Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Before being suspended for his connection to the PED scandal, Jhonny Peralta was one of the more productive of the Detroit Tigers’ second line of offense. He was batting .303 and had 11 home runs and 55 RBI. Needless to say, him being on the Tigers’ ALDS roster should be a boost for the team. It really doesn’t seem like that will be the case however. Despite what he brings to the table, the Tigers are probably just as good if not better without him.
To clarify, this is true in my opinion for the Tigers while facing the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. Last season, though Peralta was a pretty productive member of the team as far as batting average goes, he provided very few runs during the ALDS. Versus the A’s he scored one run, drove in zero and added one stolen base. I don’t mean to downplay those stats really but only to add that the Athletics are better this season than last and Peralta has been out of action for the last couple of months.
The chances of him having good timing at this point are slim. Jim Leyland’s ace in the hole during this series is going to be his pitching staff anyway. If the starters can dominate then they’ll be sitting pretty. If it were me, I would place Peralta on the bench for most of the games unless he was as much of a threat as the player he would replace, wherever he was playing. Considering the time off, it would be best to trust a player that has been in there for the last two months’ grind.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
Related:
Detroit Tigers: Jhonny Peralta Will be the X-Factor During the 2013 ALDS
Jhonny Peralta Deserves Reinstatement to Detroit Tigers’ Roster
