As long as he continues to hit David Ross Jersey , Niko Goodrum could find himself playing everyday, but at a different position each game."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsDetroit Tigers Season PreviewNiko Goodrum’s diverse skill set and power bat should keep him in the lineup everydayNew,9commentsAs long as he continues to hit, Niko Goodrum could find himself playing everyday, but at a different position each game.EDTShareTweetShareShareNiko Goodrum’s diverse skill set and power bat should keep him in the lineup everydayButch Dill-USA TODAY SportsUtility (adjective): useful, especially through being able to perform several functions.Through the years, the Detroit Tigers have had decent success in finding and utilizing productive utility players. While these gentlemen are typically billed as the 25th member of the roster, their versatility is a valuable and underrated asset to any team. Whether it be Andrew Romine or Shane Halter playing all nine positions in a game during down seasons, or Don Kelly coming in clutch with a big-time playoff home run against the Yankees, good utility players are up to whatever task they are asked to perform in any situation. Enter Niko Goodrum, a minor league signee last spring who played his way onto the roster and into the hearts of all Tigers’ fans. He is the new utility man in town, and his high level of play has him in a position to take on an even bigger role with the team in 2019.Goodrum, who only earned 18 major league plate appearances in his long career in the Minnesota Twins organization, was one of few success stories for the Tigers in 2018. In 492 plate appearances, he hit a solid .245/.315/.432 with 16 homers and 12 stolen bases, which was good for a 103 wRC+. While it’s not an exact science, that’s a pace of over 20 homers and 15 steals in 600 plate appearances, a full season of major league work. His patience at the plate wasn’t spectacular http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , but solid enough at an 8.5 percent walk rate, and his .187 ISO helped out. Not bad for a guy who never hit more than 13 homers in a minor league season. Goodrum’s hitting is only half the story, however. In the field, he proved valuable by being able to play all over the diamond. While he has yet to pull an #AllNineRomine and perform at every position, Goodrum played everywhere except center field, catcher, and pitcher. He wasn’t a standout at any position, and didn’t accumulate enough innings anywhere for defensive metrics to become meaningful. He passed the eye test at most spots, though — I vaguely remember a couple bone-headed plays coming at first base and third base.What’s next for Goodrum in 2019?This offseason, the Tigers brought in former Pirates double play duo Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison to play shortstop and second base, respectively. In the outfield, Nicholas Castellanos will get the majority of his at bats from right field, while Christin Stewart looks poised to play everyday in left. Where does that leave Goodrum? It’s safe to assume the Tigers aren’t going to leave a bat as effective as his on the bench. Well, the answer is pretty simple: everywhere, most likely.Now that Victor Martinez has retired to Florida to enjoy his second life as a cattle rancher (yes, really), the Tigers have flexibility at the designated hitter spot for the first time in many years. Goodrum will certainly get some plate appearances out of that spot, along with some starts in place for an aging Miguel Cabrera and defensively-challenged Castellanos and Stewart in the outfield if and when they rotate through the DH spot. Goodrum will also get his chances at short and second base Drew Smyly Jersey , given rest and injuries, as well as some run in center field while JaCoby Jones recovers from his shoulder injury. Given his versatility, it’s safe to say that Goodrum will serve in a super-utility role: an everyday player playing a different position every game.If there’s a concern to be had, it’s that Goodrum has a long swing. But while he’s susceptible to the strikeout — he whiffed in 26.8 percent of plate appearances last year — his upside at the plate makes him a threat wherever manager Ron Gardenhire chooses to bat him. Goodrum absolutely raked during spring training, and while that doesn’t really matter much given his roster spot was never in jeopardy, it’s safe to say that, when combined with his 2018, he has earned his opportunity as an everyday player.The only catch? When he show up to the ballpark, he better have brought all of his gloves. Just in case. NEW YORK — The one-game wild-card game often gets referred to as a cage match where teams will do anything to win.In this year’s edition of the American League play-in game, the pitching approaches for the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics will be distinctly different Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.Luis Severino will start the wild-card game for the second straight season for the Yankees, while Oakland will use Liam Hendriks to begin the game and employ the opener strategy similar to what the Tampa Bay Rays used for portions of their season.Article continues below ...While both teams share similar records — the