Underachievers: The Tigers' Alleged Aces - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Coming into the season, the Tigers were everyone's darlings. Why not? They had a ridiculous offense and a starting rotation capable of piling up the wins with the large expected run support. The problems that most overlooked were that the bullpen is awful (with injuries to Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya the main benefactors), Dontrelle Willis sucks, and Kenny Rogers is ancient. Personally, I didn't like them as much as others because of all this. Still, though, no one expected Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman to struggle this mightily. Both should have been armed and ready for a big season.

Bonderman is still only 25 -- doesn't it seem like he's been around forever? -- and has shown the ability to strikeout hitters (202 K in '07) and control his pitches (only averaged 56 BB/season from '05-'07) with the best. His ERA has never been stellar, but with a natural progression and the bashers supporting him you had to expect he'd be able to garner the victories in '08.

Verlander is also 25, and he's a phenom. He won 35 games in the past two years while upping his punchouts to 183 last year in just over 200 innings. With a triple digit heater and some filthy off-speeders, you'd figure him for the Cy Young race this season.

Instead, something is wrong. With both of them.

Bonderman can't throw a strike this season. He's walked 25 guys in only 41 innings, and even when he doesn't give free passes he's falling behind in the count -- which only sets up pitchers for failure. His stuff isn't what he showed it could be back in 2006, and he's not even averaging six innings per start.

Verdict: Cut bait. I don't like the chances for him to flip a switch and get going again. He could be hurt, or just mentally whipped. Either way, I'd trade him to someone who thinks they are buying low if you own him, and I wouldn't even consider trading for him if you don't.

Verlander is even more perplexing. He was the one pitching ace I targeted in drafts this pre-season (fortunately I wasn't alone since someone always snagged him before I did!). His ERA has jumped from 3.63 to 3.66 to 6.43 in his three seasons. He's already given up seven jacks in 49 innings (he only yielded 20 in 201.7 innings last season), and it's likely due to his lack of control. He's currently sitting with 21 walks and he only walked 67 dudes all year last season. On the other hand, he doesn't seem injured. His stuff is good enough to get him going again if the control gets figured out.

Verdict: Go get him. I'm calling his control to get worked out and everything will fall into place like that. Remember how bad Carlos Zambrano was last year until June? Verlander's stuff is better -- when he's on -- and he's got a potentially better offense to support him. The walks will come down, and the wins will go up. If you own him, suck it up. If you don't, now is the perfect time to buy low after yet another terrible outing last night.