Chart Observations: DET @ HOU

1) Justin Verlander: 118 pitches. 10 strikes swinging. 8 on Fastballs (3 in 1st, 2nd, 2 in 3rd, 4th, 6th) and 2 on changeups (both in 1st)

• He came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run and a little sink in on righties, a change with excellent fade and sink, a 12-6 curve with good depth and bite and a sharp 2-7 slider with some bite, but not much. He will throw changes to righties and only threw the slider to righties, mostly Hunter Pence. Verlander's command wasn't as good as it has been and he was pitching to the middle of the plate quite a bit.

1st: FB (93-100), CB (77-83), CU (83-84)

2nd: FB (92-96), CB (78), CU (83)

3rd: FB (91-99), CB (79-83), CU (83), SL (88)

4th: FB (92-96), CB (77-80)

5th: FB (92-94), CB (77), CU (81), SL (87)

6th: FB (93-97), CB (78-81), CU (84)

2) Wandy Rodriguez: 106 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 on Curves (both in 2nd) and a Change (1st)

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a big breaking 11-5 curve with good depth and a straight change with a little sink. I am not a huge fan, as his command is erratic and doesn't have a true out pitch. He is a # 3 or # 4 starter.

1st: FB (90-93), CB (75-78), CU (85-87)

2nd: FB (89-92), CB (78), CU (85)

3rd: FB (89-91), CU (83-84)

4th: FB (88-90), CB (74-77)

5th: FB (88-93), CB (75-81), CU (83)

6th: FB (87-90), CB (73-76)

3) Nate Robertson: 3 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• The Tigers latest attempt to make Nate Robertson relevant is to use him as a loogy. He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some sink and a little run in on righties. He is a long reliever and doesn't make a good LOOGY due to him not having a dominant off speed pitch for lefties.

6th: FB (86-88)

4) Zach Miner: 18 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Miner is a 6-3, 200 pound righty. The 27 year old has a medium to big frame that is nearly maxed out. He comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball is a 2-seam with excellent run in on righties and has some sink. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with good bite. His change has a little fade and sink that he will throw to righties. His curve is a 1-7 pitch with solid depth. He is in the perfect role for him, to pitch the 6th and 7th to get them to their end game guys. May be able to hold a Scot Shields type role for a couple of years.

6th: FB (93-94), SL (83)

7th: FB (92-95), SL (81), CU (81), CB (74)

5) Alberto Arias: 32 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Curve (both in 7th)

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a power 12-6 curve and a fastball with excellent run and sink in on righties. Still a fan of this guy.

7th: FB (92-96), CB (80-83)

8th: FB (92-94), CB (80-82)

6) Tim Byrdak: 10 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball and a sharp 11-4 slider with solid bite.

8th: FB (90-92), SL (84-85)

7) Chris Sampson: 7 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 2-seam fastball with good run and sink in on righties, a 2-7 slider with solid bite and a 2-7 curve that had some depth and was slower then his slider.

8th: FB (87-89), SL (81-84), CB (76)

8) Joel Zumaya: 30 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Zumaya is a 6-3, 210 pound righty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a 3/4, almost high 3/4 release. His fastball is a dead straight 4-seam that can flash some run in on righties. He has a classic drop and drive delivery and alsoo shows a 1-8 power curve with good depth. His command was a question in this outing, but his mechanics appear to be pretty clean. Future closer.

7th: CB (80-81)

8th: FB (99-102), CB (80-82)

9) Freddy Dolsi: 3 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Dolsi is a 6-0, 160 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle. He is your typical long and lanky pitcher. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball has excellent run in on righties while his slider is a 2-7 pitch with okay bite. He was in the middle of the plate with his fastball and struggles to command it due to the movement he generates with it. He is a solid middle reliever who could be a set-up man if he figures out his fastball command.

8th: FB (95), SL (86)

10) LaTroy Hawkins: 10 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Hawkins came from an over the top release and showed a sharp 12-6 curve with good depth, a sharp slider that moves more like a cutter and a straight 4-seam fastball.

