The Process Versus The Tigers

Phil Coke

A starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter, Coke came to Detroit in the Curtis Granderson trade. Coke is a southpaw who relies on three pitches—his fastball, slider, and change. Lefties have never been a problem for Coke, but so far righties are, with an aggregate line of .287/.336/.426 against him this season. The high on-base percentage is nothing new (the career mark is .335), but the added slugging is worth noting.

Justin Verlander

The Rays may have missed out on Josh Johnson, but they still get a dosage of Verlander. The ingredients are a fastball that can go about as high as he wants it to go, a changeup, and a curveball. There will be plenty of strikeouts, few walks, and some groundballs if Verlander is on. In other words, it’ll be tough to game to win.

Brad Penny

Remember that report about the Rays approaching Penny with the intent in making him a closer? Ten starts into his season, and he has a strikeout rate that extrapolates into 3.88 batters fanned per nine innings pitched. Along with his walk rate (3.16 per nine) forms a sub-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Penny’s groundball rate is over 50 percent, though, so it’s almost like he has become Nick Blackburn or something—nobody should want to become Nick Blackburn.

*Career numbers

These tables all exclude 2011 stats