Preview/Prediction

The Detroit Tigers are exactly two ninths of the way through the 2009 campaign. Detroit is in excellent position to make a run in the month of May and gain some breathing room between themselves and the rest of the Central Division.

The Tigers have had four separate three-game winning streaks, but have been unable to win four in a row this year. On Tuesday night Detroit will attempt to end that trend as Dontrelle Willis once again seeks his first victory as a member of the Tigers.

The story for Joe Mauer keeps getting better.

The two-time American League batting champ spent this last offseason recuperating from surgery to remove a kidney obstruction.

Mauer then missed all of spring training—and the first 22 games of the 2009 season—with an inflamed joint in his back that kept him on the disabled list.

No one could predict whether these injuries might add up to a lost season for Mauer.

Not to worry.

It's been all systems-go for Mauer thus far in 2009.

The Seattle Mariners No. 1 prospect for 2009, outfielder Greg Halman, is currently wit the class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.

Halman is the starting center fielder for West Tennessee. He's currently hitting .216 with 12 HR, 29 hits, 30 RBI, 2 SB and 57 SO in 134 at-bats this season.

Halman is one of the many power hitters in the Mariners farm system. The only problem with Halman is that he strikes out way to much and he's not patient.

Halman only has seven walks to his 57 strikeouts.

June 1 tends to be the time when a lot of the top prospects start getting called up.  We are now two weeks away, so let’s take a look at seven prospects (I left out names like Clay Buchholz and Lastings Milledge, who have already seen extended time in the major leagues) that should be on owners radars, as they could offer potential help once recalled:

Matt Wieters - Baltimore Orioles

Welcome back A-Rod, and thank you.

He's only just returned, had his first and second games at the new stadium, but already Alex Rodriguez is making a difference.

On Saturday, he helped the Yankees to consecutive win No. 4.

The Yankess finally seem to be clicking, and think what you want about A-Rod, his arrival is playing a big part.

It's early, and hardly time to worry or brag about a win, but defending that ridiculously awesome offseason spending spree is difficult when a championship-on-paper team is sitting on a mediocre .500 record.

This is not a list of who I think belongs in the Hall of Fame. This is a list showing the way I think the BBWAA will vote.

I know some think that the “Crime Dog” should be admitted post haste. Maybe so, but not if voters conduct themselves according to their record instead of according to Hoyle.

A person has to be great if they want a first ballot nomination. It happens, but you have to be special like Stan Musial, Nolan Ryan or even Ricky Henderson. The Fred McGriff’s of the game do not usually make it for several years if at all.

Am I slamming McGriff?

While I stayed up late last night and watched Jon Lester collapse again with a 4-0 lead against the Mariners, I was incredibly frustrated.  Between Lester, Josh Beckett and David Ortiz, the core of the Red Sox, neither are performing well. 

So, I needed to find my 'Happy Place'.  Who can help save the Red Sox?  I thought, let's go farming and take a look at the Red Sox top prospects.  What does Theo Epstein have in his system?

Clay Buchholz

Call it the series of the Midgets. But the Pirates finally have some "easy" opponents for a change.

The 14-20 Pirates will play their next 10 games against teams with three of the worst records in the majors. The Colorado Rockies are 13-20. The Washington Nationals are even worse. The Chicago White Sox are a tad better. No team has a lower won-loss percentage than the Nats, and only four more teams are worse than the other two, and not much worse at that.

After struggling against the Yankees against very effective pitching with CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, the Jays are looking for a rebound against the struggling Chicago White Sox.

Chicago's White Sox have badly struggled recently, with injury woes and underperformance in their offense and starting pitching. In the Cleveland series, Gavin Floyd struggled, giving up eight runs in the outing. With his opposition being Roy Halladay on Sunday, Floyd will have to be better or the White Sox will be in trouble.