Chris

Shelton

He will likely not return to the Tigers’ active roster until the end of the month at the earliest. The Tigers, however, may choose to leave Shelton in the minors, in which case they will be forced to make a deal with the Pirates. Shelton, you may remember, was a Rule 5 pick out of the Pittsburgh organization.

It will be interesting to see if the Rule Five pick remains in the Detroit organization. The Tigers will have to make room for him on the 25-man roster or lose him to the Pirates.

Last night against left-hander Jimmy Gobble, Shelton started at first base with Pena on the bench. The 23-year-old Shelton, a rule-five pick, can hit a bit, and may be worth picking up in very deep fantasy pools.

The cold streak has dropped his batting average from .368 to a still-solid .318 since July 25.

Shelton was slumping before Boston arrived, but he went 7-for-13 with four extra-base hits in the three-game series. The solo homer gave him his first RBI in two weeks.

We’d take our chances with Shelton over Casey for the rest of the season, but the fact is that the 27-year-old has managed just six homers and 25 RBI in 77 games since the end of April. Since the price wasn’t very steep at all, it’s hard to blame the Tigers for trying something different.

He also had three hits and a homer on Monday. Shelton will rejoin the Tigers in September, though he may not have a major role. He should be the club’s starting first baseman again in 2007.

25 RBI in 77 games since the beginning of May doomed Shelton. The 26-year-old should still be in the Tigers’ plans for 2007 and beyond, but the club felt Sean Casey was an upgrade for the rest of the season. Unless Casey lands on the DL -- always a possibility -- expect Shelton to stay in the minors until September.

Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, Marcus Thames, and Vance Wilson homered once while Brandon Inge also added a pair of long balls. Henry Blanco, Phil Nevin, and Aramis Ramirez also homered for the Cubs as the wind was blowing out at Wrigley today. Shelton entered the day with just two homers since the beginning of May, so he needed an outing like this.

with Shelton struggling, the Tigers are considering giving Craig Monroe time at first base in interleague games. Shelton will probably have value again later on, but he shouldn’t be active in mixed leagues right now.