Yankees were 100-62 and the Athletics were 97-65 — their starting pitching was different.New York’s starting pitchers were 65-42 with a 4.05 ERA while working 861 2/3 innings. Oakland’s starters were 52-48 with a 4.17 ERA and their 824 1/3 innings were the lowest in franchise history in a non-strike season and the third-fewest in the American League.Severino’s contribution was going 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA, though his second half was different than his first half. Before the All-Star break, Severino was 14-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 20 starts, and after the break he was 5-6 with a 5.57 ERA in his last 12 starts.He allowed one run and five hits over six innings while getting a win in the Yankees’ 6-2 victory over Oakland on May 13. But one of those rough second-half starts occurred in Oakland on Sept. 5 when he allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings of an 8-2 loss. Severino rebounded decently to go 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA over his final three starts.It was that body of work along with his overall numbers that led the Yankees to pick Severino over Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ.“Really excited to give him the ball tomorrow,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday afternoon. “I feel like after some bumps in the road, certainly the second half of the season, he’s turned a corner and really started to throw the ball better. I think he’s ready for this.”Severino will be starting the wild-card game for the second straight season. Last year against the Minnesota Twins, he recorded just one out and allowed three runs Brandon Morrow Jersey , forcing the Yankees to get 26 outs from their bullpen in an 8-4 win.Severino is 1-1 with a 5.63 ERA in four postseason starts and seemed to think last year’s rough time against the Twins was due to being too excited.“Maybe too excited trying to do too much,” Severino said. “But the good thing was that we won that game and we’ll move on and do a better job. But, yes, I think that was the main thing, I was too excited.”Should Severino struggle, the Yankees are planning on carrying 10 pitchers, including Happ and Tanaka.Hendriks will likely get the first inning and possibly the second before other pitchers appear for Oakland. The A’s used the opener technique nine times in September and went 4-5 with a 1.86 ERA in those games.Hendriks did it eight times and was 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in that role. One of those times for the Australia native was against the Yankees on Sept. 4 in Oakland’s 5-1 loss when he threw 11 pitches in the opening inning, giving up no runs and no hits.“Part of this was starting Liam, bringing a starter in after that, had mixed results as far as it went,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “Some games were good, some not. Sometimes we tried to extend Liam and tried to get him through a second inning; that didn’t work.“So, there’s been some trial and error with this. But I think the reason that we started looking at this is because we’ve had so many injuries in our rotation, and we’re just trying to do the best possible thing that we think for a particular day.”It is the first time an “opener” has been used in a playoff game, and Hendriks is doing it after being designated for assignment on June 25. Hendriks posted a 7.36 ERA in 13 appearances before getting designated, but he pitched well in Triple-A Nashville and notched a 1.38 ERA in 12 appearances after returning to the majors.“I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m just happy to be on the team, to be honest,” Hendriks said. “Obviously http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , it was a trying year regardless of everything else. But it’s one of those things where I’ve had to adapt, I’ve had to overcome some things this year, and I think it’s made me better. It’s definitely humbled me, it’s definitely brought me back down to earth, and it’s definitely brought out that little animosity about everything, just trying to go out there and prove that I can do this.”Once Hendriks is finished the A’s will have 10 other pitchers, including veteran starter Edwin Jackson along with relievers Fernando Rodney, Jeurys Familia, Shawn Kelley and closer Blake Treinen, who was 9-2 with 38 saves and an 0.78 ERA.The lineups both pitching staffs will be facing are fairly similar. Giancarlo Stanton, who is in the postseason for the first time, hit 38 homers on a team that led the majors by hitting an all-time record 267 homers. Khris Davis led the majors with 48 homers as Oakland finished third in homers at 227.Unlike the Yankees, Oakland didn’t start quickly. While the Yankees were 45-21 through June 15, the A’s were 34-36 and finished the season 63-29 to end up seven games ahead for the second wild-card spot.“It’s been fantastic,” Melvin said. “I think more so because of the group of guys. It’s just been such a fun group. We had similar results in 2012, where we weren’t expected to do a whole lot. We ended up having a great second half, great last month.”The teams split their six regular-season meetings with the Yankees taking two of three May 11-13 and Oakland taking two of three Sept. 3-5.