Trying to get right after the break.
Both the Detroit Tigers and the World Champion Kansas City Royals come out of the All-Star Break hoping that some time off will have rejuvenated them. Each squad limped toward the All-Star Game - Detroit losing five of their last seven, and Kansas City dropping seven of their last ten. With half a game separating the two (and the Chicago White Sox), second place is there for either club to grab a hold of, but the real test is to not lose ground in the divisional race, as Cleveland has opened up a 6.5 game lead over second-place Detroit.
*All stats courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference
Pitching match-ups
Game One - Friday, 6:10 PM CDT
Pitcher
G
IP
K
BB
ERA
FIP
xFIP
SIERA
fWAR
rWAR
Ian Kennedy
17
99.2
103
33
3.97
5.05
4.47
4.00
0.5
1.4
Justin Verlander
18
117.1
120
33
4.07
3.87
4.18
3.82
2.2
2.2
The Royals can take some solace in knowing that they are not facing the Justin Verlander of yore, the one who dominated them (and the rest of baseball) with his blistering fastball and remarkable stamina. His fastball now sits at just 92.8 MPH, and he still throws his slider, change, and curve, relying on his slider now more than ever before. As a fly-ball pitcher, Verlander has suffered the same fate as many of the Royals' pitchers this season, with the juiced ball that MLB will never admit is juiced leaving the park at a whopping 11.0 HR/FB%, well above his career 7.9% mark. His 18.2 K-BB% is actually his best mark since 2011, and he has been fortunate enough to have a .275 BABIP, but the ERA is a reflection of not being able to keep juicy balls in the park.
Ian Kennedy will hope to do teachers across America proud by shutting down the Tigers, thus earning his salary.
Game Two - Saturday, 6:10 PM CDT
Pitcher
G
IP
K
BB
ERA
FIP
xFIP
SIERA
fWAR
rWAR
Danny Duffy (L)
27
81.2
94
17
3.09
3.43
3.54
3.14
1.6
2.0
Mike Pelfrey
18
98.1
46
38
4.58
5.21
5.05
5.27
0.3
0.6
This is the same Mike Pelfrey who pitched for the Twins. You may remember him. He doesn't strike anyone out, and he isn't very good. He'll probably Cy Pelfrey the Royals. He throws a junky fastball that sits around 92-93 MPH far too often and then mixes in a slider and splitter while praying for weak contact.
Danny Duffy is a bright, shining light from an otherwise dismal rotation that makes us long for men like Paul Byrd, Luke Hudson, and Runelvys Hernandez.
Game Three - Sunday, 12:10 PM CDT
Pitcher
G
IP
K
BB
ERA
FIP
xFIP
SIERA
fWAR
rWAR
Yordano Ventura
17
94.1
69
40
5.15
4.90
4.89
4.94
0.6
0.1
Michael Fulmer
13
76.2
72
27
2.11
3.53
3.94
4.04
1.6
3.4
The key get for the Tigers in last year's trade sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets, Fulmer somewhat shockingly burst onto the scene this year for a Detroit rotation in need of a hero. Fulmer barely threw a change-up in the minors before suddenly having control of a plus pitch after a few starts in the majors. His slider was already a plus pitch, but the change-up has been his most valuable offering. As a predominant groundball pitcher, Fulmer also hasn't been hit extremely hard by the long ball.
Yordano Ventura has spent 2016 recalling visions of Kyle Davies.
The Batsmen
Name
Pos
PA
HR
R
RBI
SB
BA
OBP
SLG
wOBA
wRC+
fWAR
rWAR
Ian Kinsler
2B
391
16
71
52
9
.289
.348
.489
.358
122
2.9
3.1
Cameron Maybin
CF
200
2
32
24
10
.341
.402
.413
.359
123
0.9
0.6
Miguel Cabrera
1B
381
18
49
53
0
.293
.370
.507
.368
129
1.9
2.3
Victor Martinez (S)
DH
337
17
38
52
0
.305
.353
.514
.366
128
0.9
1.3
Nick Castellanos
3B
354
17
45
51
1
.302
.342
.534
.368
129
1.9
1.8
Justin Upton
LF
356
9
40
35
5
.235
.289
.381
.288
75
-0.6
-0.2
Steven Moya (L)
RF
92
5
9
11
0
.267
.304
.535
.349
116
-0.2
-0.2
James McCann
C
190
5
14
23
0
.208
.259
.324
.254
52
0.2
0.3
Jose Iglesias
SS
307
3
37
20
5
.250
.305
.332
.281
70
1.2
1.0
Bench
Pos
PA
HR
R
RBI
SB
BA
OBP
SLG
wOBA
wRC+
fWAR
rWAR
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (S)
C
166
8
21
25
0
.203
.325
.428
.324
99
0.9
0.7
Austin Romine (S)
IF
72
0
8
5
5
.222
.310
.270
.266
60
-0.1
-0.3
Mike Aviles
Util
125
1
14
6
2
.211
.268
.272
.243
44
-0.8
-0.6
Stats through Sunday, July 10
As a unit, the Tigers' offense is slashing .267/.328/.437 with a .328 wOBA and 102 wRC+. Their 115 HR are good for ninth as a team, in the same general area as their wOBA and wRC+ put them. Of course once one takes into account the baserunning and defense of the unit, the 9.0 fWAR that the Detroit position players have put up as a whole place them just 20th, two spots behind the Royals.
With J.D. Martinez languishing on the disabled list, the Tigers' offense is missing one of its main cogs. Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, the ageless Victor Martinez, and the surprising Nick Castellanos have done the heavy lifting this season. Big offseason acquisition Justin Upton has been pretty terrible in his first season in the American League, putting the odds heavily in favor of Detroit getting to pay Upton $22.125M every year through 2021 as it becomes increasingly unlikely that he will be in a position to exercise his opt-out next year.
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