MLB Preview: 5 Detroit Tigers Who Need to Rebound in 2012

I know you're probably tired of hearing about 2006.  I am too.

But until last year, it was the sole beacon of playoff success that we've seen from the Detroit Tigers in the last couple of decades.

A storybook season culminated in a Stephen King-type ending—a World Series drubbing at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Unfortunately, that's the best that we have. 

While the Tigers hit their stride at exactly the right time in 2011 and cruised to win the AL Central by 15 games, it's no sure thing that they'll repeat.

Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are a given.  You know they'll produce just like you knew Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco and Pudge Rodriguez would in 2006.

Also in 2006, the Tigers got career seasons from Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson.  Those guys failed to repeat their 2006 seasons in 2007—and when no one else stepped up, the Tigers faltered down the stretch.

Last season, Justin Verlander, Jhonny Peralta, Jose Valverde and Alex Avila all enjoyed career years that we can't realistically expect them to duplicate in 2012.

If the Tigers want to repeat in the AL Central—unlike 2007—a few guys are going to have to step up to help the inevitable drop-off of last year's breakout players.

No. 5 Phil Coke

In 2010 Phil Coke was a vital piece of the Tigers bullpen.

Last season, however, he was a science experiment gone bad.  Jim Leyland toyed with Coke in the rotation for a couple of weeks, but he quickly bombed out.

Upon returning to the bullpen, Coke was never the same and the bullpen suffered heavily without his ability to shut down opposing lefties.

The Tigers' lack of bullpen depth was exposed against the Texas Rangers in the ALDS, where it was evident that Jim Leyland had no one dependable to turn to other than Joaquin Benoit and closer Jose Valverde.

Newly signed Octavio Dotel will give Leyland another option and if Coke can bounce back as well, the Tigers bullpen will immediately go from an area of concern to one of strength.

No. 4 Ryan Raburn

A full-blown extreme sports adventure in the field, Ryan Raburn was expected to have a breakout 2011.  It didn't happen.

Raburn was handed the left field job to start the season.  That didn't work.

Then he was handed the second base job.  Ehh, didn't work out too well either.

The Tigers know what they're getting in the field with Raburn and they're willing to accept it.  When he once again faltered at the plate in the first half of the season, he quickly found himself back in a platoon role.

In order to succeed, Raburn has to break his annual first-half slump. 

He'll be given every opportunity to either win the second base job or left field if Delmon Young is moved to DH.

If there ever were a make-or-break year for a player, it is this season for Ryan Raburn.

No. 3 Rick Porcello

Even though he went 14-10 in 2011, Rick Porcello was the recipient of an extremely generous Tigers offense.

Porcello's beginning to look like a bottom-of-the rotation starter for the Tigers and that's OK.  Teams need bottom-of-the-rotation guys just as badly as top-of-the-rotation guys.

As a No. 5 starter, I'll take Porcello.  However, with the unsettled fifth-starter situation with the Tigers, Porcello will be counted on to be a No. 4. 

A 14-10 record works, but he needs to lower his 1.41 WHIP and 4.75 ERA to give the Tigers a shot if their offense isn't clicking.

If his ERA and WHIP are pushing 5.00 and 1.50 at the trade deadline, the Tigers will need to look for an upgrade.

Porcello is talented enough to succeed, but not to blow batters away.  He needs to stick with his game plan and keep batters off-balance to thrive. 

No. 2 Austin Jackson

I didn't put much credence in the Sabermetric-heads' warning of a pending collapse for Austin Jackson due to his abnormally high Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) in 2010, but there has to be some truth to it.

Other than a mild jump in home runs and a slight dip in runs, the rest of Jackson's offense numbers were very consistent with his 2010 season.  However, his batting average dipped all the way from .293 to .249 last season.

Perhaps Jackson was extremely lucky in 2010 and extremely unlucky in 2011, as his BABIP dropped 56 points (.393 to a more modest .340) last season.

Regardless if you're a believer in advanced baseball statistics, there's no doubt that a drastic reduction in his abnormally high strikeout totals will improve his batting average.

The Tigers really need to get Austin Jackson back to the speedy, run-producing leadoff man he was in 2010.

No. 1 Max Scherzer

If anyone on the team will have to pick up for the inevitable drop-off in production that ace Justin Verlander—and perhaps No. 2 starter Doug Fister—is sure to see, it is Max Scherzer.

After an excellent second half to 2010, Scherzer was expected to be Verlander's partner in crime in. 2011.  It didn't happen that way as Scherzer was often the main accomplice in one-sided affairs.

Unlike Porcello, Scherzer has all the talent in the world.  Like Verlander he can hit high-90s on the radar, but unlike Verlander he has a difficult time putting batters away.

Never was this more evident than in Game 6 of the ALCS.  After being handed a 2-0 lead, Scherzer got the first out in the bottom of the third then allowed six straight Rangers to reach base. 

With Leyland having to go to the ineffective part of the bullpen, the game and season were over.

Scherzer's struggles are 0 percent ability and 100 percent mental.  If he can somehow find a fraction of the focus that Verlander had in 2011, the Tigers will be incredibly difficult to beat this year.

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