Spring Stats
By Blake VandeBunte • Mar 18th, 2009 • Category: 2009 Season, Alfredo Figaro, Clete Thomas, Gary Sheffield, Gerald Laird, Jeff Larish, Juan Rincon, Ryan Perry, Ryan Raburn, Timo Perez, Wilkin Ramirez, Zach MinerI know, I know, we’re not supposed to make much of spring statistics. But, what should we make of them? They can’t be completely worthless right? I think you can thrown stats out the window for certain players. Justin Verlander is the Tigers number one starter no matter what his numbers look like in the spring. All we’re really looking for is progression. Ditto for guys like Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera.
However, I think there is something in the stats for guys looking to make a name for themselves. There is room for interpretation for players like Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson.
Here’s just a quick look at some numbers this spring, you can ignore it all if you are one of those people that just hates Spring Training.
- Gerald Laird is showing that he will most likely be an upgrade over the Tigers catchers of 2008. Laird has shown some extra-base power (4 of his 7 hits have been XBH) and is hitting .318 this spring.
- Jeff Larish has been solid this spring. He’s not the sort of guy who will ever hit .300 but he’s got some pop from the left side of the plate and knows how to get on base. Larish leads the club this spring in total bases and has walked seven times in 35 at bats.
- Timo Perez has been hot as he is getting plenty at playing time during the World Baseball Classic. I don’t know if Timo has a spot on the Tigers roster when the club breaks for the regular season, but he is certainly a nice player to have in the organization. Perez leads the Tigers in slugging percentage this spring and sports a .409 batting average.
- Gary Sheffield has an on-base percentage of .463 but that is largely due to all of the walks he has been getting. Sheffield is still hitting only .214 this spring. Sheffield’s average was very low in 2008 and all the walks in the world didn’t make him a useful DH last season. Sheffield’s going to have to hit at least 25 homers and hit .250 to be worth keeping in the line up.
- Ryan Raburn and Clete Thomas have both really struggled at the plate. Raburn leads the team with 11 strikeouts while Thomas is right on his heels with 10 of his own. Raburn is hitting only .189 and Clete is has 2 hits in 20 at bats. Both players had an outside shot of making the team out of Spring Training but I would imagine that ship has sailed for Clete because of his struggles.
- Wilkin Ramirez is playing pretty well again this spring. He was great during Spring Training last year but was hurt at the end. He his hitting .333 this year but still strikes out too much (7 times in 18 bat bats). Of all the young guys trying to crack the big league squad, I have to imagine that Ramirez has the best shot.
- Zach Miner is looking to grab a spot in the Tigers rotation but has really struggled this spring. No matter how you cut it, I just don’t see how Miner gets himself into the rotation. As bad as Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis have been, Miner has been worse. Zach has a spring ERA of 9.69 and his WHIP is sky-high at 2.08.
- Bobby Seay has looked very good this spring with nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Seay has only been touched for one run this spring and has a WHIP below 1.00.
- Ryan Perry and Alfredo Figaro have both been lights out this spring. It’s too soon to say if either of them will head north with the Tigers, but they have not hurt their chances. Perry has struck out five batters in 4.2 innings while allowing only four hits and one walk. Figaro got a start last week and has worked a total of six innings without giving up a run. He has struck out three batters and walked no one.
- Juan Rincon came into camp on a minor league contract and has looked very good. He has thrown seven shut out innings and given up only two hits and one walk. You have to think his chances of making the team are getting better by the day.
- That brings us to Willis and Robertson. Neither pitcher appears to be fooling anyone. Batters are hitting .355 off of Nate and .486 (!!) off of the D-Train. Nate has allowed 11 base-runners in 7 innings of work and has given up four runs. Not terrible, but not good either. Willis is still plagued by the walks, surrendering five free passes in only six innings of work. He’s also clearly been throwing plenty of strikes because he’s also given up 10 hits for a WHIP of 2.50. He is still a long ways off.
Blake VandeBunte is a posting fiend.
Email this author | All posts by Blake VandeBunte
Why don’t they give Timo a shot? He has played well in the minors the last three years and when he was called up in 2007 he did awesome. This spring he is tearing up the grapefruit league. I know there is young talent but wouldnt it be better for the young guys to play everyday at triple-A so when Magglio leaves they will have at-bats under them.