Detroit Tigers Roundtable: Future Hall of Famers, Spring Training Storylines, and Brad Ausmus vs. Jim Leyland

June 27, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman

(24) talks to starting pitcher

(35) in the dugout before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Leaving out Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, which Detroit Tigers player stands the best chance of eventual Hall of Fame induction?

Matt Pelc: Barring injury, Jose Iglesias will be dominating SportsCenter highlights for the next 10+ years. If his career is Cooperstown-worthy that fact will help him get in more than anything else. He will have to hit more consistently, but most compare him to Omar Vizquel, who hit just .272 during his long career. And, oh by the way, Vizquel (a future Hall-of-Famer himself) is on the Tigers’ coaching staff and can be a mentor to Iglesias.

Michael Emmerich: Everyone else on the roster seems a long shot, so I’ll go with the shiny new toy, Nick Castellanos. Hey, his ZIPS projection is quite optimistic and, if he does indeed post a .749 OPS as a 22-year old third baseman, he’ll be off to a great start. Perhaps he can follow the George Kell route: finish with a modest career OPS (Kell’s was .781) and then transition into the broadcast booth for three decades and become a beloved figure in the organization.

Chris Hannum: I don’t see anyone but JV and Cabrera as having a chance at the hall… Hunter is going to fall below 2500 hits and 50 WAR (FanGraphs) when all is said and done. I suppose I’ll have to give a vote based entirely on exuberant optimism: Brad Ausmus (as a manager, of course)

Matt Snyder: Not that I think he is deserving, but I could see Torii Hunter getting into the conversation. He’s at 50 WAR for his career according to Baseball-Reference (which is more than, say, Jack Morris) and won nine gold gloves during his career. He’s currently ranked 24th in career WAR for center fielders, and could climb into the top 20 with a few more relatively productive seasons. The lack of a notable peak is what will separate him from the legitimate candidates, but I’m betting that Hunter gets votes.

Josie Parnell: Looking at the Tigers’ current roster, Torii Hunter seems to me the most deserving of a Hall of Fame nod. Through his career, Hunter has continually been asked to change his role to fit his team’s needs and each time he has excelled in his new role. While his defensive prowess may have waned, he continues to produce offensively and is an incomparable locker room presence.

Tom Zahari: Jose Iglesias is the guy that I could see making a push for the Hall. When you have the defensive capabilities of Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel, you don’t need to hit .300 to get into the Hall of Fame. If Iglesias can hit above .270 and have a long career filled with defensive plays like we saw last year, he could have a place in Cooperstown.

Sam O’Toole: I would have to say Torii Hunter.  Nine Gold Gloves, four All-Star teams, over 300 homers and 1,200 RBI.  His case isn’t tremendous, but he was one of the best defensive centerfielders for a decade as well as the face of the Minnesota Twins’ franchise.  He is 38, but if he can add a couple more good season to his resume (in shape to do so), he has a real shot, especially with how the  majority of Hall of Fame voters don’t vote for “steroid guys.”

Josh Paulisin: Besides these two future first-balloters, I’d have to say the next guy that stands the best chance has yet to set foot on the field as a Tiger. Joe Nathan.

With Mariano Rivera hanging it up, Nathan becomes first among active pitchers in saves with 341. By signing a two-year deal in Detroit, the six-time All-Star will have plenty of save opportunities, which gives him a great shot at the 400 save mark. Only five other pitchers in history have reached that plateau. Nathan holds a career 2.76 ERA, including five seasons in which he finished with a sub-2 ERA. If he continues his excellence as a Tiger, there could be a place in Cooperstown for him someday.

Scott Byrne: Probably no one? I would expect that the LeBatard controversy will force some sort of change in the election process…the Steroid Era has shrouded the issue in such uncertainty that a new set of guidelines will have to be established. But I don’t see any players other than the aforementioned that will qualify.

Sep 22, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Nick Castellanos (30) hits a single in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Which spring training storyline are you most interested in following?

Matt Pelc: The bullpen was probably the main reason the Tigers were ousted in the ALCS last year. None of us are confident in Phil Coke or Joba Chamberlain, Al-Al is scary inconsistent and Bruce Rondon is a question mark coming back from injury. As an offset of this, who will fall into the set-up role?

Michael Emmerich: Back to Castellanos. How much of an upgrade will he be defensively at third base. And how will he look at the plate. He could make the Fielder trade a no-brain winner for the Tigers if he is competent both in the field and at the plate.

Chris Hannum: Whether or not Phil Coke has a job in April – that and just how bad Nick Castellanos looks fielding grounders at 3rd.

Matt Snyder: I’m interested to see the speed difference, because I think that narrative might be overblown. The difference in starting lineup speed between the end of 2013 and the start of 2014 is really just that Prince Fielder is out and Nick Castellanos is in (Ian Kinsler and Omar Infante is probably a wash). That being said, Rajai Davis could make a sizable impact in his platoon role and as a pinch runner off the bench.

