Former Tigers prospect Cameron Maybin still has a fan in Al Kaline.
“I’ve been watching him in the box scores,” Kaline, a vice president in the Tigers’ front office, recently told the Palm Beach Post. “He’s going to be a special player, no question about that. He needs a little bit of seasoning, particularly at a higher level. He’s going to be a player people will talk about for years.”
Maybin, who was dealt to Florida along with Andrew Miller in the deal that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit two winters ago, struggled at times last year at Double A, but certainly opened some eyes by hitting .500 (16-for-32) during his two-week September call-up with the Marlins.
This spring, he’s batted .333 (17-for-51) with a homer, two RBIs and two stolen bases and, barring injury, will be the Marlins Opening Day center fielder. He also is likely to be the club’s leadoff hitter, at least at the start.
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Kaline, who worked with Maybin after the Asheville, N.C., high-schooler was drafted 10th overall in 2005, believes his former mentee eventually will become a force in the middle of a lineup despite never showing a whole lot of muscle in the minors.
“He could go both ways, but I think he’s going to be a No. 3 hitter,” the Hall of Fame right fielder told the Post. “He’s got great power, great speed. He’s a good outfielder. The only thing that he doesn’t do well is recognize the breaking ball. Once the game slows down a little bit more for him and he finds out exactly what kind of hitter he is, he is going to be special.”
Maybin, no doubt, was promoted to the majors too quickly. With the Tigers desperately clinging to the playoff race in 2007, they brought him up in mid-August despite a mere 20 at-bats at Double A. And in just his second game, he hit his first homer, off Roger Clemens at Yankee Stadium, no less. But over the next 22 games, he hit .119 and clearly made the Tigers quite comfortable removing his “untouchable” tag in trade talks.
Last season, he played 108 games at Double A before the Marlins came calling.
So, is he ready now? Who knows.
