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Detroit Tigers Season Predictions | 2013 Season Betting Preview

2013 MLB Team Preview: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers came close last year, making it all the way to the World Series before running into a Giants team that wouldn’t be denied.

Detroit Tigers
American League Central
Odds to win AL Pennant from Bovada: +400
Odds to win World Series: +800

Key Additions:

Brayan Pena – C, Shawn Hill – P, Torii Hunter – OF

Key Subtractions:

Collin Balester – P, Daniel Schelereth – P, Gerald Laird – C

This is a team that many think can get back to the World Series again in 2013 and could dominate during the regular season with a great starting rotation and a very good lineup that has been significantly improved since last season.

The area of greatest concern appears to be the bullpen but there are options there if a rookie flamethrower flames out.

Offense – The offense was good last year but should be even better this season. Sure 3B Miguel Cabrera could be down a little from last year’s Triple Crown season but I wouldn’t expect too much of a dropoff.

He and 1B Prince Fielder are a lethal 3-4 combo and if DH Victor Martinez is back to his old self than the lineup gets even longer. OF Torii Hunter is a definite upgrade and they get better than average production up the middle.

This team should easily be in the top third of scoring this season, maybe even top 5.

Projected Lineup

  • CF – Austin Jackson
  • RF – Torii Hunter
  • 3B – Miguel Cabrera
  • 1B – Prince Fielder
  • DH – Victor Martinez
  • LF – Andy Dirks
  • SS – Jhonny Peralta
  • C – Alex Avila
  • 2B – Omar Infante

Pitching – It is hard to argue that Justin Verlander is not the best starting pitcher in baseball. Any rotation with him in it is off to a great start and he is backed up by pretty durable arms that have good track records of getting people out. Max Scherzer can be unhittable at time and keeps getting better and having Anibal Sanchez for a full season is going to mean more regular season wins for a team that was already pretty good. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

The bullpen is a little less promising because the Tigers don’t have that feature closer some of the other elite teams do. They are going to give a shot to rookie Bruce Rondon, who profiles like that, but until they start handing him the ball in those situations you never know. The other late inning arms have some experience but are considered secondary options. Yes Octavio Dotel is still around. He is still pretty effective too.

Projected Rotation

  • Justin Verlander
  • Doug Fister
  • Anibal Sanchez
  • Max Scherzer
  • Rick Porcello
  • Projected Bullpen
  • Bruce Rondon
  • Joaquin Benoit
  • Phil Coke
  • Octavio Dotel

Projection: 1st Place – AL Central

The Detroit Tigers winning the AL Central seems like a virtual certainty. They are hands down the best team in a division that might not have another team above .500. As a result their odds of winning it are not worth betting on. When it comes to the pennant there is more value but less certainty.

The Angels and Blue Jays should put up a pretty good fight.

Justin Verlander is a huge advantage in a short series though as he is the best pitcher in the league.

The Tigers are going to be a tough team to make to make money off this season. They are going to be favoured more often than not, especially in games against their own division. Despite their success last season they were -12 units for the season. Their most profitable situation was playing the AL East where their solid record against better teams yielded positive value. That might be the case again.

The Tigers also won more than half of the few games they were underdogs, contributing plus units there too.

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.