One day very soon, the Tigers hope starter Max Scherzer and infielder Scott Sizemore will be a part of their future core. But as of right now, the club feels as though they need more work before they can contribute on the big league level.

Both players were sent to Triple-A Toledo over the weekend in hopes that they’ll straighten out their weaknesses. Scherzer, who was acquired as part of a three-team trade that sent Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks in early December of last year, is a hard-throwing right-hander that needs to develop a second pitch. He’s lived and died by his fastball thus far in his career and it doesn’t take major league hitters long to abuse pitchers that don’t have a second pitch that they trust in.

As for Sizemore, manager Jim Leyland seems to think that the young second baseman was starting to look lost at the plate.

“It was almost like he was starting to get a little lost,” Leyland said. “He was fighting himself. You could kind of see it.

“But I think Sizemore’s gonna be fine. We still really like him.”

Baseball can be an extremely humbling game. When players are slumping, they feel as though they’ll never get another hit or have another good outing again. They start pressing, and once that happens their confidence crumbles and things start to unravel.

Hopefully both of these players gain perspective in the minors and can come back up and help the Tigers soon. Talent certainly isn’t an issue – they just need time to get their heads back on straight.

Photo from fOTOGLIF