Second baseman Gordon Beckham is expected to improve on his rookie year and second year numbers. Catcher A. J. Pierzynski handles the pitching staff well with veteran leadership but also is consistent at the plate, often coming through in the clutch. Young catcher Tyler Flowers may start to press Pierzynski for playing time this season.
If they continue to develop, the team will have outfield depth with Hawkins and Trace Thompson and #Jared Mitchell. Mitchell may be the best athlete in the organization. He was a two-sport star in college, can run, hit, and play good defense. Another name to keep an eye out for is first baseman Keon Barnum. He is another left-hand hitter with good power. But is it enough to turn around the franchise?
Back when the Sox signed Ohlman, I said that we’d need to figure out what they planned to do with sale jerseys before concluding. Now that we know, it’s hard to figure out what Ohlman can contribute. Look at Randy Williams last year. Even though he was the only non-Thornton lefty in the bullpen, he still went 13 games without pitching at one point.
The first thing to watch for regarding Peavy is obvious: Will he make an appearance in a spring training game? Given Peavy recently threw off a mound, I’d say that’s likely-but until he throws in live action this spring (be it an or a b game), this is a question mark.
Man does that seem like a long time ago. The only time “confident” is used with Jerry Owens at this point is when people say they’re confident Owens has played his way off the major league club.
The Tigers will need to neutralize Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin if they are to continue their three-game winning streak. Ramirez lit up Tiger pitching in ’08, hitting .340 in 14 games, while Quentin was equally as effective as he hit for .333. The two combined for 23 RBIs and seven home runs.
The Tigers get their first look at Chicago’s Gavin Floyd Monday. The 26-year-old righty went 3-0 in five starts against Detroit in 2008. Chicago went on to win each of those five contests.