The Tigers sent Scott Sizemore to Toledo yesterday and named Will Rhymes as the starting second baseman. Carlos Guillen will begin the season on the disabled list. When he returns, Guillen will get the majority of the starts at second base, but Guillen's health is a major concern. My guess is Guillen will be lucky to start half the season at second base. So Rhymes' ability to continue what he started last season is key.
Considering Sizemore was a massive disappoint last season and Rhymes was a pleasant surprise, this decision should not be surprising. Yet, Leyland has shown a penchant for favorites (see: Raburn, Ryan), and I was worried Sizemore might be another Leyland pet. Apparently, it's Rhymes that won Leyland's heart with his .304 average and key hits last year.
Not many folks thought much of Rhymes when he came up. He didn't turn many heads in the '05 draft when he dropped all the way to the 27th round. The Tigers started Rhymes like most rookies in their rookie Single-A team. He hit .328. The next season he was at Single-A West Michigan and hit a disappointing .261, though he did improve his fielding. The next season, Rhymes began in Single-A but worked his way to Double-A Erie. The next year he started at Erie but was promoted to Triple-A Toledo. Sense the trend? Finally, after a season and a half in Toledo, Rhymes broke through to the majors last year. While he's never posted eye-popping numbers, at every level he's hit somewhere between .261 and .307. His ability to raise his game to the level of competition is noteworthy, as he doesn't seem fazed by the bigger names or stronger arms. Yet, focusing solely on stats sells Rhymes a bit short.
In the article, Leyland called Rhymes a "spark plug". In Leyland-speak that's a back-handed compliment. Leyland is saying that Rhymes doesn't have great natural ability but he makes things happen with his slap hits and hustle. In my opinion, Rhymes fit his role quite well last year, picking up where Polanco left off. The gaping Polanco hole was extremely noticeable with Sizemore in the lineup. Yet, Rhymes fared significantly better although he didn't quite match Polanco's defensive acumen. That's where Guillen fits in. For some reason, Guillen earned a reputation among Tiger fans as a poor defensive player. Perhaps it's because he no longer has the physical ability to play shortstop, and the Tiger brass shuttled Guillen around the field trying to find him a position. I thought he did remarkably well at 2nd base last year, especially considering he spent the entire offseason practicing for left field. Guillen had a slightly higher fielding percentage than Rhymes and offers a powerful switch hitting bat. The knock on his health is legit, but he's too valuable a player to write-off yet. With Guillen and Rhymes manning 2nd base, the Tigers should be fine.
They also have Danny Worth and Ramon Santiago who could fill that spot in a pinch, though neither has a reliable bat.
In other Tiger news, the team must be pleased with the starters this Spring. Those that reguarly read this blog know that the starters make me extremely nervous. Check out these stats:
Verlander - 0.86 ERA, 21.0 IP
Scherzer - 5.40 ERA, 14.2 IP
Porcello - 3.11 ERA, 17.1 IP
Coke - 2.49 ERA, 21.2 IP
Penny - 2.35 ERA, 15.1 IP
Only Scherzer has an ERA north of 3.11. That's a great sign. It's usually a mistake to read too much into Spring training stats - especially for pitchers - but you'd much rather have them doing well than struggling. For the record, the young kids also fared well:
Jacob Turner - 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP
Andy Oliver - 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP
While he just earned a trip to Toledo (along with Sizemore), I was pleased to see Fu Te Ni pitch 10 innings, allowing just one earned run. He had a disappointing 2010 campaign. With Coke in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future, the Tigers could use more lefties in the bullpen. Schlereth appears to be the frontrunner, but it's nice to know Ni is pitching well just in case.
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