Biggest Offseason Acquisition: Torii Hunter

Potential Fatal Flaw: The bullpen

Ceiling: World Series champion

Floor: AL Wild Card

Overall: The biggest difference between the AL Champion 2012 Detroit Tigers and the preseason 2013 Detroit Tigers is that Delmon Young has been replaced by Torii Hunter. It’s the difference between an Applebee’s 2-for-$8 cut of “Angus” steak and a good restaurant’s $28 NY strip. The NY strip isn’t going to be the best thing you’ve ever eaten, but at least it’s not smothered in “garlic ranch mushroom alfredo sauce.” Flavortown.

The 2012 Detroit Tigers weren’t really broken, so there was little need to fix anything and GM Dave Dombrowski didn’t try. Make no mistake, this club is improved by the subtractions of Young and Jose Valverde and the addition of Torii Hunter.

With the Tigers, you have to start at the top. No team has a better batter/pitcher pair than Detroit does with Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. Every year, they’re both the favorite to win the MVP and Cy Young award. They’re excellent at what they do, even if I resent both (one because he’s a terrible defender and for his previous proclivity to drive drunk and the other because he dates America’s greatest creation, Kate Upton).

The role players and other rotational players are the key in Detroit though. Austin Jackson, who probably exceeds the “role player” tag has developed into a real threat out of the leadoff spot, now that he’s cut back on his strikeouts. It’s essential that he keeps up his on-base ability because there’s frankly not a lot of that in Detroit’s lineup. He’s key to the success of Cabrera and Prince Fielder, and thus, Detroit. Victor Martinez’s health (or lack thereof) is another key to Detroit’s success. Martinez didn’t play one game in 2012. He’s played in over 100 games only three times since 2007. When he’s in the lineup, especially now that he can DH exclusively, he’s one of the league’s most underappreciated hitters. He gets on-base consistently. He’s got pop in his bat. He doesn’t strike out. He’s just kind of wonderful. When healthy.

The overall staff is excellent too, 1-5. Doug Fister is also a really underappreciated pitcher. He doesn’t have Justin Verlander’s stuff. Very few people do. But Fister, like Victor Martinez, does the other important stuff well. His WHIP is always fairly low (career 1.18, not off the charts, but very nice), he doesn’t walk a lot of hitters, doesn’t give up a lot of home runs. He’s just a good pitcher. Then there’s Max Scherzer, who has such electric stuff. I don’t think he’ll ever hit his ceiling, which I would say was probably a top-20 pitcher. He walks too many hitters. But when Scherzer’s on (and he’s on more than he is “off”), he’s a great 3-4 starter.

In the offseason, Detroit signed Anibal Sanchez to a contract that will keep him in the Motor City until 2018. There was some scoffing at the length and money involved in the deal, but Sanchez is a reliable arm. The stuff is different, but he’s like Edwin Jackson. You can plug him in every fifth day, he’ll have a clunker every now and then, he’ll come close to a no-hitter other times, and fill in the middle with reliable starting pitching. You could do a lot worse than Anibal Sanchez as your 4th starter.

The bullpen is the issue in Detroit. Right now, Bruce Rondon is the likely closer. And there’s been a lot of fun poked at Rondon. The funny thing with bullpens though is you really can’t project bullpen success. Guys who have it can lose it like that. And a lot of guys who are perceived to have it (Heath Bell is a great example) get exposed, crash, and burn. Bullpens are tough. So when I hear people say that Detroit is silly for going into the season without a “proven closer,” I laugh. Because, you know what, no one ever knows. Craig Kimbrel went to Wallace State Community College. Now, he’s the best one-inning pitcher in baseball, coming off of probably the greatest relief season ever. And tell me if you “knew” he was going to do this. You never know.

That said, if one thing is going to hold Detroit back from making it to another World Series, the most likely culprit would be their bullpen. But you can say that for a lot of teams. And you never really know until you get into those 5 or 7-game series in October.

Predicted Finish: 92-70