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On Tuesday, it was reported that the Detroit Tigers had recalled outfielder Tyler Collins. It was later confirmed that he would be taking the place of designated hitter Victor Martinez, who was placed on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his left knee. It is the same knee that Martinez had surgery on over the offseason after tearing his medial meniscus.
By this time, most Tigers fans are undoubtedly familiar with Collins. After the injury to Andy Dirks last year, Collins was able to make the team’s Opening Day roster, and although he was sent down soon after, he ultimately returned in September. Overall, he batted .250/.280/.375 with a homer and four RBIs over 18 games with the big league club. In between his two stops with the Tigers, he hit .263/.335/.423 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs during his time in Triple-A Toledo.
In Spring Training of this year, Collins was believed to have a solid chance to crack the Tigers’ 25-man roster as their fifth outfielder, but the final bench spots went to utility players Andrew Romine and Hernan Perez instead. While he had to wait a little bit longer than some expected, Collins may now have an opportunity to shine in 2015.
Sure, Collins was off to a bit of a slow start in Toledo this year, hitting only .248/.338/.301 with zero home runs and nine RBIs, but the lefty was doing quite a bit of damage against right-handed pitching, hitting .316/.430/.395 with six doubles. So far, Collins has gone 2-for-7 for the Tigers this year, with all of his at-bats coming against RHP. The Tigers have lacked left-handed pop this season, and Collins should definitely be able to help out in that department.
While the switch-hitting Martinez was clearly the Tigers’ biggest left-handed hitting threat in 2014, his knee truly seemed to bother him from that side this year as he was hitting only .141 with a .395 OPS while batting left-handed. Furthermore, catcher Alex Avila, another one of the Tigers’ left-handed bats, is currently on the DL with a knee injury himself. While Anthony Gose has been having a great year, the Tigers’ only other left-handed batter after him has been the light-hitting, switch-hitting Romine, further illustrating the need for someone like Collins.
Over the course of his minor league career, Collins has hit a solid .271/.347/.434 while showing an ability to hit for extra bases with regularity. He should be more than capable of delivering some much-needed left-handed punch while V-Mart focuses on getting healthy.
Brad Faber is a Senior 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.
