While 224 strikeouts in two pro seasons suggests a free-swinger, his 117 walks in that same span do not. His 62 walks last year split almost evenly between home and road. Moreover, his .357 on-base percentage was a far cry from his .245 average.
Blog
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Palmer feels strong and healthy In Palmer’s mind, there’s no question now that he’s healthy. The Tigers medical staff considers him healthy enough that he begins spring training with absolutely no restrictions on his activity. For the first time since the spring of 2000, he won’t be on his own program but will take part in all the drills with his teammates.
Sometimes I wonder if sportswriters actually go to spring training each year, or if they just keep publishing the same pieces. Tomorrow, we’ll have an extensive look at the Tigers new attitude. All kidding aside, the Tigers need to get Dean Palmer back and healthy. He’s the only somewhat legitimate power threat in their lineup.
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Kingsale in center of outfield battle
Newcomer Gene Kingsale joins holdovers Hiram Bocachica, George Lombard and Andres Torres on the list of candidates to open the season in center.
Manager Alan Trammell said each will have an equal chance.
“Best spring wins,” Trammell said. -
2003’s Top 50 Prospects – Baseball Primer
The only Tiger to make the list was Jeremy Bonderman at #39. This is similar to Baseball Prospectus’ rankings of the Top 40 and Bonderman was an honorable mention. Before Tiger fans get discouraged though, 9 teams had nobody on the list. Before Tiger fans feel too relieved, the Twins and Indians each have 4 players on the list. -
Chris Karhl: Transaction Analysis
The happier deal by far was the swap with the Marlins. Mark Redman is that strangest of pitchers, the perennially frustrating low-ceiling fourth starter. He could be a nifty fourth starter for a full season, or he could be Mark Redman again, but either way, the Tigers are better off for having added a trio of talented arms from the Fish. -
“For us to trade Mark, which we talked about all winter, we needed someone who would fit into our rotation right away,” Tigers President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski said. “So in that sense, Gary Knotts was a necessity because we feel he’s ready to start at the big-league level.
“He was our best starting pitcher at the end of the season, no question about it,” Dombrowski said, “but we had three left-handers (Redman, Maroth and Van Hekken) who pretty much fit the same mold, guys with below-average fastballs, but good off-speed stuff.
“Having three of the same type was a little much and when you look at the group, Redman had the most value.”
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Tigers try addition by multiplication
The Tigers have traded Mark Redman and Jerod Buell to the Florida Marlins for Gary Knotts, Nate Robertson, and Rob Henkel. While this has to be frustrating to Tiger fans who are tired of seeing the few quality players on the team traded for unknowns. Think how frustrating it must be for Dave Dombrowksi that he only has a handful of tradeable players with which to improve the team. I don’t know enough about what the Tigers got in return to decide if this is a good trade or not. And the truth is, we won’t know the quality of any of the Dombrowski trades for at least another year. Mark Redman isn’t going to be the difference between the Tigers going .500 or not, so why not build towards something? Also, with the spacious left field being reduced at Comerica, it is reasonable to expect that Redman might not have as strong a year this year anyways.
More Analysis
Baseball Primer:I like Redman and while he’s really no more than a guy you have in the middle of the rotation, he provided the Tigers with one less question mark and based on what they got in return for the former Twin prospect, I would have chosen to stand pat.
Henkel is the prospect here and while A solidly-built lefty, Henkel has a good fastball and knuckle-curve (though the latter isn’t as good as Mussina’s), but some serious arm concerns have slowed down his development. Robertson’s a former 5th-round pick of the Marlins but is very unlikely to be given a shot in the Tiger rotation due to Henkel coming along in the trade and a bunch of incumbent minor leaguers. Fuell and Knotts are throw-ins.Henkel, 24, was considered the key to the deal for the Tigers, who came away with an intriguing trio of young arms. A 2000 third-round pick out of UCLA, Henkel overcame shoulder problems in 2001 to lead the organization in wins (13) and strikeouts (150 in 145 innings) last season between high Class A Jupiter and Double-A Portland. His best pitch is a knee-buckling knuckle-curve, and he also throws an 88-92 mph fastball and a developing changeup.
Knotts also went 5-3, 4.25 at Triple-A Calgary. He has an overpowering 95-mph fastball with good sink and run life, and he can spin a hard curveball and a show-me changeup. Control and command will dictate his role, but scouts love his arm strength. -
Tiger Prospects: Jeremy Bonderman and Franklyn German rank 1 & 3 in Baseball America’s listing of the Tiger’s top 10 prospects.
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Tigers will move in fence for ’03 The 395 foot left field power alley will become 370. Now I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but the Tigers had a .407 winning percentage at home, and only .271 on the road. Now that there ballpark will be more similar to others, at least that disparity should be taken care of.
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Now, we are talking about a 23-year-old with a really good arm. Anything can happen to him. But the Tigers made a big mistake in giving him 10 starts in the majors in ’01, with just four Double-A appearances under his belt. He wasn’t ready, and he’s still paying the price.
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I know I’m a little late on this, but the Tigers traded Randall Simon to the Pirates for minor league pitcher Adrian Burnside and 2 PTBNL. BaseballPrimer had this to say:
Adrian Burnside is a lefty who’s probably not ready for the majors after a lackluster performance in the Eastern League and some control issues. The Tigers will have essentially open auditions for the pitching staff this spring training, but Burnside is unlikely to make the team.
Good move for Dombrowski and the Tigers. Given a plethora of 1B types, Dombrowski correctly identified the player with the biggest gap between his perceived trade value and his actual baseball value. I like the trade even if the other 2 players are worthless.