Five Detroit Tigers Who Need To Bounce Back In 2013

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.