We're really getting close now. My season tickets arrived today, and both of my fantasy drafts took place today. In one week, it will be Opening Day.
Today's installment of my six-part season preview takes us to the division the American League champions call home. The AL Central has long been the Tigers' domain, but it's suddenly become a lot more competitive. Kansas City, of course, was in the World Series last year. Cleveland, meanwhile, made the playoffs in 2013 and has one of the best managers in the game in Terry Franconca. Then there's the White Sox, who might be the most improved team in baseball. Only Minnesota enters the season without realistic postseason aspirations.
With all that being said, though, the Tigers are still the team to beat. It's not as big of a gap as it's been in the past, but Detroit has another year or two of dominating this division left. Even without Max Scherzer, the Tigers have the pitching. And they've still got Miguel Cabrera. As for the remainder of the division, I think the moves the White Sox have made could be enough to bring postseason baseball back to the South Side, but it'll be a fight with the Indians. The Royals were last season's darlings. Now we'll see if they can do it again.
1. Detroit Tigers: It's almost hard to believe that Detroit has won only one pennant and no World Series titles during this run. The Tigers have been arguably the best team in the American League over the past five years, yet have nothing to show for it. That run of AL Central dominance has been built on solid pitching, and this year will be no different. Sure, they lost Max Scherzer in free agency, but that's because they knew they weren't going to be able to pay him this winter and David Price next winter. So they decided to take one more guaranteed year with Price and take their chances on him re-signing. Even without Scherzer, Detroit's got the best rotation in the American League. And it doesn't even include Rick Porcello, who was traded to the Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes. I've often discussed how stupid I think the original Cespedes trade was for Boston, but it was a brilliant move by Detroit to get him. They really missed Prince Fielder last year and really needed another power bat to put after Miggy and V-Mart. Cespedes gives them that and also fills that hole in the outfield. J.D. Martinez, who manned left as a rookie last season, moves over to right to replace Torii Hunter. The rotation's incredibly strong. The lineup's strong. But the Achilles heel is a big one. It's what cost the Tigers last year against the Orioles in the playoffs and they didn't do much to improve it during the offseason. I'm, of course, talking about the bullpen. Closer Joe Nathan is fine. It's the rest of the bullpen that needs to improve. No more Jose Valverde, but they re-signed Fatso for some reason (despite him helping them in no way in 2014). Between Chamberlain, Al Alburquerque and Joakim Soria, someone needs to step up in 2015. Otherwise, it'll be the same story in Detroit this season. A division title and an early playoff loss.
Projected Lineup: Rajai Davis-CF, Ian Kinsler-2B, Miguel Cabrera-1B, Victor Martinez-DH, Yoenis Cespedes-LF, J.D. Martinez-RF, Alex Avila-C, Nick Castellanos-3B, Jose Iglesias-SS
Projected Rotation: David Price, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Alfredo Simon, Shane Greene
Closer: Joe Nathan
Projected Record: 94-68
2. Chicago White Sox: Two teams made more noise than any other during the offseason. One was the San Diego Padres, who rebuilt their entire outfield in a span of like six hours. The other was the Chicago White Sox. They already had Chris Sale and Jose Abreu. Then they added Melky Cabrera and Adam LaRoche (who replaces the now-retired tag team of Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn). But that's just the half of it. I hope Jeff Samardzija didn't get rid of his apartment when he was traded from the Cubs to Oakland. Because now he's back, except this time on the South Side. The biggest name they brought in, though, was David Robertson. The White Sox snagged the best closer on the market, setting up the back of their bullpen for the next couple seasons. I don't know why, but I just have a feeling all of these moves will work out for the White Sox. Sale no longer has to do it all on his own. Which is good, because he's good for at least one DL trip per season. And the lineup burden on Abreu has been lessened. In Melky Cabrera, they have a quality leadoff hitter, while they no longer have the guaranteed strikeout that was Dunn hitting behind Abreu. There are still some missing pieces in the lineup, and the White Sox might have some trouble scoring runs, but their pitching will be top-notch. Whether they're able to score enough runs to back up that pitching remains to be seen.
