Granderson's Sudden Surge of Power

I still remember the first time I watched Curtis Grandersonplay for the Tigers. It was 2003, and the lanky 22-year-old was a Lakeland Tiger. 

Boy was he impressive.

That season in Lakeland, Curtis posted a .286 average with 51 RBI and 11 home runs. The speedy Granderson was phenomenal in the outfield as well.

Even with his respectable numbers that season, I would be lying though if I said I thought he would be the super star that he is today. He struck out one out of every five plate appearances that season and had very little power.

He was obviously still raw, and I really did not expect much from lanky little Curtis.

In his next season in AA Erie, he nearly doubled his home run total going deep 21 times. His 94 RBI were also an improvement.

However, as he moved up in the organization his power began to level off. In 2007, his second full season with Detroit, he hit 23 home runs which is still his single-season high. Grandy always seems to hover around that mark, but has yet to really do damage with the long ball.

Seriously though, 20 home runs is nice enough for a lead-off hitter, right?

However, with all of this lineup tinkering lately and his recent success, it really makes you wonder how high the ceiling is on Grandy? This season, through 68 games and 270 ABs, he has already gone deep a team-leading 17 times.

While I’m sure many of you have also thought about this, Curtis is on pace to perhaps hit over 35 home runs. 

Is it likely? Probably not. It sure would be nice though if this recent power surge continued.

I recently checked Grandersons T-Bball stats, and even back then he wasn’t bench pressing baseballs at this rate. I’m not sure if it’s a new approach, results from offseason practice, global warming, or just plain luck. Whatever the case may be, something is clicking and Grandy is raking.

After all of my previous complaining about our musical chairs lineup approach, I am now considering perhaps moving Curtis down too. If anyone with a pulse could step up and hold down lead off duties, it would make the move easier.

Granderson in the three spot would be a solid move indeed. Moving Cabrera back to cleanup and then Thames in the five slot could perhaps help them all. The move could also provide a decent amount of protection for each other.

Perhaps then we really could see just what Curtis Granderson can do with this sudden surge of power.