Brennan Boesch

The shine on Boesch's once-promising future faded significantly last season. Originally pegged as a breakout candidate due to a cushy everyday spot as the Tigers' No. 2 hitter ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, Boesch failed to seize the opportunity and was eventually relegated to part-time duty by season's end. The 27-year-old outfielder hit just .240 with 12 homers and 54 RBI in 470 at-bats. He was particularly bad against lefties, which used to be a strength for the left-handed hitting Boesch, slashing just .230/.292/.333 in 126 at-bats. The Tigers have publicly said they are not giving up on Boesch, but his role with the team is very much up in the air. With Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter, Andy Dirks and Avisail Garcia all ahead of him on the depth chart, Boesch will have to impress in spring training to earn more than a bench role come Opening Day. There's also a possibility Boesch could be traded, which would likely open up more playing time and give him an opportunity to bounce back.

In 2011, Boesch shrugged off his second-half slump during his rookie season to establish himself as a legitimate everyday option for the Tigers. The 27-year-old outfielder hit .283 with 16 home runs, 54 RBI and 75 runs in 428 at-bats. He also showed improvements on defense, raising his fielding percentage from .957 as a rookie to .985 last year. If it weren’t for a thumb injury derailing the final two months of the season, Boesch would have approached 600 at-bats. He underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and should be back to full strength well before spring training. With renewed health, improved defense and steady growth at the plate, Boesch is once again poised to take on a big role in the Tigers outfield.

Boesch's 2010 season was a tale of two halves. Prior to the All-Star break, the 26-year-old made a push to be included in the Mid-Summer Classic, hitting .342 with 12 homers and 49 RBI in 243 at-bats. After the break, Boesch struggled to the tune of .163/.237/.222 in 221 at-bats. Boesch also had problems with his glove, finishing with the lowest fielding percentage (.957) of any outfielder in the majors with at least 100 starts. His second-half swoon at the dish and struggles in the field have left Boesch's role for 2011 in question. With the re-signing of Magglio Ordonez, Boesch will be relegated to fourth outfielder, at best. The young left-handed slugger showed enough potential in the first half of the 2010 season to warrant a look in deep formats and keeper leagues, but the reduced playing time entering the 2011 season should be enough to hold off on selecting him in shallower formats.

Boesch burst onto the scene in 2009, leading the Eastern League in home runs (28), extra-base hits (61) and total bases (269). The one area where Boesch needs to display some improvement is in his judgment of the strike zone – he struck out a whopping 127 times compared to just 33 walks. The tall lefty (6-foot-5, 185 pounds) was promoted to the 40-man roster in November, but he’ll probably spend most of his time honing his batting eye and defensive skills with Triple-A Toledo in 2010.