Projected Lineup: Melky Cabrera-LF, Alexei Ramirez-SS, Jose Abreu-1B, Adam LaRoche-DH, Avisail Garcia-RF, Conor Gillaspie-3B, Adam Eaton-CF, Micah Johnson-2B, Tyler Flowers-C
Projected Rotation: Chris Sale, Jeff Samardzija, John Danks, Jose Quintana, Hector Noesi
Closer: David Robertson
Projected Record: 86-76
3. Cleveland Indians: I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised to see the Indians win the AL Central this year. Corey Kluber's the defending Cy Young winner, Yan Gomes is a star in the making, and they have two legitimate stars in Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis. They've also got a bunch of versatile pieces in Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana, and Brandon Moss, acquired from Oakland in the offseason, fits in very nicely with the Indians. All three can DH or play first base, while Swisher and Moss can also play right field. Rotating the three of them would probably be a good way to keep them all healthy, but if Cleveland wants its best defensive alignment on the field, Moss should be at first with Swisher in right and Santana DHing. They've also got two center fielders in Brantley and Michael Bourn. Offensively, I'm not worried about the Indians. Cleveland's going to be able to score. It's on the mound where I'm concerned. After Kluber, there's a significant rotation drop-off, and the only two guys in the bullpen I've ever heard of are Scott Atchison and Marc Rzepczynski, who aren't exactly household names. That's why I rate the Indians below the Tigers and White Sox, even if it's ever so slightly. They surprised everyone by making the playoffs and hosting the Wild Card Game in 2013. They didn't surprise anybody last season and almost made it back to the postseason. It wouldn't be a stretch to say the Indians are capable of getting back in 2015.
Projected Lineup: Michael Bourn-CF, Jason Kipnis-2B, Michael Brantley-LF, Carlos Santana-DH, Nick Swisher-RF, Brandon Moss-1B, Yan Gomes-C, Lonnie Chisenhall-3B, Jose Ramirez-SS
Projected Rotation: Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, TJ House, Zach McAllister
Closer: Cody Allen
Projected Record: 84-78
4. Kansas City Royals: If there's a downside of becoming America's darlings, it's that suddenly people expect you to do it again. That's the challenge the Royals face after getting all the way to Game 7 of the World Series in their first postseason since 1985. It also meant that the quiet little homegrown team they'd built was now filled of household names. Kansas City's going to have to pay these guys eventually, so you know their window is very small. The changes started almost immediately. James Shields left as a free agent, Billy Butler wasn't re-signed and neither was Nori Aoki. The Royals understand that they're players now, though, so they went out and added Kendrys Morales to be the new DH, as well as Alex Rios to play right field. Amazingly, they're both upgrades over what Kansas City had. And we've all learned about how good the rest of the Royals' lineup is. They're not going to have any problems scoring. However, the reason they made the World Series was Shields. They knew they had a bona fide ace and wanted to take advantage of it. It worked. Shields got them to the World Series. But with him gone, it's now up to Yordano Ventura and Co. to build on that experience they gained during the postseason. And they're not completely without a veteran presence. Edinson Volquez takes over Shields' spot in the rotation. Then there's that bullpen, which is one of the Royals' biggest strengths and should be just as good this year as it was last season. I expect a drop off. How could there not be? Kansas City has gone, basically overnight, from the team that's a "value" game on everyone's season ticket packages to a marquee matchup against the American League champs. Maybe, hopefully, they'll be like the Pirates and last season was just the start of something.
Projected Lineup: Alcides Escobar-SS, Omar Infante-2B, Lorenzo Cain-CF, Eric Hosmer-1B, Alex Rios-RF, Kendrys Morales-DH, Salvador Perez-C, Alex Gordon-LF, Mike Moustakas-3B
Projected Rotation: Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, Edinson Volquez, Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie
Closer: Greg Holland
Projected Record: 76-86
5. Minnesota Twins: Like the Phillies, the Twins are caught in a paradox. They were good just a few years ago and remember those days fondly. But the remaining links from those glory days are also what's preventing them from the complete rebuild that's needed. The task of directing this rebuild now belongs to Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, who's going to have a hard time on his hands in his first year as a Major League manager. Of the nine players in the Twins' everyday lineup, only Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki (and maybe Osvaldo Arcia) could be considered in their prime. Joe Mauer lost all of his value when they turned him into a full-time first baseman, while bringing Torii Hunter back so he can end his career in Minnesota was a nice gesture, but it's not going to get this team any closer to the playoffs. If I was running things, Byron Buxton would be called up as soon as possible. He's the Twins' future and he needs to start manning center field now. Phil Hughes and Ervin Santana are the Twins' top two starting pitchers. They're both former All-Stars, and they'd both be in the rotation for other teams, but neither one is an ace. Minnesota's best pitcher, in fact, is probably closer Glen Perkins. Which is a problem. Because Perkins won't be getting many save opportunities. What's the point of having a shutdown closer if he's only gonna get a chance to pitch twice a week, if that?
Projected Lineup: Jordan Schafer-CF, Brian Dozier-2B, Joe Mauer-1B, Trevor Plouffe-3B, Torii Hunter-RF, Oswaldo Arcia-LF, Kurt Suzuki-C, Kennys Vargas-DH, Danny Santana-SS
Projected Rotation: Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, Ricky Nolasco, Mike Pelfrey, Tommy Milone
Closer: Glen Perkins
Projected Record: 61-101
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