JV to Start All-Star Game

By James Nahikian

What most fans of the game of baseball knew for quite a while now is finally official. Detroit Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander will start for the American League in the 2012 MLB All-Star Game this Tuesday at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. Verlander, who has a record of 9-5 and an ERA of 2.58 will duel against Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. Cain has a record of 9-3 and an ERA of 2.62 on the season. He also pitched a perfect game earlier in the year against the Houston Astros on June 13.

The decision made by Texas Rangers manager, Ron Washington, should have been no surprise to Verlander and the rest of the baseball world. Some of the other major pitchers in the league are either out due to an injury or have pitched more recently with their respected clubs.

Verlander is the freshest of the bunch, and to be honest, the best of the bunch. He has had many games this year where he has deserved better. His record, which is still impressive, should be better than what it is. In my opinion, Verlander is and has been the most dominant pitcher in the game over the past two seasons. His stuff is electric and his mentality is none like I’ve ever seen before. He is probably the most competitive person that I have ever met, and he uses that competitiveness to his advantage on the field.

The fact is, Verlander should have started the All-Star Game last season (When he won the American League Cy Young and MVP), but he was not even able to pitch because he started for the Tigers the Sunday before the game. Justin is still very humble about that incident to this day. When asked last week if he was owed this start because he should have gotten it last year, Verlander simply responded with, “You aren’t owed anything in this game.”

However, Verlander was still very open in expressing how cool the opportunity would be, “It would be nice, it would be fantastic,” Verlander said, “I would like to have it on the resume.”

So how does Verlander continuously impress everyone, even when everyone in the game expects greatness every single start? Well, apparently its nothing too complex, Verlander told me that he just goes out there and tries to “Just be who I am.”

Keeping it simple might just be what allows Justin Verlander to be Justin Verlander. Although, not too many people have the right arm that Justin has. Either way, Verlander will take the ball Tuesday night and start his first ever All-Star Game. Just another accomplish that Justin will jot down on his already impressive resume.

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future

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KC Ready For The Future

By James Nahikian

Right on schedule, and as Major League teams play across the country, the next generation is in Kansas City and ready to kick off the All-Star festivities. If you go on Twitter right now, you know what I am talking about, as #FuturesGame is trending worldwide. The Futures Game is set for 5PM today at Kauffman Stadium. The top prospects in baseball get together to play at a Major League ballpark and to show the world why they are the next big thing.

This years crop is absolutely loaded. These players truly will be the stars of tomorrow.

Starting with Team USA:

Leading off for Team USA is the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospect, Billy Hamilton. This shortstop is nothing less than a burner. Hamilton is the fastest guy in baseball. Yes, including the major leagues. Hamilton has over 100 steals already this season for High-A Bakersfield in the Reds Organization.

Batting third for Team USA will be a hometown favorite, as Kansas City gets a preview of their future star, Wil Myers. Now when I say future star, I mean soon to be star. The right fielder will more than likely be in the major leagues within the next couple of months, and he will probably be the everyday right fielder. This guy is a hitting machine.

Batting 4th will be the third basemen, Mike Olt. Olt is the third overall prospect in the Texas system and currently has 22 home runs in the Double-A ranks.

The guys batting 5th and 6th are no slouches either. Houston’s Jonathan Singleton, first base and Oakland’s Michael Choice, left field are both the top prospects in their organizations.

Batting 7th is Detroit Tigers’ super prospect, Nick Castellanos. This guy is an absolute stud. Castellanos tore up the Florida State League this season as he batted over .400 with 87 hits. He earned a promotion to Double-A Erie where he is now batting .307. The 6’4″ third basemen will be the team’s DH. Castellanos has been heavily rumored in Detroit trade talks for the past couple of seasons, but if Nick stays in the Detroit organization like I expect he will, Castellanos will be in the Motor City in no time. Possibly even this year, Detroit has quietly been having Nick take fly balls in the outfield. His bat just might earn himself a September call up.

Don’t forget about the guys coming of the bench either. Manny Machado is the top prospect in the Baltimore farm system. The Orioles, in my opinion, have the best minor league system in all of the major leagues. Machado will more than likely be the Opening Day shortstop come 2013, and will probably see some time in the big leagues in the months to come. Nolan Arenado will also be coming of the bench, Nolan is a third basemen who is the top prospect in the Rockies organization.

