Detroit Tigers: 11 Tigers Who Need to Step Up for Detroit to Salvage Season

The Detroit Tigers' 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday was just the second time the team has won back-to-back games since April 21. 

Tigers fans have been waiting for a turnaround all season, but Detroit hasn't been able to put any significant momentum together. With a five-game deficit in the American League Central and over a third of the season in the books, several Tigers have been under-performing and need to wake up before it gets too late.

Patience in Detroit is wearing thin, but as the Tigers begin a series against the lowly Chicago Cubs and continue interleague play—where they've dominated the past few years—the team could begin their ascent to the top of the division.

If Detroit has any chance of living up to expectations and making consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 1935, here are 11 Tigers who need to step up immediately.

1. Brennan Boesch

Brennan Boesch could be the X-factor for the Tigers run at the pennant.

Boesch has shown flashes of brilliance in his career, and as the No. 2 hitter in Detroit's lineup to start the season, Boesch being on base, preceding Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, gets all the wheels in motion.

But he hasn't been able to put things together consistently this season.

At .240, Boesch has the worst average on the team among every day players, and he has only six home runs and 23 RBI in 58 games this season.

His on-base percentage is only .270, and because of his futility, he's often demoted to the No. 6 or No. 7 spot in the lineup.

2. Jose Valverde

Jose Valverde's perfection was arguably the biggest reason for the Tigers success last season. Detroit's closer went 49-for-49 in save opportunities a year ago, boasting a 2.24 ERA.

But so far this season, Valverde has had disappointing stuff.

Valverde began the year on a sour note on Opening Day, blowing his first save since Sept. 2, 2010. He's blown three saves already this season in 18 opportunities, and his ERA is 3.91.

Valverde's performance has improved lately, and the team has won 13 of the last 14 games he's appeared in. But because the rest of the bullpen has performed so badly this season, often turning in some of the worst numbers in baseball, Valverde's success becomes even more crucial.

The Tigers run to the ALCS was in huge thanks to Valverde, and they won't make it back to the playoffs unless he figures out how to right the ship consistently. 

3. Alex Avila

Alex Avila had a breakout season in 2011, hitting .295 (.389 OBP), with 19 home runs and 82 RBI in 141 games.

But this season, Avila has scuffled, hitting just .250, with five home runs and 20 RBI, and after re-aggravating a right hamstring injury, the 25-year-old was placed on the 15-day disabled list last week.

Avila has missed 16 games already this season, and with an injury to backup catcher Gerald Laird, the Tigers have had to rely on unproven young players behind the plate.

If Avila continues his lackluster performance, or his injury continues to hamper his progression in his third full year in MLB, the Tigers could be in trouble.

Avila is masterful in handling Tigers pitching and is the captain of the infield, but he can't seem to match his success from a year ago. He's thrown out only 28 percent of potential base-stealers, and after committing only five errors in 2011, he has three errors already this season.

4. Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer has been extremely inconsistent as the Tigers No. 3 starter this season.

Scherzer is 5-4 this season with a 5.88 ERA. He's had several outstanding starts, including a 14-strikeout dominating performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 20, which was the first of three straight starts with a win.

But Scherzer has been erratic all year.

He earned a win in only one of his first six starts this year and turned in a 7.77 ERA in April. Scherzer's only pitched seven innings in two of his 12 starts, and he has had complete meltdowns in several outings, giving up at least five earned runs in four appearances.

With No. 2 starter Doug Fister's injury problems, Scherzer's success has become even more important because of who gets the ball after his spot in the rotation.

He needs to figure out how to come to the ballpark with premium stuff every time he is set to take the hill, if the Tigers have any chance to make a run.

5. Delmon Young

Delmon Young has been disappointing on and off the field for Detroit this season. 

Young is hitting just .254 with five home runs and 21 RBI this season, and because of his offensive futility, lack of defensive ability and the emergence of Andy Dirks, Young has been removed from left field and relegated to designated hitter.

The 26-year-old also added to his string of head-scratching mental mistakes, when he was arrested on April 27 for allegedly shoving and yelling anti-Semitic remarks at a man in a yarmulke outside a New York hotel before the Tigers began a series against the Yankees.

Young's aggravated harassment hate crime charge is the second time in his career he's made headlines for bonehead moves. In a Minor League game in 2008, Young threw a bat at an umpire after striking out and was slapped with a 50-game suspension.

