Series Preview: Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers

Players to Watch: Tigers

Miguel Cabrera: This is pretty much self-explanatory. Cabrera is a beast and continues to be one of the best all around hitters in the game today. Given the Tribe’s recent struggles in the pitching department, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Cabrera puts up some huge numbers this weekend.

Prince Fielder: He’s not as good of an all around hitter as Cabrera, but he’s just as powerful and just as dangerous. Again, with the Indians’ pitching staff struggling so mightily right now, Fielder could be poised for a big series. If the Tribe decides to avoid Cabrera at all costs Fielder could reap the benefits. That ultimately is why the Tigers decided to pair up Fielder and Cabrera. Pick your poison and pray for the best.

Players to Watch: Indians

Carlos Santana: Santana has finally broken out of his season long slump. I guess it’s better late than never, but it’s still disheartening that he couldn’t turn things around sooner. Then again, maybe Santana’s resurgence can serve as the catalyst to ignite the Indians. If they can put things together and make one last run at winning the division, the return of Carlos Santana will be a big reason why.

Jason Kipnis: It would figure that as Santana is starting to come around, Kipnis would start to fall back to reality. After a great first half of the season, Kipnis hasn’t been able to make any type of impact with his bat, especially when it comes to counting statistics like home runs and RBI. While he’s been able to maintain a reasonable average around .275, he just isn’t coming through with the big hits like he was back in May and June. He needs to be better, especially if he’s the type of player we all think he can be.