The Fan Hub

With the Detroit Tigers’ recent off-season acquisition of Prince Fielder, the Motor City appears to be in a great position for the next several seasons. While their farm system might lack depth, they have several young components already in the Majors that they can use over the next decade.

With their entire rotation averaging 27 years old and every single position in the field under the age of 30, the Tigers have both time and flexibility in terms of how they wish to bolster their farm system. They can trade for prospects at will, seeing as their entire team is either in their prime or about to enter it. Victor Martinez, for example, could be a player used to pick up some prospects in the future once he returns from injury, and young stars such as Alex Avila, Rick Porcello, and Brennan Broesch also hold high value should Detroit elect to use any of them as trade bait in the future.

Rotation-wise they already have their ace in Justin Verlander, and Porcello, Doug Fister, and Max Scherzer are all entering their primes. That’s without even mentioning the handful of youngsters that will compete for that 5th spot as well as filling out the bullpen. In fact, the Tigers have an inordinate amount of pitching depth, with Joaquin Benoit, Jose Valverde, Phil Coke, and Octavio Dotel also being shoe-ins in the pen. That pitching depth and the widespread playoff experience of the entire club will undoubtedly come in handy over the course of this upcoming season

Basically, the Tigers roster is complete for the next several years, and while they could use some middle infield help in the minors (to eventually replace Jhonny Peralta), Detroit has more than enough major league talent to work some trade magic.

— Ryan Gilmore