The starting pitcher will be another hometown favorite in Jake Odorizzi. The righty is also in the Kansas City farm system and will duel against another future Royal, Yordano Ventura of the World Team.

However, the best pitchers in today’s game will be those in the Team USA bullpen.

Dylan Bundy (Baltimore), Gerrit Cole (Pittsburgh), Jameson Taillon (Pittsburgh) and Danny Hultzen (Seattle) were all at least top 4 overall picks and will all be top of the rotation guys in the big leagues.

The World Team also has some players to keep your eyes on:

Starting with the man batting second, Jurickson Profar. This shortstop is the top prospect in the Rangers organization, and is the No. 4 prospect in Major League Baseball. Profar is currently in Double-A but has been in the middle of a lot of trade talks as Texas already has an everyday shortstop in Elvis Andrus.

Batting right behind Profar is Oscar Taveras, who is the No. 3 overall prospect in the St. Louis system. Taveras has 17 home runs and 63 RBI’s in Double-A this season.

Xander Bogaerts is the DH and will be batting 5th. Bogaerts will be the pride of the Red Sox in this year’s Futures Game. He is the No. 2 overall prospect for Boston and is currently playing in the Class-A Advanced Carolina League.

The bench is highlighted, in my opinion, by Francisco Lindor. The shortstop is the top prospect for the Cleveland Indians. The youngster born in 1993 has 80 hits, 18 stolen bases and an on base percentage of .348 for Class-A Lake County.

Both teams have an abundance of talent, but like I said, you will be most impressed by the USA pitching. Cole, Taillon, Bundy and Hultzen are all futures aces and have dynamic arms.

So sit back, relax, and watch future Hall of Famers take the field in Kansas City in about an hour. Just two days before one of the biggest events on the baseball calender will take place, the stars of tomorrow will shine today.

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future

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Porcello Takes The Mound in National Spotlight

When Rick Porcello was just 20-years old and in his rookie season, former Boston Red Sox infielder, Kevin Youkilis, charged the mound at Fenway Park. After Youkilis threw his helmet at Rick, Porcello got the best of Youkilis and knocked him over.

By James Nahikian

After a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last night, the Tigers are back at it today in game number three of the four game set. With the White Sox losing in the Bronx earlier today against the Yankees, Detroit is now 4.5 games out of first place in the Central Division. A win tonight would give Detroit a chance to win the series tomorrow afternoon in the final game between the two teams.

Detroit will hand the ball to Rick Porcello tonight, in a game that will be nationally televised on FOX with the first pitch set for 7:15PM. Porcello, who is 5-5 with a 4.71 ERA, has been pitching very well as of late. The 23-year old’s biggest problem in his career so far has been consistency, but he has put together very strong outings in his last three appearances. Rick dominated a very potent Texas Rangers lineup in his last start, as he logged six innings and only allowed one earned run while striking out seven batters. The start before, he kept in check another strong lineup as he faced the St. Louis Cardinals, Rick pitched seven innings that night and only allowed two earned runs, but was stuck with the loss as St. Louis’ Jake Westbrook pitched a complete game. Finally, in Porcello’s third most recent start, he picked up a win against the Chicago Cubs at historic Wrigley Field.

The righty has all of the tools to be a very effective and successful pitcher. He has had double digit wins in each of his three big league seasons so far, and people still have to realize that Rick is extremely young. Drew Smyly, who is the Tigers’ No. 4 overall prospect, made his big league debut this season, and is now also 23-years old. Smyly has shown positive signs, but has sense struggled to stay in games. Rick has also shown signs, and he has proven that he can be a winning pitcher, but his potential has still not been fully discovered. Porcello made his debut at the age of 20, but people tend to think of him as a veteran when compared to Smyly, but the fact is that the two are both the same age. Which brings to life the reality that Rick still has much to learn, as we are now are seeing first hand the struggles of his peer, Smyly.

It is obvious to me that Rick Porcello can be a top of the rotation type of guy. He has the wins to prove that he is getting close, but his age is showing that he still has much to learn. Many like to compare Rick to his teammate, Justin Verlander. Both were at one point, the Tigers’ top prospect, both are the same height and build, and both have similar pitches. If you want to make that comparison, that is fine, but here is what you should know.