The right-handed slugger in his seventh year in the league was expected to give the Tigers some major pop in the middle of the lineup, but he has badly underperformed this season.

Considering that he is hitting behind Cabrera and Fielder, Young's numbers look even worse.

6. Ramon Santiago

Ramon Santiago is in his 11th year in MLB and his ninth season with the Tigers, but he has never been an every day starter in his career.

With the recent demotion of Ryan Raburn to Triple-A Toledo, Santiago has seen increased playing time at second base and needs to step up his performance on both sides of the ball, forcing manager Jim Leyland to put his name in the lineup every day. 

The Tigers have the worst offensive numbers at second base in the AL this season, and they are among the worst in the Major Leagues.

Santiago has recently been splitting time with Danny Worth, but if the Tigers are going to make a run, Santiago will need to consistently outperform the other second base candidates and produce offensively.

Santiago is one of the worst Tigers this season, hitting only .210 with two home runs and 10 RBI. He needs to cement himself in the lineup by proving he can consistently contribute and be a dependable bat at the bottom of the lineup.

7. Phil Coke

Phil Coke started 2011 in tremendous fashion, anchoring the Tigers bullpen with a 3.00 ERA and a 1-0 record in 10 appearances in April.

But Coke has a 6.75 ERA in four appearances in June, and he's allowed at least two hits in five of his last 10 games in 6.2-plus innings of work.

Coke's ERA is 4.44 this season, and as one of the veteran arms in a struggling bullpen and the leader in pitching appearances, Coke's usual seventh inning role is crucial to the team's success.

If Coke rebounds and pitches the way he did to open the season, it will be a lot easier to hand the ball to setup man Joaquin Benoit and, eventually, Valverde. 

8. Justin Verlander

It's hard to believe the defending AL MVP would be on a list of people who need to step up, but despite a 2.69 ERA, Justin Verlander hasn't earned a win since May 18. The Tigers have also lost three of the last four times Verlander has taken the hill.

As the ace of the staff, Verlander has usually made starts after Tigers losses in the past couple seasons.

He hasn't pitched more than 6.1 innings per start in his last three games and has given up at least two earned runs in each of his last four appearances.

Verlander's importance goes without saying.

Last season, he was the first AL pitcher to be named MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and he was the first starting pitcher to earn the award since Roger Clemens won it in 1986.

Verlander leads the league in innings pitched with 93.2 in 13 starts, and he has by far the most strikeouts in the AL. Even though expectations of flawlessness aren't realistic, Verlander needs to set an example for his team and the rest of the league and be as close to flawless as possible.

9. Jhonny Peralta

Jhonny Peralta is hitting .261 this season, and he's among the worst every day hitters on the team. He only has four home runs and 16 RBI in 53 games this year and is having one of the worst statistical performances of his career.

Peralta has lost a step defensively, and his range has diminished. He's committed only two errors this season, but at 30 years old in his 10th year in the league, Peralta hasn't made the spectacular plays you see turned in by other shortstops in the league.

He was selected to his first All-Star Game last season and was expected to follow up his success this year, but he hasn't been able to put things together consistently at the plate in 2012.

10. Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland needs to step up his performance at the helm for the Tigers.

Many people have called for Detroit's beleaguered manager to be fired based on questionable personnel moves and the fact that the unanimous favorites to run away with a division title are four games under .500 and sit in third place in the AL Central, five games back.

Tiger fans were most angered by Leyland's blind devotion to Ryan Raburn, who was terrible this season.

Leyland continued to put Raburn in the lineup despite the second baseman hitting .146 with one home run and seven RBI in 37 games, before being designated for assignment on May 29.

Fans have grown weary of Leyland's gut decisions that have cost the team in some key moments this season. Leyland has lived and died by going with his gut in his career, and this season, more times than not, his gut has betrayed him. 

11. Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder has performed well this season, but with great power, comes great responsibility. Because he's earning almost $24 million per year for the Tigers, Fielder commands Detroit's biggest responsibility.

He's hitting .316 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI so far this season, but as one of MLB's highest paid players, he's outside the top 20 AL home-run hitters and is No. 7 in the league in RBI.

Fielder is one of the league leaders in average, but he hasn't had many dominating performances where he takes games over. He hasn't earned more than two RBI in a single game this season, and he has only three extra-base hits in nine games this month.

He's played well at first base and played in all 60 games for Detroit, but as a superstar on a struggling team, Fielder needs to take his game to the next level.