Josie Parnell: The re-introduction of Castellanos at third base, and the improved Tigers infield as a whole, is by far my most anticipated Spring Training storyline. Nothing would excite me more than watching the new infield double play combo of Kinsler and Iglesias gel and become a true defensive juggernaut for Detroit. Spring Training is the warm-up for the big stage of the regular season and watching the young, talented players the Tigers have assembled will be exciting to say the least.

Tom Zahari: The development of Nick Castellanos is the story I will be following through Spring Training and through the entire season. He has been the crown jewel of the thin farm system that the Detroit Tigers have and this could be the start to a nice career at third baseman of the Tigers for years to come.

Sam O’Toole: The lineup.  There are some many different options with the lineup, it will make Ausmus’s head spin.  He more speed than Jim Leyland did in previous years.  It might not mean more stolen bases, but you could see many more hit-and-run plays called.  Hopefully, Ausmus works out the lineup kinks in Spring Training and has an established lineup come opening day.

Josh Paulisin: It has to be how new manager Brad Ausmus runs his spring training. People don’t give Jim Leyland enough credit for how he managed that clubhouse. Fans only see the product on the field. Leyland got plenty of grief during his tenure in Detroit for his lineups and his handling of the bullpen, but rarely did you hear about any problems in the clubhouse. Credit does go to the players for that, but a lot of the credit should go to the guy who ran that clubhouse. With plenty of egos to deal with in his first year as a manager, it will be interesting to see how the Tigers take to Brad Ausmus.

Scott Byrne: Nick Castellanos at 3rd base. When a club trades Prince Fielder and moves Miguel Cabrera to find you  a spot, those are mighty big shoes to fill.

May 10, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland (10) in the dugout against the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at O.co Coliseum. The Detroit Tigers defeated the Oakland Athletics 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Name one aspect of Jim Leyland’s managerial style that you’re hoping Brad Ausmus doesn’t copy.

Matt Pelc: I was an unabashed Leyland supporter, so I’ll miss his quirks, however no matter what kind of team he had here in Detroit, he never let them run the bases. Leyland’s idea of small-ball was limited to only attempting sac bunts. I think Ausmus will let the players run a little more and not sit around waiting for the three-run homer.

Michael Emmerich: There was really only one thing Leyland did that drove me batty: bunting, especially in the early innings. I hope we see as many bunts as we’ll see Victor Martinez go from first to third on a single.

Chris Hannum: Don Kelly in the 2-hole.  Really… Don Kelly anywhere above 8th.  I’m also hoping he pays attention to who has big L-R splits and who doesn’t before thinking about substitutions.

Matt Snyder: Not re-shuffling the lineup when someone has a day off (e.g. Don Kelly batting second or fifth or whatever). I know the number say it’s a small deal – fractions of a run per game or only a few runs per season – but lineups are one of the few things we fans can obsess about during the year.

Josie Parnell: While I always respected Leyland’s loyalty and commitment to his players, I often thought it was holding him back from making tough decisions to benefit the team as a whole. I appreciated Fielder’s consecutive game streak, but couldn’t help but think there were times when Leyland’s loyalty to Fielder stopped him from benching the struggling star and giving him a rest that may have improved his post-season performance by minimizing his fatigue. Let’s hope that Ausmus’ loyalty to his players is unwavering, but that it knows boundaries when it comes to benefiting the entire team as opposed to an individual player.

Tom Zahari: There isn’t one thing I could nail down that I don’t want Ausmus to do. Some ragged on Leyland for his loyalty to certain players, others hated his bullpen management, and some did not like how he held to his gut or other old school ways of handling his lineup. Ausmus will be his own manager and comparing him to Leyland is not fair. Whatever tactics Ausmus uses are his to decide, but he will only be judged by one thing: the success of his team on the field.

Sam O’Toole: Bullpen management.  Leyland made mistakes most recently in the 2013 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox; lack of communication and poor timing was evident.  The bullpen has been a concern for the Tigers in past seasons.  Ausmus needs to be able to make those in-game moves for the Tigers to reach their ultimate goal.

Josh Paulisin: Stubbornness and loyalty. Yes, that’s two, but it goes hand in hand. Whether it was sticking with Valverde or Benoit for too long or keeping Jackson in the leadoff spot, Leyland was too stubborn to change his ways. And no one ever questioned his loyalty to his players. But the lineup never varied. Each and every day, fans pretty much knew how the lineup would be written out regardless of how well guys were hitting. We all knew about Fielder’s struggles the second half of last season while Victor Martinez was lighting it up. But Leyland never budged. Fielder stayed in the cleanup hole with Victor behind him. Why not switch the two? Or sit Fielder for a few games to clear his head. Consecutive games played streak or wins? If I were manager, I’d choose the latter.

Scott Byrne: Doing post-game interviews with a mouth full of mashed potatoes? Seriously, managing a team as talented and veteran as the Tigers is as easy a gig as there is. What we as fans see on the field is 5% of a manager’s job. Ausmus interned under Joe Torre, so I would expect he is accustomed to the high expectations of a big-payroll, major-market team. Players win games, great managers stay out of the way.