Before the 2015 season began, there were some who were unsure of what to expect from Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler. After all, he may have been an All-Star last year, but he really stumbled to the finish line, hitting .239/.270/.357 after the All-Star break and going just 1-for-12 in the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles.

In contrast to last season, Kinsler may have started out a bit slowly this year, hitting .274/.339/.375 with very little power in the first half, but he absolutely caught fire after the All-Star break. At the end of the year, Kinsler was slashing .296/.342/.428 with 11 home runs and 73 RBIs.

Sure, the power was down, but the .296 batting average was his highest since 2008, when he batted .319 through 121 games as a member of the Texas Rangers.His on-base percentage of .342 was also much improved from last year’s overall mark of .307, and a big reason for that was because of his walk rate, which rose from 4.0 percent last year to 6.4 percent this year.

Kinsler was also noticeably better at squaring up the ball this year. While he posted a line drive rate of just 19.6 percent last year, he had a mark of 25.4 percent this year, which happened to rank 11th among all qualified hitters in MLB. His pull rate of 41.9 percent also matched a career low this year, and he seemed to do a much better job of utilizing the opposite field.

It has also become nearly impossible to talk about Kinsler without discussing his stellar defense. He led all qualified second basemen in the game with a 6.7 UZR/150 and 19 DRS, which should certainly earn him plenty of consideration for an AL Gold Glove award this year.

To put it simply, Kinsler had a very well-rounded, underrated season. Even though he will be turning 34 years old next season, it is safe to say that the Tigers have a rock-solid second baseman.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber or “Like” him on Facebook.