– Last Updated on November 21, 2022 4:48 pm
Tigers 2017 Season Preview
Ready to check out our 2017 Detroit Tigers predictions? After what was a down year for the Tigers, they look to rebound and lean on their tough lineup to grab the AL Central Title back from the Cleveland Indians.
MLB Tigers Predictions & Handicapping Insight
Detroit enters almost every season with high expectations. However, things are a little different heading into this year.
The Tigers are underdogs when it comes to the division and look to rebound from what was an extremely tough season.
2017 MLB Team Previews – Detroit Tigers
- American League Central +550
- American League +1400
- World Series +2500
Key Additions:
- 2B Omar Infante (free agent from Braves)
- C Alex Avila (free agent from White Sox)
The Tigers have been one of those teams who really haven’t made big moves as of late.
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Detroit was right in the thick of things at the All Star Break last season and decided it was best to not go out and acquire a big name.
Now in the offseason, they did bolster their bench, but have otherwise really stayed with what they have.
This team is one of the scariest lineups when it comes to the middle of the order, but there are a lot of question marks.
Key Losses:
- OF Cameron Maybin (trade to Angels)
- SS Erick Aybar (free agent to Padres)
- C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (free agent to Blue Jays)
The losses of Aybar and Saltalamacchia were cancelled out with Infante and Avila getting signed. The loss of Maybin will hurt this team though.
They lose out on a speed and a solid veteran leadership.
Tigers Predictions: Projected Lineup:
- Ian Kinsler
- JD Martinez
- Miguel Cabrera
- Victor Martinez
- Justin Upton
- Nick Castellanos
- Tyler Collins
- James McCann
- Jose Iglesias
This Tigers lineup is scary.
They’re extremely deep and when looking at 1-6, you have to be very careful if you’re an opposing pitcher.
Health is going to be a huge key as we saw last year that the Tigers simply cannot afford to lose anybody from the top of that lineup.
Tigers Predictions: Projected Rotation:
- Justin Verlander
- Jordan Zimmermann
- Michael Fulmer
- Daniel Norris
- Anibal Sanchez
There are plenty of question marks surrounding this rotation.
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Justin Verlander is clearly one of the top pitchers in the game, but he struggles against the divisional favorites from Cleveland, which was a huge key to last year.
Zimmermann just couldn’t stay healthy, while the rest of the rotation is just a toss up. The tone will have to be set by the top 2 if they hope to have any success up and down the rotation.
Tigers Predictions: Projected Closer:
- Francisco Rodriguez
The Tigers bullpen is really thin and doesn’t have much reliability.
This is where Detroit lost a lot of games last year and they’ll likely have the same issues again, especially in the back end.
2017 Detroit Tigers Prediction:
The Tigers are an interesting team.
If they hadn’t started off 0-11 against Cleveland last season, they would have been right there in the divisional race.
It’ll come down to that bullpen of theirs.
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The pen is an absolute mess and has been for many seasons. Detroit has really done nothing to rebuild it either.
We saw it last year as the starters were burned many times after leaving the game during quality starts. They’ll stick around in the division, but will certainly need more pieces to bolster than pen around the deadline.
What do you think of our 2017 Detroit Tigers predictions? Comments are welcome below.
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