Justin Verlander also went through his fair share of struggles, in his third season in the big leagues, and at the age of 25 (Two years older than what Porcello is now), Verlander struggled mightily. He had an ERA that was nearing five and he managed to lose 17 games. Many people questioned if Justin had what it took to be “The Guy’ that he currently is now. I think we all know at this point what happened, but it wasn’t until the age of 28 that Verlander had is break out season, now granted he did have other very impressive years, but it wasn’t until last year that Verlander really showed the rest of the league exactly what he was capable of.

Now take Porcello, is it fair that we judge him at such a young age? When the best pitcher in the game struggled more than what Porcello ever has, and he did so at an older age of what Porcello is now. My point is, Rick has won games every single year, and he still has more than enough time to take his game to the next level. As shown by Verlander, who is probably the best pitcher in the game, it wasn’t until his sixth full season that he discovered his full potential. Porcello is only in his fourth season, and he has been successful, and is now looking to become great.

As for now, Porcello will pitch in front of a national audience. Something that he is very accustom to.

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future

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Cabrera Quietly Putting Himself in MVP Race

Detroit’s Third Basemen, Miguel Cabrera, is having quite the 2012 season.

By James Nahikian

Most of the talk this year that has surrounded the 2012 Detroit Tigers has been very negative, the team is underperforming, they are the owners of a losing record, and they sit 4.0 games out of first in the Central Division as the league nears the All-Star break.

However, one of Detroit’s biggest stars is starting to come around, as he is putting together another monster season. This player is Tigers’ third basemen, Miguel Cabrera. His numbers are now starting to get some league wide attention, as they very well should be. After Cabrera’s four hit night in which he parked an opposite field home run at Tropicana Field in the Tigers win against the Rays last night, Miguel now has 62 RBI’s, 16 home runs, and is batting .312 on the year. He also has 23 doubles, 96 hits, an on base percentage of .370 and a slugging percentage that is well over .500. All of these numbers rank among the league’s best and Cabrera is now finally hitting his stride, although he didn’t get off to a slow start whatsoever, he seems to be very locked in as of late. Not to mention that he is more than holding his own at his new position this year.

So can Miguel win the MVP? Without question. As of now, the top five guys are all relatively close, with the leader probably being Josh Hamilton, Josh got off to a ridiculously impressive start but has sense cooled off and currently has 69 RBI’s and 24 home runs. The other four in my mind would include Cabrera, Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays, who leads the American League in home runs with 26 and also has 61 RBI’s. Adam Dunn has to be in the mix as he is having quite the bounce back season with 24 home runs and 57 RBI’s, however if he continues to lead the league in strikeouts and his .214 batting average doesn’t improve, I don’t see him winning the award. Dunn currently has 25 more strike outs than anyone with 121 already. Finally, I’d put Edwin Encarnacion in the fifth and final spot. This guy is quietly having a remarkable season with a .285 batting average to go along with his 22 home runs and 54 RBI’s.

So as it sits right now, I’d put Miguel slightly behind Josh Hamilton and maybe Bautista as well, but there is still so much more baseball to be played. Cabrera is on pace to rack up more than 120 RBI’s, batt well over .300 and possibly reach 40+ home runs. Those are without a doubt MVP caliber numbers. I expect some players to cool off and come back to the pack, and I also expect Cabrera to remain hot.

By the end of the season, the Detroit Tigers could very well have their second MVP winner in as many seasons.

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future

 

Texas Series Very Interesting For Tigers

By James Nahikian

The Tigers are now in Texas (45-28) and playing the best team in baseball. Detroit recently won four straight series before dropping two of three in Pittsburgh against the Pirates. The Tigers are 3.0 games out of first place in the Central Division, and will face a very difficult task this week in facing quality teams in the Rangers and Rays, both of which will be on the road.

The series that is particularly interesting to me is the series in Texas. The Tigers will need to play very good baseball to win the series, and they can’t be bailed out like they were yesterday by their ace, Justin Verlander. So how will this team fair with the big boys as they try to claw their way back to 1st place before the All-Star break? That won’t be answered for a few days, but the series is very intriguing.

