Detroit Tigers 5 Offensive Questions

Apr 2, 2015; Lakeland, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (1) grounds out to the shortstop during the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the New York Yankees at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Tigers won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

#4: Can Jose Iglesias hit consistently?

It seems silly to ask if someone with a .274 lifetime average can hit. While .274 won’t get you into the Hall-of-Fame it is good enough to keep you in the lineup from inning 1-9, 150ish games per year.

The problem has been Jose Iglesias‘ bipolar seasons. He played in 10 games in 2011, hitting .333 and played in 25 games in 2012, hitting .200. In his “rookie” season of 2013 he shocked everyone in Boston by maintaining his average north of .300 through 63 games, but fell to .259 after the trading deadline deal that brought him to the Tigers.

He spent last season completely off his feet and away from the batting cages, which cannot be good for his development. Now a, no-longer-really-young, 25-year old, Iglesias has to reestablish himself during the daily grind of a long baseball season.

Iglesias is really the reverse of Castellanos. The Tigers don’t really expect him to be a force with the bat, however he does have speed in order to beat out bunts and occasionally notch an infield single. The glove is what draws the team to him.

Still, glove or not, it would be hard to justify playing a guy every day if he notches just five hits in 50 at-bats (as he did in Spring Training).

That simply cannot continue, but on Opening Day it did not, as Iglesias notched two hits in three at-bats.

Next: The catchers