Detroit Tigers 2021 season grades for catchers and infielders

The Detroit Tigers corner infielders showed out.

At the corner spots, the Detroit Tigers received their biggest points of production. Jeimer Candelario and Jonathan Schoop both put up strong numbers and played well enough to bring some wins to Motor City.

Here’s how the corner infielders graded out:

Jeimer Candelario: A+

As the WAR leader (3.2 according to Fangraphs), Candelario had the most statistically valuable season of any Tiger this year. It should go without saying that he was far and away the team’s best infielder and was a crucial contributor in the second half. It stands to reason that the team leader in XBHs, OPS, OPS+, wOBA, and WRC+ would receive an A+ grade.

Jonathan Schoop: A

Schoop lit the world on fire for the month of June. His .340/.379/1.077 slash line was dominant, and his ten homers that month were almost as many as Brandon Dixon’s team-leading 15 from all of 2019. Of course, he cooled off down the stretch, but he was still one of the team’s best hitters. His play earned him a two-year, $15 million extension that will make him a veteran mainstay coming out of the rebuild.

Miguel Cabrera: C+

It was certainly fun to see Miguel Cabrera hit home run number 500, right? Other than that, it was about as average as we could see from Miggy. Gone are his glory days; now we can watch him achieve his milestones and hit for a .700 OPS. Here’s to the chase for hit number 3000 in 2022!