For every team as stacked as the Detroit Tigers, there are normally one or two big-name players who underachieve. Despite the fact that the Tigers are first place in the American League Central and have been for the majority of the year, there is no shortage of such players in Detroit.
When players underachieve, the team obviously follows suit. Certain players are expected to perform well in important situations but instead let the down time and time again. This is one of the main reasons why the Tigers, although they are in first place, only lead the Cleveland Indians by three and a half games when they were expected to run away with the division title.
One of these players that had been slumping for most of the season was designated hitter Victor Martinez. In 2011, he was one of the most clutch hitters in baseball and drove in all sorts of runs hitting behind Miguel Cabrera. However, Martinez was forced to miss the entire 2012 season after tearing his ACL in the offseason.
It isn’t right to say Martinez’s slow start was unexpected. It doesn’t matter how good he had been in the past, anyone who had to miss an entire year due to an injury is due to be a little rusty when they come back. Martinez’s slump lasted for the first three months of the season, but he turned it up in July, becoming one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball. Martinez has been hitting much better and his team has benefitted from it, increasing its lead on Cleveland in the Central.
When Victor Martinez suffered his injury, the Tigers signed high-profile slugger Prince Fielder to fill the void in the lineup. Fielder had an explosive year in 2012, but has fallen into a bit of a slump in 2013. This is a problem since Fielder hits right in between reigning MVP Miguel Cabrera and a red-hot Victor Martinez.
Prince’s power numbers are right on par, as he has blasted 17 homers and knocked in 74 runs due to batting in one of the most desired lineup slots in all of baseball. The problem is that he is not getting on base as much as he normally does. Throughout his career, Fielder’s on-base percentage has consistently been over .400, but it is down to only .362 this year. Also, he normally hits around the .300 mark, but is only at .269.
The Tigers have still been winning games with Fielder underachieving, but they need him to start swinging like the $23 million-a-year hitter he is in order to take it to the next level as a team.
However, the most disappointing Tiger star has been pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander’s numbers are not terrible by any means, but they are still not near the bar of excellence that he has set for himself in his fairly young career. This has not hurt the Tigers as much as it would have in past years due to the excellent starting pitching Detroit has had from the rest of its rotation. Nevertheless, the Tigers likely wouldn’t mind if JV returned to his old self.
Even though several players are underachieving, this isn’t a team to worry too much about. The team has been known to give everyone heart attacks in years that they are supposed to run away with the Central. While the Tigers may take their fans on a roller coaster ride yet again, expect these players to rebound and lead their team to a division title.