Jeremy Bonderman gets the call as the number one starter and ace of the staff after Kenny Rogers went down in Spring Training with a blood clot in his shoulder. If the experts are right, and Bonderman is to have his breakout year this season, he will have to get on track today going up against one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues, Roy Halliday.
Kenny Rogers going down is not great for the Tigers. It's not even good for the Tigers, but it may be good for Jeremy Bonderman. It is his time to take the knowledge he got last season, where he and his teammates learned how to win together and put one foot forward in the right direction as a bona fide number one starter.
Yes, Kenny Rogers is the number one starter for the Tigers, but Bonderman was in 2005, and he will likely be in 2008 or 2009, as Rogers either moves to another team or retires from baseball. The Tigers have some great pitching, Justin Verlander (too green), Nate Robertson (getting there), and Mike Maroth (to questionable), but Bonderman is the only one at this time deserving the number one starter title.
Sure, Verlander might be able to be a number one as early as next year, and Maroth was starting to show signs of greatness before an elbow injury cost him his breakout year. Robertson will never be a number one, but is a hard-battling number two or three type. Bonderman, however, is and will be the only one who can be named as "ace of the staff" at this point for the 2007 Tigers.
So, is this going to be the breakout year that everyone predicts for Jeremy Bonderman? The answer is an emphatic maybe. Becoming the number one will help and hinder him at the same time. He could go 14-8 like last year, but he will likely match up with the best starters in the game this year. Case in point, his start against Halliday today.
If Bonderman is to go 14-8 this year, his ERA and strikouts will likely be much more improved than his totals last year, which were nothing to scoff at. As the number two or three, he would likely go 18-6 or something, but he is going to lose more games that he pitches well enough to win this year going up against the likes of Halliday, Santana, et al every fifth day.
Bonderman won't win the Cy Young, but he will keep his team in games and get the big strikeouts when needed. His ERA will drop to about 3.50, and his strikeouts will stay about the same. He will not have the blowup he had last year in Minnesota after pitching seven shutout innings and lose 6-3. He'll win that game and lot more, and the Tigers will still be in contention for the AL Central when Rogers, who usually tires in the second half, but won't pitch the first half, returns.
And Mike Maroth will go 16-5...
Mark my words...
