marks about their current squad. Coupled with so many question marks about the outfield, that was one of the primary areas that General Manager Dave Dombrowski needed to fix.
With Torii Hunter gone and Austin Jackson traded away mid-season for David Price there was going to be plenty of turnover from the beginning of the 2014 MLB season to 2015.
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Dombrowski has already said that the Tigers won’t be pursuing any high-dollar free agents. So for now this is the team the Tigers will seem to roll with in 2015.
After a busy off-season Dombrowski has seemed to completely retool this outfield. He traded the Boston Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes and the Toronto Blue Jays for Anthony Gose.
Surprisingly the only returner from Opening Day last year is Center Fielder Rajai Davis. During the Tigers’ recent run of success there’s been plenty of turnover from year-to-year.
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With how the outfield’s shaped up though it’s definitely an upgrade over the beginning of the off-season. With a cast of Davis, Gose, Cespedes, and a revamped J.D. Martinez this group has a chance to be very successful in 2015. Tyler Collins or a few other Minor Leaguers seem to be extra insurance waiting in the Minors.
But how good are they going to be?
Martinez and Cespedes figure to be in left and right field, respectively. Manager Brad Ausmus has already said that Davis and Gose will platoon based on the starting pitcher. With their splits that’s exactly how they should be used.
For one the defense should be a lot better. Gose is known for his defensive prowess out in center when he plays. While Davis may not be known for his defense he has the speed to make up for some of his faulty routes.
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In the corner outfield spots it seems to be a lot better too. Hunter last year was an absolute defensive liability and nearly anybody the Tigers trot out there will be better. Martinez isn’t necessarily a bad defender but he’ll be an upgrade over Hunter.
Cespedes is an entirely different creature. While he’s not known for his defense too much there’s no doubting his arm. Perhaps the best indicator of his defense is this play against the Los Angeles Angels during his time with the Oakland Athletics.
He has a cannon of an arm but he’ll make his fair share of bone-headed plays out there. Overall it’s hard to comment on his defense but he’ll still be an exciting player to watch everyday.
It’ll be interesting to watch the outfield unfold throughout the entire season. The Tigers’ defense should be improved but how much remains to be seen.
On the offensive side of the ball is a whole different story. This group may be surprisingly effective or disappointingly underwhelming.
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For Gose and Davis how strict Ausmus is with their playing time will play a big factor. Expecting Davis to replicate his slash-line of .282/.320/.401 might be a stretch with another year under his belt.
Gose himself is a mystery but with his youth will be interesting to see holding down the part-time position at center. On a whole though Tigers fans shouldn’t be expecting too much from the youngster. He’s known a lot more for his defense than bat.
For the other two Tigers fans should have high expectations. Trading away Porcello after a breakout season for Cespedes has some fans expecting the sky as the limit.
While Cespedes does have tons of power the Tigers will need him to get on base. An On-Base Percentage around .350 will help a lot more than 1-2 more homers per year.
The Tigers will need Cespedes to be more than a high-strikeout, home run hitter in this offense especially if Miguel Cabrera may be expected to miss some time.
On the other hand the biggest X-factor of the outfield may be J.D. Martinez. Martinez broke out last year in a big way after being called up from Triple-AAA Toledo near the end of April.
He even showed signs of adjusting to Major League pitching once he was mired in a mini-slump mid-season. Before the 2014 season Fangraphs had a great article on the potential breakout of Martinez.
Martinez will play a crucial role in the Tigers offense and will be counted on to replicate a season much like last year. If he can it’ll go a long way to winning the AL Central in a much tougher division.
On the whole the Tigers’ outfield is much improved than the moment they were eliminated in the ALDS to the Baltimore Orioles. How much they’ve improved is up in the air though.
Now, your thoughts. What do you think about the Tigers outfield? Love it? Hate it? Or do you think they’ll be just meh? Whatever the case, there’s definitely the case that they will be much-improved in 2015.