Detroit Tigers to Watch this Spring Training Part 1
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Joe Nathan
Last pitcher on the day, I promise, but watch Joe Nathan this spring to see if he can bounce back from his less than stellar season last year. I personally was never a fan of the pickup of Nathan but after awhile I dealt with it because you have to work with what your team gives you.
Then a week or so into the season news came across that Nathan had a dead arm and that was why his pitching hadn’t been so great.
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Yet at times throughout the season Nathan had good moments of pitching, then he would have some terrible moments. Either way, he is still listed as the closer for this team this season and so that is what we have to work with.
I would say watch him the same way you do Verlander. See how many batters he walks compared to how many batters he strikes out. See if he has any blown leads and how many runners get on base while he is pitching. You always would like a good spring out of your team, but for Nathan I think he needs a good season if he wants any faith from fans. Which he probably doesn’t care about, but hey us fans can wish can’t we?