When it comes to their rotation, much can be said about the star quality of their ace Justin Verlander. He is a rising talent that has shown in his first two seasons the incredible stuff that he has, and what he can do with it. Last year’s thrilling no-no against the Brewers showed the dynamic ability this young man has. At the tender age of 25, the sky is the limit for his future, and he is hands down the Tigers go-to starter.
After that, the Tigers will come at teams with Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers, the aforementioned Dontrelle Willis and the “Bulldog” Nate Robertson. Skill and ability is not the problem with this quartet, as they all have the stuff that is needed to be successful in the majors.
Turning that skill into results is, and what will be, the turning point for how many wins this team can rack up. Can Bonderman (who was supposed to be what Verlander has become) redeem himself and win the fans over?
At 43, Kenny Rogers has the experience to be the crafty ol’ slinger that they need him to be and after a season filled with injury and sub-par performance. Simply stated, the Tigers need the “Gambler” to be the leader and at least a shadow of what he was in that enchanting run of the ’06 post-season.
Next up is the D-Train. He has already shown that he has the stuff, and the good thing about his move to the Tigers is that he doesn’t have to be the marquee “go-to” guy he was depended to be on the Marlins. Willis can go out and pitch every fifth day and not have the pressure to always be the one that has to stop the bleeding.
Last and not least, is the formidable Nate Robertson. Robertson was rewarded for his consistency in the off-season by the Tigers who extended a nice 3 year deal making him comfortably compensated for what at times is a lack of run support. Nate has been bitten by this lack of support and at times it has affected his win/loss record. Regardless, Nate is a gamer and they know what they are going to get from him every time he takes the hill. It is this type of consistency that provides the Tigers rotation with a great back-end and overall, three very good lefties to attack the rest of the league with.
