Sports Illustrated AL Central spring preview: Tigers still the team to beat

[font size="1"]The return of Victor Martinez makes an already formidable Tigers lineup even stronger.[/font]


Detroit Tigers

The Big Question: How will Victor Martinez rebound from a year lost to injury?

The Tigers have the AL Central on lockdown, so much so that they underperformed expectations last year and still won the division by three games. This year, they've improved rightfield and will have a full season of the deadline upgrades they made at second base and in the starting rotation last year.

They should also be significantly better at designated hitter with the return of Martinez from a year lost to a torn anterior cruciate ligament and microfracture surgery on his left knee. That said, it's hard to know what to expect from Martinez coming off a year of inactivity and a major surgery such as that one.

Historically, Martinez has been a very consistent hitter, posting an OPS+ between 122 and 131 in seven of the last eight seasons, the lone exception being the 2008 campaign which saw him spend two and a half months on the disabled list following elbow surgery. Early reports out of camp have been very positive (of course), but perhaps the most pertinent piece of information, however, is that the target he has to clear is very low. Detroit's designated hitters, led by Delmon Young, hit a combined .257/.291/.395 last year, a line Martinez could best even if he's only at 80 percent. If he's all the way back, Martinez could be a three- to four-win improvement at the position.

The Big Battle: Closer

The Tigers took the closer job away from Jose Valverde after Game 1 of last year's American League Championship Series, let him leave as a free agent (he remains unsigned) and showed little interest in former Rays and Yankees closer Rafael Soriano, who has since signed with the Nationals. All along, general manager Dave Dombrowski insisted that rookie Bruce Rondon, a bulky 22-year-old Venezuelan with a triple-digit fastball, could handle the job. However, Rondon has yet to throw a major league pitch, lacks an above-average secondary offering and has had his share of control issues in the minors (5.1 walks per nine innings in his career, 4.4 BB/9 across three levels last year). ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130214/al-central-spring-training-preview/#ixzz2LAe2x0Gu