Good signs for a good future
posted in 2006-07 offseason, projections |I’m a bit behind on my updates this weekend, but I really liked seeing the Tigers outfield rank so strongly both now and in the future.
Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver looked at what teams outfields could look like in a few years as their prospects develop and found the Tigers combination of Granderson, Cameron Maybin and Gorkys Hernandez (hey, I’ve typed it so much lately I can spell it without looking it up!) to stack up as a top five in the future. Actually, third. As Silver pointed out, Hernandez is an uknown name to most people, but DTown did some research and gave a nice primer for those who are unfamiliar with one of the Gulf Coast League’s top batters. Long story short, he’s no Maybin, but he’s as young and seen as a very promising prospect among most experts.
But that’s in 2009 or more likely 10 we’ll see those three standing in the grass. What about this year? Chicago Tribune baseball writer/ESPN columnist Phil Rogers looked at today’s top outfields. He really liked the (…Anaheim) Angels. Can’t disagree. But his runner-up was Detroit’s outfield of Granderson, Craig Monroe and Magglio Ordonez. (With Marcus Thames as a backup).
The linking factor between the two is Curtis Granderson, today’s center fielder and likely tomorrow’s left fielder. As I noticed and showed last year, a lot of the Tigers success depended on how the young lead-off batter fared. A good game by him tended to turn out a W. And he is a very capable fielder. (A high compliment to both Maybin and Detroit’s future that Granderson will end up trading away that center field position when Maybin arrives, possibly as soon as next year).
Rogers writes:
1. Detroit: Already strong enough to reach the World Series, the Tigers added a highly intriguing X-factor in Sheffield, who became expendable for the Yankees after their trade for Bobby Abreu. Sheffield will probably work as a primary designated hitter as there’s little reason to make changes.
…
Granderson, a hardworking center fielder with as much range as anyone, batted leadoff last year but could be dropped in the order after striking out 174 times. He’s a strong-minded kid who could take another step forward this season.
(And some wonder if Bernie Williams could be a Tiger, but I’m apt to agree with MLB.com Tigers beat writer Jason Beck that he won’t. Then again, who knows with the silent way Dave Dombrowski operates).
A nice outfield today and tomorrow. A nice rotation and pitching staff in general today and tomorrow. And a decent third baseman for the next few years. If Chris Shelton develops and Placido Polanco can stay healthy until help arrives in the form of Scott Sizemore in a few years, all Detroit will really need to worry about is finding a replacement for Carlos Guillen at short (I’m not sold on his being capable of playing SS too far into the future, even if Detroit can afford him) and a desperate need to find a catcher for the post-Pudge years. While not a gimme, filling those needs when they arise does not sound too tall a task. Not a bad future at all.
Sphere It
