Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer
The former Tigers ace and Cy Young winner will be taking home no such hardware this season for Washington. Scherzer is a yawn-inspiring 12-11 on the year, though he has posted a very respectable 2.91 ERA, good for 13th best in the majors. During a crucial stretch in August, the Nationals lost four Scherzer starts in a row and have only come out on top in five of his last 14 games. There also hasn’t been much in the way of helping his own cause at the plate; Scherzer’s come to bat 67 times this season and is yet to record a single RBI. Earl Wilson he is not.
David Price
The man with the most boring windup in baseball history has been a major boost to the Blue Jays as they continue their assault on the AL East crown.
David Price
Price has posted a sparkling 6-1 mark, racking up 65 punch-outs to just 13 walks. However, if the fans in Toronto think they’re getting some type of Sandy Koufax or Randy Johnson come postseason time, they’ve got another thing coming. Price has made five playoff starts in his career. His record? A startling zero wins and five losses. It’s not to say he can’t rise up and pitch like an ace this October, but history would suggest such an extended run of greatness is not a strong likelihood.
Yoenis Cespedes
This is all you need to know. Cespedes has played a mere 42 games for the New York Mets and there have been numerous articles written within the last week arguing that he ought to be seriously considered for National League MVP. That type of press is a pretty good indication that Cespedes has settled in quite nicely in the Big Apple. After bopping 18 home runs in 403 at bats as a Tiger, Yoenis has nearly equaled that total (17 HR) in just 179 ABs as a Met.
Yoenis Cespedes
The NL East was a good battle between Washington and New York for much of the year, but following the acquisition of Cespedes, the Mets summarily went on a 30-12 tear and essentially locked up the division title. One more interesting note: despite logging zero time as a centerfielder for the Tigers this year, Cespedes has been playing almost exclusively at that spot of late. Curtis Granderson -- once a true ball-hawk in the middle of the outfield -- now patrols right field for the Mets as the crusty 34-year-old vet, while Cespedes shoulders the more demanding load in center.
Eugenio Suarez
Eugenio Suarez
After a month of ball in the 2015 season, it looked like Dave Dombrowski had made the deal of the century. Alfredo Simon was mowing down opposing hitters and light-hitting Eugenio Suarez was wallowing away in the Cincinnati minor league system. Well, fast forward about 100 games and that trade result has flipped totally upside-down. Simon has become the American League’s most hittable pitcher this side of Shane Greene while Suarez has joined the Reds and provided a big offensive lift from the shortstop position. The 24-year-old Suarez is still a little green in the field (17 errors in 80 games), but his 11 homers and .284 average make him almost a lock to start somewhere for the Reds next season. Another of the late-era Dombrowski swaps that did not go at all according to plan.
Doug Fister
It took until his 1,180th inning of work as a big league pitcher, but Doug Fister finally recorded his first save. Monday night in Philadelphia, the Nationals engaged in a wild 11-inning affair in which they blew leads to the Phillies on three separate occasions. After seven other Nationals pitchers took the mound, Fister came on to throw a clean eleventh to bank the win for Washington. It’s been a very difficult year for the the 6-foot-8 righty -- being relegated to bullpen and mop-up duty -- and particularly so when you consider it's coming on the heels of a dazzling debut season in D.C. where he won 16 games and finished top-ten in NL Cy Young voting.
Doug Fister
Fister will be a free agent this winter and there have been rumblings that he might be a good candidate to fill in one of the many holes in the Tigers rotation. The 2015 campaign could be an anomaly for the typically steady Fister, and if that’s the case, he’d look very good slipping back into that Tigers uniform. How much he resents being dealt in the first place remains to be seen, especially considering the only thing the Tigers received in that deal was a small side portion of rice pilaf.
Rick Porcello
Even during a horrendous trek through most of the summer, it was hard to believe that Rick Porcello had suddenly forgot how to get major league hitters out. Sure enough, he has come on very strong as of late. Porcello’s last four starts: at least seven innings in each outing, 30 strikeouts to just six walks, and three very easy Red Sox wins.
Rick Porcello
His only loss in that stretch was a tough-luck 3-1 defeat to the rival Yankees in which he struck out 13 batters, a career high. It’s been a disastrous season for Porcello, easily the worst of his seven seasons as a pro, but this most recent success would indicate he’s due for a big bounce-back in 2016.
Prince Fielder
Prince Fielder
After an injury-riddled debut season in Arlington, Fielder has been his usual super-durable self in 2015. He’s played in 140 of the team’s 144 games, a big reason the Rangers are now sitting in first place in the AL West. The power numbers are just fair, 19 dingers to go with 78 RBIs, but his other numbers (.312 BA, .381 OBP) are plenty good. Also, with just 70 whiffs on the year, it’s almost guaranteed he’ll end the year with less than 100, a true accomplishment in today’s “Go big or go home” attitude of most MLB power hitters. Last year, Victor Martinez made the dealing of Fielder look like the smartest move in the world. This year, as Martinez’s power stroke slowly turned to minestrone, you couldn’t help but fantasize still having a guy like Prince to alternate that 1B/DH slot with Miggy every day.
Joakim Soria
Joakim Soria
The ex-closer for the Tigers has not been tasked with that responsibility in Pittsburgh, but he’s been a steady late-game option (0 HR allowed) for the playoff-bound Buccos. He hasn’t pitched completely lights out, surrendering 16 hits in 18+ innings and posting a 2.89 ERA, but with the playoffs increasingly becoming a battle of bullpens from innings 7-9, Soria will be a critical piece of the puzzle if the Pirates are to return to the World Series for the first time since 1979.
Besides, it’s not like the Tigers could use a steady veteran reliever like Soria right now; not when you’ve got future Hall of Famers like Guido Knudson and Jeff Ferrell (combined ERA: 29.12) to hold things down!!
