Five Detroit Tigers Who Need To Bounce Back In 2013

September 7, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder Brennan Boesch (26) hits a single in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

4. Brennan Boesch

Brennan Boesch doesn’t figure to receive as much playing time in 2013 as he did in 2012, but he’s going to need to make the most of every opportunity. Not so much to help the organization out – though that’s part of it – but to save his career.

Boesch was the sexy pick for breakout player of the year (even nationally) but he only managed a .659 OPS in 503 plate appearances. The extreme failure was due to a poor first three months – he put up a .720 OPS from July on – but he never produced enough to make up for his poor defensive play in right field.

The Tigers have stated that they’re going to tender him a contract for 2013 – he’s a first year arbitration eligible player – so they’re still willing to commit $1-2 million to Boesch to see what he can do, but he’ll be 28 next year and he’s past the point in his career in which you woul expect him to develop a quality approach at the plate. If he doesn’t produce in 2013, he may not get many more chances to prove he can be an above-average big league hitter.

Oct 27, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Omar Infante hits a single against the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning during game three of the 2012 World Series at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

3. Omar Infante

The Detroit Tigers acquired Omar Infante to be a steady glove at second base while also providing value at the plate. He did lock down the position defensively, but he wasn’t nearly as good as expected with the bat.

His .257/.283/.385 slash line was his worst since his last stint as a Tiger in 2007, and his accompanying wOBA of .288 was worse than the career wOBA of noted slugger Ramon Santiago. He’ll likely see an offensive boost as his .269 BABIP climbs toward his .307 career mark, but he likely won’t be the above average bat that he was for a couple of years in Atlanta when he was posting BABIP’s above .339.

The good news is that, unlike Ryan Raburn, Infante is a good enough defender to produce positive overall value even when he’s struggling at the dish. Having a full year of his club will be nice, but he was brought in to be a quality hitter as well. (Though it’s not going to help matters that his season ended with a broken hand in game four of the World Series).

Aug 1, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit (53) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the eighth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

2. Joaquin Benoit

Joaquin Benoit was the best Tigers reliever in 2011. I have no problem saying that even though it was Jose Valverde that was racking up the insane save numbers as the team’s closer. The secret to Benoit’s success was simple: strike out a lot of batters and don’t walk many.

Well, he actually upped his strikeout rate by a full batter per nine innings, and kept his walk rate below three per nine, but his home run rate more than doubled from just over 0.7 per nine innings to over 1.7 per nine innings. The result was a FIP that ballooned from 2.96 to 4.26, and an ERA that moved from 2.95 to 3.68 (thanks to a still-suppressed BABIP).

The Tigers finished the playoffs without a closer and without a truly reliable setup man. It was Phil Coke and Octavio Dotel mostly filling these roles in the end, but their platoon splits indicate that they’re really lefty and right specialists (respectively). The Tigers need a productive Benoit available to help solidify that bullpen.

Oct 9, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta (27) between pitches before earning a walk against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning of game three of the 2012 ALDS at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

1. Jhonny Peralta

His 86 wRC+ isn’t bad for a shortstop, but Jhonny Peralta is a player that derives nearly 100% of his value from his bat. His lack of range makes him a poor fielder, so he needs to be a plus hitter to make up for it.

I don’t think any logical person expected a repeat of his .299/.345/.478 slash line from the 2011 season (a 122 wRC+), but his numbers fell dramatically across the board (.239/.305/.384) to the point where he posted the worst OBP and SLG of his career.

His strikeout rate was below his career average, his walk rate was dead on his career average, he didn’t see an change in contact rate, and appears to have hit a good number of line drives (22%), but his BABIP fell 50 points from the previous year, and rested a comfortable 35 points lower than his career average. It’s usually too simplistic to blame everything on BABIP, but it’s a good bet that Peralta will see some reversal of fortune in that respect in 2013.