Photo from Tigers' official website.
Pitching veteran Justin Verlander was a little questionable at the start of the season, but was a pitching ace again as time passed. He was golden
So it's a no-brainer that he gets an A for the season from Chris McCosky of The Detroit News.
McCosky also grades the rest of the players, and not everyone gets 4.0. We agree with most grades, but not all.
Even though they could have gotten more key hits in the very final stretch of the season, McCosky shortchanges J.D. Martinez, Cameron Maybin and Nick Castellanos, giving all Bs.
Maybin ended the season with a .315 batting average and Martinez batted .307. Not bad. Not bad at all. Sure, both were injured and were out for part of the season, but they were both All Star players and spark plugs for the team. Both deserve at least an A-, if not an A. Castellanos, who was injured for a while, also deserves at least a B+. He batted .285.
Graphic by the Detroit Tigers
Here are the grades:
- Jordan Zimmerman: D
- Michael Fulmer: A-
- Mike Pelfrey: D
- Daniel Norris: B
- Anibal Sanchez: D
- Matt Boyd: B
- Buck Farmer: C
- Francisco Rodriguez: B+
- Alex Wilson: B
- Shane Green: C
- Bruce Rondon: B+
- Kyle Ryan: B
- Blaine Hardy: C+
- Mark Lowe: D
- James McCann: B-
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia: C+
- Miguel Cabrera: A
- Ian Kinsler: A
- Jose Iglesias: B
- Nick Castellanos: B
- Andrew Romine: B
- Erick Aybar: C+
- Casey McGehee: C
- Justin Upton: B-
- Cameron Maybin: B
- J.D. Martinez: B
- Tyler Collins: C
- Steven Moya: C-
- Victor Martinez: B
- Brad Ausmus: B
Explanations are at The Detroit News link below.
-- Allan Lengel
