We are nearing the end of May and this Tigers team is still facing many questions. It is May 22 and the Tigers have a 22-23 record. They sit tied in second place with the Kansas City Royals, 7 games behind the first place Cleveland Indians, and only 2 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers have had an up and down year so far. They have gone on a 7 game losing streak as well as a 7 game winning streak. They are currently going through a 5 game losing streak and have just lost the first 2 games to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Tigers will need to start playing with a lot more consistency if they want to go far this season.
One of the biggest question marks for this Tigers team has to be the bullpen. The only bullpen pitcher who has done well so far this season is Valverde. The rest of the pen has been terrible to say the least. Benoit has given up more runs this year than he gave up all of last year. He has recently struggled so much that he has been removed from the set-up role. Ryan Perry just can't seem to get his control down and is walking way to many batters to be a 7th inning pitcher. The Tigers are getting good starting pitching on most nights but if the middle relief doesn't improve they won't go very far this season.
One way I believe that the middle relief can improve is by moving Phil Coke back to the bullpen. Coke has been inconsistent as a starter this year but we know from last year that he does really well when coming out of the pen. I believe that the Tigers should bring up Andy Oliver who has looked good at Toledo this year and put Coke back in the bullpen. This won't solve all the relief problems but it is a good start.
If the Tigers start playing more consistently as a whole they could be a strong contender for the AL Central title this season.
