Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals

Tyler Collins would give the Detroit Tigers a left-handed hitter with some pop in his bat off teh bench in the postseason. But will they carry him on their postseason roster?

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

DETROIT -- Now that the Detroit Tigers have clinched a fourth consecutive division title, there is one question that fans will ask more than any other: Will the Tigers win the World Series?

The answer: I have no idea.

But the second-most asked question will be regarding the playoff roster. Which 25 players will the Tigers carry for the American League Division Series?

Before we get down to the business of predicting which players will ultimately end up on the roster, allow me first to make a case for Tyler Collins over Ezequiel Carrera. If the Tigers have to pick between the two of them, they should take Collins. Assuming Rajai Davis is healthy, of course.

The Tigers don't have anyone on the bench who bats left-handed who has any pop in his bat. Collins does. He isn't the pure base-stealing threat that Carrera is, but he runs well.

Collins is a solid but not spectacular defender, but that's not a major sticking point. Carrera has made some nice but also some brutal plays in the outfield for the Tigers, who should just stick with Davis in center and J.D. Martinez in left in the late innings rather than bring Carrera in as a defensive replacement.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Sunday that Carrera is a better defensive center fielder than Don Kelly and Collins. I disagree. Carrera can cover more ground than both of them, but he also is more likely to make a game-changing mistake than the other two.

Kelly might be the safest bet to make all the routine plays. Carrera has more range than both the other two. Collins is the most likely of the three to get a game-changing extra-base hit.

So, it says here that, if they have to make a choice, the Tigers should take Collins over Carrera. But it seems extremely likely that Ausmus, Dave Dombrowski and the Tigers will disagree with me.

Let's move on and take a stab at predicting who they will take.

With one fewer starting pitcher needed, the Tigers will have the choice of taking an extra relief pitcher or an extra position player. Let's start by filling the seven spots in the bullpen and choosing 13 position players before settling on the final player.

Starting pitchers (4 spots): David Price, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello.

This is set in stone. There is no point wasting valuable keystrokes analyzing it.

Relief pitchers (7 spots): Joe Nathan, Joba Chamberlain, Joakim Soria, Anibal Sanchez, Al Alburquerque, Phil Coke.

With six guys who appear to be locks listed above, that leaves one spot for either right-hander Jim Johnson or a second left-hander (most likely Kyle Lobstein, Kyle Ryan or Blaine Hardy).

I am going to go with Lobstein over Ryan and the rest. Ryan basically replaced Hardy as the second lefty in the final days of the season, but Lobstein has pitched extremely well as a starter. The Tigers also could use a guy who can go multiple innings. Left-handed hitters have batted .217 with a .620 OPS against him.

Yep. Going with Lobstein. But there's a decent chance I'll be wrong here.

Position players (13 spots): Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Andrew Romine, Nick Castellanos, Alex Avila, Rajai Davis, Torii Hunter, J.D. Martinez, Eugenio Suarez, Bryan Holaday and Don Kelly.

Thirteen certain openings. Twelve names listed. (Again, this assumes that Davis is healthy enough to play.)

So, the final spot comes down to Carrera or one of the September call-ups. Having a guy who can steal a base at any time can be valuable in the postseason, when runs are at a premium. Carrera is not the threat on the bases that Quintin Berry was in 2012, but he has 50 steals this season between Triple-A Toledo (43) and Detroit (seven).

My guess is the Tigers will take Carrera. But if they do, he should be used almost exclusively as a pinch runner.

To be determined (1 spot): We are down to one spot, which I see going to either Johnson or Collins. If the Tigers are concerned because Sanchez has pitched just one inning since early August, they might take Johnson just to be safe. But with Sanchez in the mix, the Tigers already have five right-handers in the bullpen. Based on that, let's give the edge to Collins for the final roster spot.

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