This Tigers Team Looks Like AL Central Champs

Despite falling to the Texas Rangers on Thursday the Tigers were able to take two out of three from the American League West leaders. In doing so they were able to improve to eight over the .500 mark on the season and pull to a season-high four games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Detroit learned that their two trade deadline acquisitions are going to perform well for them down the stretch. David Pauley came out of the bullpen and pitched well for the Tigers in the game on Tuesday night. And newly acquired starter Doug Fister benefited from having run support and was able to convert his first start in the "Old English D" into a win.

In competing against another division contender in Texas, Detroit is proving that they are able to hold their own against quality opponents and are showing no signs of declining. And with the addition of Fister to the starting rotation the Tigers have found the pitcher that will put them over the top in the AL Central.

Coming into his first start for Detroit, Fister had the second-lowest ERA on the staff, essentially making him the Tigers second starter. As long as the Tigers are able to play good defense behind him Fister will continue to impress on the mound. He will also be able to teach Rick Porcello a thing or two, both pitchers are ground ball pitchers who pitch to contact.

Alex Avila appears to be coming out of his slump so far in August; he had no RBI in July and only 10 total bases. As of August 3rd, Avila had two home runs, five RBI and 14 total bases. Despite his July slump Avila was able to keep his batting average around the .270 mark and it is already on the rebound.

With Magglio Ordonez continuing to play well the Tigers boast one of the best team batting average's in the entire league. Second hitter Brennan Boesch is hitting .296 with 16 home runs, 52 RBI and a .352 OBP. While the lead off hitter position is fluctuating between Austin Jackson and Andy Dirks and Boesch is on a tear, the bases usually have runners on when the Tigers big hitters come up to the plate. 

The Tigers 4-5-6 hitters are some of the most fearsome in the league with Miguel Cabrera batting .314, Victor Martinez batting .317 and Jhonny Peralta hitting .317. These batters have proven time and time again that they are the heart of the team and have maintained their batting averages around the .300 mark all season.

Detroit is leading Cleveland, who despite the addition of Ubaldo Jimenez still have no hitting, and with their major players all clicking right now, the Tigers should finally run away with the division down the stretch.

Doug Fister Trade Is Exactly What Tigers Needed

July 30th was a very busy day for the Detroit Tigers, they called up super-prospect Jacob Turner to make his major league debut and were in the midst of making a deal with the Seattle Mariners to bring two pitchers to the club.

Turner's debut was everything the Tigers could have wanted; he showed poise and skill against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and wasn't rattled when things got tense. However, Turner is not the answer to Detroit's problems this season, which is why General Manager Dave Dombrowski made a deal with the Mariners.

In the middle of the day last Saturday the Tigers announced that they had reached a deal with Seattle that would bring right-handed starter Doug Fister and right-handed reliever David Pauley to their team. In return Detroit sent left-handed reliever Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells, third base prospect Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later to the Pacific Northwest.

Furbush had shown flashes of what he could become for the Tigers, he particularly excelled coming out of the bullpen in the sixth and seventh innings while struggling in his two starts. With further development Furbush could become an excellent reliever or a middle of the order starter without much trouble.

Wells proved that he could compete at the major league level, but right now the Tigers has a plethora of talented outfielders and had no room for him. When Wells was sent to Toledo a week ago to bring up Duane Below Manager Jim Leyland said he felt bad about doing it because Wells, didn't deserve to be sent down, but he was the odd man out. This trade is great for Wells as he will get a chance to play in the major leagues on a regular basis in Seattle.

Martinez was ranked as the Tigers No. 4 prospect, playing third base his trade may raise some eyebrows with the struggles of Brandon Inge and the trade for stop-gap Wilson Betemit. But, Detroit was looking farther down in their farm system, they felt that they could afford to trade Martinez away because they have Nick Catellanos in the wings developing into a third baseman Detroit can use.

Detroit received right-handed starter Fister in the deal, which will help to bolster their rotation. Fister does not have the most outstanding record, but keep in mind he was playing for the Mariners. This season he has a record of 3-12 but a 3.33 ERA and 1.171 WHIP. While in Seattle he got the least run support of any major league pitcher, meaning that when he pitches for a team like Detroit that can score runs, he should be racking up the wins.

Some have pointed out that he has only won three games away from Safeco Field in Seattle and have said that he will struggle pitching in Detroit. While Safeco is definitely a pitchers park, Comerica Park isn't exactly a bam box. Safeco has a park factor of .840 opposed to Comerica's .956, both of which prove that hitters don't exactly like playing in either stadium. A rate lower than 1.000 in park factors means the stadium favors the pitcher.

An added bonus to Fister is that he is not a rental player, he is signed for several seasons and is available for arbitration in 2013. Not to mention he becomes one of the lowest paid players on the Tigers roster, at $437k a year. While he may come cheap he will most certainly provide the Tigers with a solid arm that will help steady their rotation.

Also included in the trade was reliever David Pauley. Pauley is an excellent addition to Detroit's bullpen, he comes in with a 5-4 record and a 2.15 ERA and a .994 WHIP. His true value appears when his WAR is examined, to date he has a 1.7 WAR. This means that Pauley contributes 1.7 wins to his team through his efforts on the mound. 

While this deadline deal may not be the splashy deal that Tigers fans have become used to with Dombrowski at the helm, it has an opportunity to be one of the most worth-while. Detroit was able to add two solid arms to their team while not having to give up anyone from their starting lineup or top-prospect Jacob Turner. Look out for the 2012 Tigers rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Doug Fister and Jacob Turner.