-Will the Tigers be overmatched without Justin Verlander and with inconsistent, young pitchers taking the mound in Porcello and Smyly?

-How will Smyly perform after returning from the DL? The Tigers have not had much success in players returning from injuries, both Avila and Fister, more noticeably, have tried to come back too soon only to return back to the DL.

-It will be really cool to see the Japanese star, Yu Darvish pitch on Tuesday. Darvish dominated the Tigers earlier in the year and is off to a great rookie season, as he has 9 wins and an ERA of 3.45.

-It will also be interesting to see Roy Oswalt take the bump on Wednesday. Oswalt was recently acquired by Texas and won his debut on Friday. Oswalt was one of the more talked about free agents this offseason in the pitching market, and the Tigers were even rumored to be a possible destination, but Roy was picked up a few months into the season and is still a very quality pitcher.

-The Tigers will NEED to get off to quick starts. Texas has a dominant bullpen, remember the ALCS? If Texas gets early leads, it will be next to impossible to come back. The good news is that Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz are both on the DL, both have been particularly dominant against Detroit in the past.

-Texas has a very potent lineup, its a toss up if guys like Porcello and Smyly will be able to survive.

The Tigers are off to a great start so far as they had a great first inning and now lead 6-0 in the 5th inning, Porcello looks good and is getting his ground balls. Also, Kevin Youkilis is making his White Sox debut tonight, he is 0-2 so far with two ground outs.

It is also good that both Cleveland and Chicago are losing tonight, which means Detroit could be only two games back at the end of the night.

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future posts

The Tigers Are Officially Hot

By James Nahikian

Quintin Berry called Thursday afternoon’s walk-off single the “Biggest” hit in his short big league stint so far. With the bases loaded, Berry hit a ball up the middle with a drawn in infield and propelled the Tigers to a 2-1 10th inning win against the St. Louis Cardinals at a very toasty Comerica Park, marking the team’s fourth straight series victory.

Detroit’s top prospect, Jacob Turner, made his first start of the 2012 season. The 21 year old righty went 5 innings, allowing just one run and was stuck with a no decision. Prince Fielder unloaded on an off speed pitch in the 4th inning and drove a ball 425 feet to right field, it was the Prince’s 11th home run on the year, and his 10th solo shot. The bullpen was great, as Octavio Dotel, Phil Coke, Brayan Villarreal and Joaquin Benoit combined to throw five scoreless innings. It was a collective team effort and the Tigers chipped away in the 10th inning before Berry’s clutch knock.

The Tigers are now just one game under the five hundred mark and only 2.5 games out of first place in the Central Division. The team now hits the road and will face tough opponents in Pittsburgh, Texas and Tampa Bay before returning home to wrap up the first half of the season against Minnesota and Kansas City. The next few weeks will be a very good test for the surging Tigers. I expect the team to be a first place club come the All-Star break.

It is hard to tell how the team will react to finally being on a good streak, but one thing is for certain, the Tigers are officially hot.

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future posts

 

Porcello Roughed Up in Tigers’ Loss

By James Nahikian

After two outstanding starts by the 23 year old, Rick Porcello failed to make it out of the second inning Saturday afternoon. The righty allowed eight earned runs on ten hits in game number one of Saturday’s doubleheader at Comerica Park. The Rangers powered their way to 17 hits and went on to win the game 10-4. Texas has now outscored Detroit 20-7 in the first two games of the series so far, after eliminating the Tigers in the ALCS last season. It seems so far that the road to the World Series will yet again run through Texas, who have made it to the Fall Classic in each of the past two seasons, and are now off to a red hot 12-2 start.

The lone bright spot in the loss was Duane Below, who pitched six scoreless innings out of the bullpen, and has still not allowed an earned run this season.

The good news for Detroit is that they will have their ace, Justin Verlander, on the mound tonight at 7:05 PM. The Tigers, who still lead the Central Division, will hope to pick up the next two games against Texas to salvage a series split. The series concludes Sunday at 1:10 PM.

The Texas Rangers are now 12-2, after winning the American League in each of the two past seasons.

 

James Nahikian blogs about the industry of sports. And specializes in articles about the Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball and Bowling Green State University Athletics. Email him at jnahikian77@gmail.com And follow him on twitter @KingNahikian or facebook where you can find links to his articles and updates about future posts.