The Tigers have recalled 31-year old righty swinging 1B/DH Brad Eldred. He played in 20 games in AAA-ball for the Tigers this year and he was 31 of 80 (.388 avg, 1.013 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 13 homers, 35 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Eldred is going to get a shot at some regular ABs as the DH for the Tigers. This is his first big shot at the show. He has played in 85 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 53 of 260 (.204 avg, .678 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 15 homers, 33 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Eldred has been an all or nothing hitter so far in his major league career as he has only walked 16 times while whiffing 130 times. It will be interesting to see if Eldred takes advantage of this big opportunity or if he fails again.

The Tigers have released 34-year old righty swinging 3B Brandon Inge. Inge played in 9 games for the Tigers this year and he was 2 for 20 (.100 avg, .400 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Inge played in 1,408 games in his 12 years with the Tigers and he was 1,083 of 4,626 (.234 avg, .691 OPS) with 527 runs scored, 140 homers, 589 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. Inge is the Tigers’ all-time leader in striking out with 1,189 of them. This is not a big loss for the Tigers as the handwriting was on the wall back when they decided to move Miguel Cabrera to 3B over the winter. I do think that Inge will hook on with another team this year due to his versatility in the field.

31-year old righty swinging Ryan Raburn was getting his shot to win a full-time job at 2B early this year, but he’s dropping the ball so far. He has played in 15 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 4 for 44 (.091 avg, .320 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Raburn has always been a second half player, but he’s going to get buried on the bench if he doesn’t start hitting soon. He has played in 515 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 372 of 1,412 (.263 avg, .765 OPS) with 212 runs scored, 53 homers, 204 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.

Switch-hitting catcher Mickey Tettleton was an offensive force in his four years with the Tigers. Tettleton played in 570 games in his four years with the Tigers and he was 469 of 1,887 (.249 avg, .867 OPS) with 303 runs scored, 112 homers, 333 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He was also was very patient at the plate as he walked 429 times, but he also whiffed a lot (505 times) with the Tigers. Tettleton’s best year with the Tigers came back in 1993 when he played in 152 games in which he was 128 of 522 (.245 avg, .864 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 32 homers, 110 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Tettleton also walked 109 times while also whiffing 139 times in 1993 for the Tigers. Tettleton won two Silver Slugger Awards and he made it to 1 All-Star team in his four years with the Tigers. Tettleton is still #8 in Tigers’ history with his .867 OPS.

Manager Jim Leyland tends to rush starting pitchers up to the majors and throw them in the fire to see what they can do. 22-year old lefty Drew Smyly pitched in 22 games (21 starts) in A+AA-ball last year and he was 11-6 with a 2.07 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He only gave up 103 hits and 36 walks in 126 innings in the minors with 130 whiffs, which are impressive numbers. Smyly was the Tigers’ #3 prospect in the Tigers’ organization according to Baseball America coming into this season despite being only in his second season pitching in professional baseball. Smyly is off to a good start to his major league career in 2012. He has started 3 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 0-0 with a league leading 1.13 WHIP and a 1.38 WHIP. Smyly has been impressive so far and there is nothing fluky about it.

The Tigers have acquired 30-year old righty reliever/starter Zach Miner from the Royals for cash considerations. Miner pitched in 23 games (11 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 3-7 with 1 save, a 5.26 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Miner last pitched in the majors back in 2009 for the Tigers. Miner has pitched in 157 games (35 starts) in his first four years with the Tigers and he is 25-20 with 1 save, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. This was a good move for the Tigers as they will likely stash Miner in the minors.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Rick Porcello is off to a good start for the Tigers so far in 2012. He has started 2 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Porcello has given up 12 hits and he has only walked 1 batter while whiffing 8 in his first 14 2/3 innings, and those are impressive numbers. Porcello has pitched in 91 games (all starts) for the Tigers in his first four years and he is 39-30 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He is looking sharp so far this year and he could be in for a breakout season in 2012 for the Tigers.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Thad Weber is off to a good start in AAA-ball for the Tigers this year. In his first two starts, Weber is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP. He only has given up 5 hits and 2 walks in his first 12 innings pitched while whiffing 15 batters so far this year as he has been outstanding. Weber has now pitched in 95 games (94 starts) in his first four years in the minors for the Tigers and he is 30-35 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Weber could get his first shot at the majors in some point in 2012 if he continues to pitch well in AAA.

27-year old lefty swinging 1B Prince Fielder is off to a good start in his career with the Tigers. He has played in 8 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 10 for 29 (.345 avg, .963 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Fielder has been making pitchers pay that have been nibbling when pitching to Miguel Cabrera and I look for that to continue all year long. Prince is how 243 homers behind his father (Cecil), who cranked 245 homers in his 7 seasons with the Tigers. Cecil Fielder is #5 in Tigers’ history in homers.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Verlander has been outstanding so far this year, but it just doesn’t show in his record. Verlander has started 2 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 2.20 ERA and a 0.55 WHIP. He has only given up 6 hits and 3 walks in his first 16 1/3 innings while whiffing 14 batters. He is already locked in and they wins are going to follow starting in the very near future. He had the bad luck of matching up with Jon Lester (Red Sox) and James Shields (Rays) so far this year.