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Tigers catcher James McCann is ready to take over as the starter behind the plate and utilize information from injured Alex Avila, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"He has so much information that you only get from working with each individual pitcher," McCann said. "He's worked with (Justin) Verlander for years. He's worked with (David) Price for all last half season. He has information on each of those guys that no one has unless you've actually caught them like he has. So he's been able to help me out with a lot of those nuances. And just game-calling and just understanding different situations and controlling the running game, everything that goes into being a catcher."

Manager Brad Ausmus said McCann has an important role with pitching coach Jeff Jones to help organize all batter information and relaying it to pitchers.

"You don't want to turn it into white noise," Ausmus said. "There's kind of a trickle down effect, what Jonesy has, what the catcher gets and what he gives the pitcher."

McCann is hitting .313 with five RBI in 48 at-bats this season.

"It's probably a little sooner than I would have wanted him to face a bunch of righties, but it's kind of been necessitated at this point," McCann said. "I think he's up to the task. To me, he's a mentally strong kid."

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