MLB Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers Need Anibal Sanchez To Step Up In 2015

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By @Brad_Faber

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It is hard to believe that in 2015, Anibal Sanchez will already be pitching in year No. 3 of the five-year, $80 million deal he signed with the Detroit Tigers back in December of 2012. It could turn out to be the most important year of his contract thus far as well.

It is widely expected that Max Scherzer, the Tigers’ ace of the past two seasons, will soon be signing with another club. Although there has been some talk about Detroit dealing another one of their starters and re-signing the 30-year-old Scherzer, the most likely scenario still appears that the Tigers will be heading into the 2015 season with David Price poised to become their new ace.

After Price, some combination of Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Sanchez and a yet to be determined No. 5 starter are in line to follow. Verlander will be coming off of two consecutive down seasons, and although Porcello still had a career year in 2014, he fell apart in September, going 0-4 with a 6.20 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Hopefully they can bounce back, but it will be very interesting to see what 2015 has in store for each of them.

Sanchez could very well turn out to be the Tigers’ x-factor next year. Since first joining the Tigers after coming over in a trade with the Miami Marlins back in the summer of 2012, he has been nothing short of excellent when healthy.

Although Sanchez’s terrific 2013 season became lost in the shuffle to a certain extent as it coincided with Scherzer’s magical Cy Young award-winning run, it was truly something special nevertheless. He ended up posting a 14-8 record, an AL-best 2.57 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. His 2.39 FIP also led the AL and tied with Clayton Kershaw for second-best among all MLB starters, trailing only Matt Harvey.

Although Sanchez was bitten by the injury bug in 2014, spending a couple of stints on the DL, he still showed flashes of his 2013 brilliance. From May through June, he posted a 5-0 record with a 2.44 ERA in nine starts. He also dazzled in his lone postseason appearance against the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 ALDS, tossing two scoreless innings of relief.

With Scherzer likely to depart and other uncertainties in the rotation, it would be absolutely huge for the Tigers if Sanchez can stay healthy in 2015 and be the dominant No. 2 or No. 3 starter he is capable of being.

Brad Faber is a Detroit Tigers writer and Sabermetrics columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.

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