Month: July 2011

Baseball Prospectus: Alex Avila is Tigers’ Secret Weapon

Ben Lindbergh at BaseballProspectus.com today makes an interesting case for Alex Avila as the Tigers’ most valuable player.

Miguel Cabrera gets most of the accolades in the Detroit Tigers’ historically top-heavy lineup, and not without reason — the first baseman’s .349 True Average (TAv) trails only Jose Bautista’s among American League batters. However, Cabrera hasn’t been the most valuable position player in Detroit this season. That title belongs to Alex Avila, a 24-year-old catcher who came up through the Tigers’ system before making his major league debut late in 2009.

Avila acquitted himself well in his initial exposure to the majors but his bat crashed back to earth last season, when he hit .228/.316/.340 while splitting catching duties with Gerald Laird. This season, however, he’s hit well enough to take over the team lead in Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP), posting a 3.4 figure to Cabrera’s 3.1.

My eyes glaze over on most of the statistical stuff, but the point of the article is interesting.

Gibby an All-Star at Last

Nice feature on Kirk Gibson in today’s Arizona Republic. He’ll be on Bruce Bochy‘s staff for the All-Star Game in Phoenix next Tuesday and it will be the first time Gibby appears at an All-Start Game in uniform.

Back in 1985 and ’88, Gibson had better things to do. He politely turned down offers from managers Sparky Anderson and Whitey Herzog to rest, go hunting and spend time with family.

Gibson also wasn’t afraid to fire off a salvo or two, like when he said, “There are players in this game that want to be stars – let them go play.”

Today, he probably wouldn’t say such a thing, although he still refuses to publicly endorse any of his own players as reserves for next week’s game.

Patrick Leyland Learning His Trade

If you’ve been wondering how the Tigers’ eighth-round pick in 2010, Patrick Leyland, has been progressing here’s an update from The Norwich Bulletin:

The consensus between Connecticut manager Andrew Graham and Detroit’s roving catching coordinator, Joe Depastino, is that Leyland is blessed with a wealth of talent. Because the 6-foot-2, 200-pound catcher didn’t see as many games playing high school ball as players from warmer climates, Leyland needs to get used to playing every day.

The things Leyland does behind that plate that will likely determine how far he goes.

“He’s a little raw and it all starts with his set-up,” Depastino said. “He’s got a good arm, blocking — everything is good. Right now he’s working on his set-up a little bit more. If he gets that good set-up and good base, which he’s been working on in the last few days, that’s going to help.”

He’s played only four games this season due to a calf injury.

Leyland’s teammates include Colin Kaline and Bo McClendon.

If you’re looking at the team’s website, check out the old English C on the lids. Not pretty.