Expectations
You finish as the runner-up, you’re supposed to get back there next year. Championship competition for sure. This is just a very well-balanced team: none of the pitchers are really superstars, but Charlie Root, Hal Newhouser, and Gene Conley could hang with any trio in the league. Likewise, the offense revolves around two stars (Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg) and a solid supporting cast.
Best Case
It all keeps humming, with especially both Root and Conley being able to maintain their level of performance on the mound while supporting talent–the Bailey Boys (3B Bill and C Ed) and the Davis Duo (OF Chili and SS George) especially–keep on keeping on and youngster Al Kaline continues to deliver on his promise.
Worst Case
The pitching seems like it could collapse at any time–especially the bullpen, where Mike Henneman (despite tying for the league lead in saves) feels somewhat precarious. Four key players (Ed Bailey, George Davis, Tony Phillips, and Oscar Gamble) are on the wrong side of 30, so falling off a cliff is always a concern.
Key Questions
- Who is the 5th starter?
- Can the 3 catchers continue to be an effective approach (meaning, worth sacrificing the roster spot to carry both Bill Carrigan and Ernie Lombardi behind Ed Bailey)?
- The MI is a concern: George Davis is a wizard with the glove, but cannot hit and 2B clearly needs a long term solution given Phillips’ age.
Trade Bait
No obvious opportunities.
Or so we thought until it became clear that Charlie Gehringer, offering a long term solution at 2B, could be available.
Roster Evaluation
| POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
| C | Carrigan | Bailey, E | Lombardi | |||
| 1B | Greenberg | Beníquez | ||||
| 2B | Phillips | Gehringer Wood | ||||
| 3B | Bailey, B | Nash | ||||
| SS | ||||||
| LF/ RF | Cobb | Gamble Kaline | ||||
| CF | Davis, C | |||||
| SP | Conley Root | Newhouser | Verlander | Marcum | ||
| End | Napier | Bradford Henneman | ||||
| RP | Wilshere | Hoeft Conway |
Al Kaline gets moved down a little due to low usage, but he certainly looks like the real deal.
That’s a lot of unknowns for a contender. But none of them are really in key spots, although Billy Nash, who isn’t truly a SS, will have to fill in there until George Davis‘ return.
Talent Ratings
| WBL | Minors | |
| Raw Power | OF Oscar Gamble | DH JD Martinez |
| Batting Eye | U Tony Phillips | OF Floyd Robinson |
| Contact | OF Ty Cobb | OF Ron Swoboda |
| Running Speed | OF Ty Cobb | OF Dan Gladden |
| Base Stealing | OF Ty Cobb | SS Ray Chapman |
| IF Defense | 1B Hank Greenberg | 3B Jimmy Collins |
| OF Defense | RF Al Kaline | CF Jim Piersall |
| Stuff | P Vernon Wilshire | P Wilson Álvarez |
| Control | RP Chad Bradford | RP Dick Donovan |
| Velocity | RP Mike Henneman | P Delin Betances |
Best In The Minors
| Rank | Age | POS | Name |
| 1 (17) | 21 | OF | Al Kaline |
| 2 (68) | 19 | SS | Wander Franco |
| 3 (73) | 23 | P | Emil Yde |
| 4 (113) | 24 | 2B | Charlie Gehringer |
| 5 (121) | 23 | P | George Mullin |
| 6 (175) | 18 | P | Billy Hoeft |
| 7 (198) | 20 | 3B | Billy Nash |
Hoeft and Franco were a surprise this Spring, with Hoeft, Nash, Gehringer, and Kaline all breaking camp with the Wolverines. That’s the good news. The bad news is the cupboard is bare at this point.
| Most | Least | |
| Age | U Tony Phillips, 38 | RP Billy Hoeft, 18 C Bill Freehan, 18 |
| Height | P Gene Conley, 6’8″ | SS Bill McClellan, 5’5″ SS Earl Adams, 5’5″ |
| OPS | OF Hi Myers, 1.019 (WBL/AAA) | 1B Eric Hosmer, .509 (WBL) |
| HR | 3B Joe Werrick, 51 (WBL) | OF Wally Moses, 1 (AAA/AA) SS George Davis, 1 (AAA/AA) 2B Earl Adams, 1 (WBL) |
| SB | OF Ty Cobb, 52 (WBL) | Many with 0 |
| WAR | OF Al Kaline, 4.9 (WBL) | 1B Eric Hosmer, -3.0 (WBL) |
| W | Ray Washburn, 17 (—) | Doyle Alexander, 1 (WBL/AAA/AA) |
| SV | Mike Henneman, 38 (WBL) | |
| ERA | Ray Washburn, 2.44 (—) | Dennis Rasmussen, 6.75 (—) |
| WAR | Ray Washburn, 5.6 (—) | Vernon Wilshire, -0.7 (WBL/AAA) |