The one hit Sanchez gave up was to Joe Mauer, which is by no means a shame. Mauer has broken up several no-hitters in the 9th inning, and such was the fate for Sanchez this past evening.

But instead of regurgitating all of the positive vibes going around about Sanchez, I wanted to pose this question to all of you. Is Anibal Sanchez the guy you would want starting a game 7 of the World Series right now as a Tigers fan?

Obviously, this is a hypothetical. The Tigers of course are going to need all of their pitchers to pitch well to make it to the playoffs and the World Series. But the past few years, the pitching staff has clearly been led by ace Justin Verlander. With Verlander struggling the past few starts, doubts are beginning to creep into the minds of Tigers fans as to whether or not Verlander can continue the pace he has set forth the past few years. Personally, I am not worried Verlander is going to struggle the rest of the year, but that doesn’t mean that Sanchez isn’t pushing himself to the forefront of the conversation of the best pitchers in the American League.

May 24, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez (19) hugs manager Jim Leyland (10) after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Detroit won 6-0. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Some information about Sanchez. He is second in the American League to Yu Darvish with a K rate of over 11 per 9 innings. That’s better than fellow Tigers strikeout artists Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Sanchez is also top five in the American League in ERA with a mark of  2.38, which is also easily the best out of the Tigers rotation.

The scary thing is, Sanchez’ numbers might even get better. Coming into Friday’s game, Sanchez has had a BABIP against him of .361. Now, part of that is due to his extremely low home run rate of 0.3/9 and his high K rate, but still, his BABIP against is high. For his career, it is usually around .315, which suggests, that he could potentially have slightly better results going forward. If that happens, not only will Sanchez quickly become a favorite of Tigers fans, he will likely get Cy Young consideration by the end of the year by the rest of baseball.

Verlander of course is always a Cy Young candidate and has the history of being the Tigers best pitcher.

So I go back to the question. Hypothetically. Right now. Who do you want starting a game seven in the World Series? Anibal Sanchez or Justin Verlander? You decide below.

All I know, it isn’t that easy of a question any more. And that is a good thing for Tigers fans. Because that means the Tigers have another dominating pitcher.

May 15, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) sits in dugout during the game against the Houston Astros at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Just here to pass along a ridiculously cool article (with ridiculously cool GIFs) over at FanGraphs about Miguel Cabrera and his ability to cover the entire plate (and more) while maintaining his home run swing. Check it out.

Coming off the first batting Triple Crown in 35 years, Miguel Cabrera ­is making a bid to  be the first hitter to do so in consecutive seasons.  He currently leads the American League in batting average (.391), RBI (55) and is one home run off the pace at 14.  In a recent piece here at FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan commented on Cabrera’s impressive all fields hitting and ability to cover the full strike zone with power.  I have put together some imagery to highlight this ability and show a bit of why Cabrera is such a threat.

The post has video of six home runs that vary from inside, outside, high to low, and Miggy crushes them all. It used to be that pitchers would try to jam him inside or get him to swing-and-miss down and away, but this post shows that pitchers may not be safe if they get the ball anywhere near the plate.

You’ve gotta go see those GIFs.

April 30, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (37) in the dugout before the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

With Max Scherzersporting a 6-0 record, and fresh off sitting down 22 Tribesmen in succession, it is a good time to look back and remember just how Mad Max made his way to Motown.

On December 8, 2009, Dave Dombrowski shipped Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, and sent starting pitcher Edwin Jackson to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Yankees returned Austin Jackson and Phil Coke, while the D-Backs replied with Scherzer and left-handed reliever Daniel Schlereth. To complete the three-way deal, Yankee starter Ian Kennedy headed west to Arizona.

This is an interesting trade to evaluate 3+ seasons hence, as each team has received quality production at some point from all of the players involved. Let’s look at highlights/lowlights for each player:

• Ian Kennedy – Went 21-4 in 2011, finishing 4th in the Cy Young  Award voting and leading Kirk Gibson‘s squad to the NL West championship. That season looks like an outlier, however; his ERA with the D-Backs hovers around 4.00; of his career 9.7 WAR, 4.8 were accumulated in 2011.
• Edwin Jackson – Posted his best statistical season for Detroit in 2009 and made the AL All-Star team; his career highlight came for the D-Backs in 2010, pitching a no-hitter against one of his former teams, the Rays, firing 149 pitches in the process. Only 29 years old, he has toiled for the White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals and now the Cubs since leaving Arizona after 2010.
• Curtis Granderson – Found the short porch at the new Yankee Stadium to his liking – back-to-back 40+ HR seasons in 2011 and 2012, while leading the league in runs and RBI’s in 2011. Batting average has dropped 25 points since leaving spacious Comerica Park, from .272 to .247, while his slugging pct. has only increased 21 points.
• Daniel Schlereth – Showed some promise as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen in 2010, but could not throw enough strikes to stay on the big-league roster. Currently hurling for the Norfolk Tides of the International League with typically mixed results – a 2-0 record and 0.93 ERA, but 8 walks in 9 innings vs. only 6 K’s.
• Austin Jackson  - Runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 2010, has combined remarkable defensive skills with marked improvement at the plate. Targeted as a candidate for regression based on his BAbip of .367, his OPS+ of 129 exceeded Granderson’s 117 in 2012.
• Phil Coke – Turned in his best performance during the 2012 postseason, saving two games in the LCS vs. New York. After an abbreviated stint as a starter in 2011, has settled into bullpen role, but struggles against right-handed batters.
• Max Scherzer – Finished 2nd to Justin Verlander in the AL with 231 K’s last season, and averages over a strikeout per inning over his 6-year career. The 28-year old righty is off to a 6-0 start this year with a stellar WHIP of 0.91.