9th: FB (93-96), SL (88-90), CB (79-81)

Chart Observations: DET @ PIT

• Zach Duke is a 6-2, 205 pound lefty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that can get up to 215. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball shows some fade and a little sink. His change has more fade and sink then his fastball. His curveball is a big breaking 11-5 offering with good depth. His slider is an 11-4 offering with good bite that he prefers to throw to lefties. Duke is a good # 4 starter when he is throwing strikes with his curve and is a 4-A arm if he isn't.

1st: FB (89-90), CB (74), CU (83-84)

2nd: FB (89-90), CB (74-76), CU (83)

3rd: FB (88-90), CB (73-74), CU (82-83)

4th: FB (87-89), CB (73-75), CU (80-81), SL (80)

5th: FB (87-90), CB (74), CU (82-83), SL (80)

6th: FB (88-89), CB (72), CU (81-82)

7th: FB (87-88), CB (72), CU (80), SL (78)

8th: FB (86-89), CB (72-74), SL (77)

• Armando Galarraga, a 6-4 180 pound righty, opposed him. The 27 year old has a big frame that can add a lot more muscle. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade and a little sink. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with solid bite. He will throw get me over sliders and sharper sliders for strikeouts. His change shows some fade, but is pretty straight. Galarraga is a # 5 starter right now, as he consistently falls behind hitters and really is just FB-SL and neither pitch is good enough to be a 2-pitch pitcher (FB is slightly above average, SL is above average, CU is below average). Perhaps the worst sign for him is that he has lost the confidence of his manager.

1st: FB (88-92), SL (81-86)

2nd: FB (88-92), SL (83-86), CU (84-86)

3rd: FB (88-90), SL (82-85), CU (84)

• Nate Robertson is a 6-2, 225 pound lefty. The 31 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball shows some late fade and sink. His slider is a slurvy 11-4, though he will throw a sharper slider with good bite at different times. His change is a straight change that shows some run and sink. He is your typical swingman, someone to throw long relief or start on occasion, but not really good enough to be a short reliever or a # 5 starter. My, his star has fallen.

3rd: FB (86), SL (80), CU (81-82)

4th: FB (85-88), SL (80-83), CU (80-84)

• Ryan Perry is a 6-4, 200 pound righty. The 22 year old has a big frame that can get up to at least 215. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball is a 4-seam with very little sink and fade. His slider is a 12-6, 1-7 type pitch that can be a little loopy and is still a work in progress. His change has good sink and a little fade. He is FB-SL to righties and FB-CU to lefties (at least in this game, I imagine he throws the SL to lefties as well). His upside is that of a closer with his velocity, but he is more likely to be a set-up man due to his command issues and the needed development of his secondary pitches. Right now, he is a 9th or 10th guy on a staff.

5th: FB (94-96)

6th: FB (94-97), SL (81-85), CU (87)

• Bobby Seay is a 6-2, 235 pound lefty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He is a sidearmer that has a 4-seam fastball with good run and a sweeping 9-3 slider with good bite. He is an above average LOOGY and can be the # 1 lefty in a pen.

7th: FB (91-93), SL (81-82)

• Brandon Lyon is a 6-1, 195 pound righty. The 29 year old has a medium frame that can get up to at least 205. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a fastball that shows some fade and sink, a big breaking 12-6 curve with good depth and a cutter that shows decent cut. I think he is more of a middle reliever then a late inning guy, as he lacks that real out pitch.

8th: FB (92), CB (76-77), Cut (90)

• Jesse Chavez comes from an over the top release with a fastball that shows some fade, a hard change with good fade and some sink and a sharp slider with good bite. Set-up man ceiling who can probably occasionally close some games.

9th: FB (94-96), SL (90), CU (87)

• Andrew McCutchen is a 5-11, 175 pound center fielder. The 22 year old is a righty hitter/thrower and has a small frame that can add a lot more muscle (at least 190). He has a slightly open stance with a little bat tap. His trigger is a stride and shifting of his weight to his back leg. He has an above average arm with plus speed, giving him the potential to be a plus defensive centerfielder. McCutchen is more of a gap to gap hitter now and I don't think he will ever be a huge home run guy, but 15-20 in his prime isn't out of the question. He shows a solid eye at the plate and he has an aura about him. Watching him play, it is almost as if he knows he is better then everyone else and needs to prove it to everyone else. I like the kid and think he is a quality top of the order bat in development.