Tigers: 2 players who proved their spring training was a fluke, 1 who was legit

2 of 3

Some players for the Detroit Tigers have proved that you shouldn't read too much into spring training stats

We're almost halfway through the season at this point, which is hard to believe. The Detroit Tigers had quite a few top performers in spring training this year, but only a couple of them have proved they were for real.

There were a couple minor leaguers in Parker Meadows and Andre Lipcius who had great springs, but haven't done too well in Triple-A, though Meadows has perked up a bit in June. For this article, we'll be focusing on players on the major league roster.

Here are two players that had fluky spring training performances and one who has lived up to their hot spring.

Two players who proved their spring training was a fluke: INF Nick Maton

Maton was hitting bombs all spring. Pitchers were throwing him fastballs, and he was crushing them. He looked pretty good.

In 48 spring at-bats, Maton slashed .313/.400/.667 with five homers. He looked like someone who could be a legimate piece of the Detroit Tigers future, as well as some highway robbery by Scott Harris in the Gregory Soto trade.

But after a solid start to the season, Maton has been dreadful. He's currently hitting .156 with an OPS of .574. The league has figured out that he can't hit breaking balls, and he hasn't been able to adjust.

He just looks lost at the plate. I don't know how the team can keep running a guy with an OPS well under .600 out there every day. I understand there aren't many good options to replace him, but this is getting really tough to watch.

At some point, something has to give, and Nick Maton will have to go down to Triple-A. But we'll always have his spring training performance, I guess.

SP Spencer Turnbull

Turnbull may be injured at the moment, but his first seven starts of the season were not good. He had a 7.26 ERA in 31 innings pitched. It was so bad that the Tigers planned on sending him down to Toledo before it was revealed he had a neck injury in what was a strange situation.

Turnbull is, of course, coming off Tommy John surgery. He looked very strong at times in spring training. There was a start against the Yankees where he looked flat out unhittable through two innings before running out of gas in the third.

Overall, he had a 4.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts in as many innings this spring. Those aren't fantastic by any stretch, but it was a small sample and certainly better than he was during the regular season.

The Turnbull situation is still quite odd. He's now on the 60-day IL with said neck injury. There's still a real possibility that he's pitched his last game as a Tiger. The two sides appear to be at odds with each other.

1 player who was legit: SP Eduardo Rodriguez

E-rod had a great spring and just picked up right where he left off in the regular season. He's a pitcher who's benefitted greatly from the pitch clock. He already worked fast to begin with.

In spring training, he had a 1.47 ERA and 21 strikeouts to just three walks in 18.1 IP. He looked so comfortable on the mound, and that carried over into the regular season before he, too, got injured.

In 67.2 IP, E-rod has a 2.13 ERA and a WHIP under 1. He has a 2.6 bWAR through 11 starts. He was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball before the injury.

E-rod's injury was very unfortunate, but it sounds like he may be back sooner than expected. He's already thrown a bullpen session and will throw live BP on Saturday. He could be back by the All-Star break, which would obviously be great news for both him and the Tigers.

If he comes back and picks up where he left off pre-injury, that could increase his trade value. He's by far their most valuable trade piece.

For him, the more starts he makes, the more money he could make this offseason, assuming he opts out of his current deal.

Andy Ibanez has rewarded the team for sticking with him. dark. Next. Andy Ibanez has rewarded the team for sticking with him

Home / Detroit Tigers News