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2007 Detroit Tigers Predictions

Now check out our 2008 Detroit Tigers predictions!

Detroit was a big surprise in 2006 winning the American League Championship Series and advancing to the World Series. Over the past 8 seasons, I have enjoyed betting on the Tigers, especially when facing lefties in their home park. With a 10-4 mark against teams outside their division who threw lefties at them in 2005, I had to take a strong look at this situation again in 2006. But honestly, it didn’t matter if you paid that close of attention to trends on the 2006 Tigers because they were an all around profitable team with their daily backers collecting the fourth highest pay check in baseball.

The Tigers finally broke through last season shattering their 2005 mark posting 95 wins. It was Detroit’s first winning season in over a decade. I even had these guys chalked up for a fourth place finish or an outside chance at third at best in the AL Central. Thanks to unlikely heroes like Kenny Rogers, the Tigers nearly won it all.

I’m disappointed because my days of betting on the Tigers could be done this season. The books will likely be overvaluing them out of the gates and the public will be jumping on board. Going against the Tigers could be the way to go in 2007.

The Tigers do boast the best catcher in the league in Ivan Rodriguez, but they lack a deep enough pitching staff to even win the AL Central in 2007. Verlander is a great prospect and I expect him to continue to develop, but Kenny Rogers won’t get anywhere near 17 wins this season. Although Robertson and Bonderman have potential, I’m not sure these guys will ever be consistent enough to push the 20 win mark. Zumaya does give the Tigers some promise in the pen, but he still needs more innings under his belt.

As was the case going into last season, depth is still an issue for the Tigers. Offensively, Detroit overachieved last season with three guys hitting over 20 homeruns and two other adding 19. You can expect these power numbers to suffer some as the Tigers are now the ones with the targets on their backs in the American League. I like Ordonez to remain the most consistent run producer, but Craig Monroe is going to have to prove that he can push the 30 homerun mark again this season. One thing that could really help this team is if they could get center fielder Curtis Granderson to quit striking out so much. If any of Detroit’s top six bats go down, this team will be in a world of hurt.

I think we are going to see a similar fate with Detroit this season that we saw with the White Sox last season. The Tigers will be competitive, but ultimately they won’t be able to stack up with the more talented teams in the AL. Don’t jump on this team out of the gates as you may find yourself down in a hurry. We’ll take an early look at them before picking our spots. My best guess is that going against this team when they are too heavily favored is going to be a strong play for us this season.

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