According to The Detroit Free Press, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said Thursday that if free agent second baseman Placido Polanco moves on, minor leaguer Scott Sizemore will most likely replace him:
Sizemore, who turns 25 on Jan. 4, was a fifth-round draft pick three years ago. He has climbed through the system, and this season was named the organization's minor league position
player of the year.
Splitting this season between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, Sizemore batted a combined .308 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs.
"We think he's ready to play," Dombrowski said at his end-of-season session with the local media. "He's a good hitter. He's got a short stroke. He's not a long-swing guy."
Like Polanco, Sizemore bats right-handed. "He's probably got a little more pop (than Polanco), but he doesn't make as much contact," Dombrowski said.
Polanco hit 10 homers this season, his high in four full seasons with the Tigers. But as usual he was about as hard to strike out as anyone in the league. Sizemore fanned once every 5 1/2 at-bats.
"He's a solid second baseman
," Dombrowski said of Sizemore. "He still has some things to learn around the bag, but he's been playing there for a while. Now, he's not as defensively sure-handed as (Polanco). I don't know if anybody in baseball is."
Back in July, I thought Sizemore might get a September call-up, but that never happened. The following are my thoughts from mid-season:
Scott Sizemore has gone from middling prospect to the second baseman of the future for the Tigers. Although Baseball America (BA) has him ranked as Detroit’s 7th best prospect, he had never shown the type offensive potential he is showing now. In fact, it was widely thought that his Double-A teammate, Cale Iorg, the Tigers’ 3rd best prospect per BA, would reach the Majors before Sizemore.
After torching the AA-Eastern League for Erie (.307 AVG, .937 OPS in 228 ABs), Sizemore is continuing to flash for AAA-Toledo of the International League (.317, .897 in 85 ABs). He only played in 53 games last year due to a broken wrist he sustained in July. Looks to us like Scott’s making up for lost time.
With current Tigers 2B Placido Polanco (.255 AVG, .690 OPS) in the last year of his contract, and Iorg struggling with AA pitching (.219 BA, 80 SO, 16 BB, 278 ABs), one has to think Sizemore will get a good look in September. At the least, his excellent on-base skills won’t hurt your team if you need a middle infielder down the stretch.
Y’all should know this is a situation MLBFP will be monitoring closely.
