Suddenly, the AL Central has gone from one of the worst divisions in baseball to one of the best. The Royals have been to back-to-back World Series and are the defending champions. They unseated the Tigers as division champions, but no one would be surprised to see Detroit reclaim its place at the top. That is, if the Indians don't. And let's not forget Minnesota, which came out of nowhere to finish second last season. I don't think anyone would be surprised to see the White Sox, who have the best pitcher in the division, end up winning the AL Central, either.
Nobody saw Kansas City coming in 2014. Even after their run to Game 7 of the World Series, the Royals still had their doubters. Most preseason projections didn't even have them finishing .500. All they did was get back to the World Series, and win it this time. Now I think everyone is finally believers in the Royals. Only this time, they're the hunted.
As close as the AL Central teams might be on paper, I think there's a definite gap between the top two and the bottom two, with Cleveland right smack in the middle. The way I see it, it'll be a battle between the Tigers and Royals for the division title, while the Twins will regress back to the mean and the White Sox are just a step behind, even with Chris Sale.
1. Detroit Tigers: Injuries and the law of averages finally caught up to the Tigers in 2015. Not only did they fail to win the AL Central for the first time in five years, they finished below .500. Things got so bad that they fired David Dombrowski (now President of the Red Sox) and traded David Price to the Blue Jays at the deadline. Well, they recovered in a big way this offseason, getting the second-best starting pitcher available behind Price in Jordan Zimmermann. Pair him with Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez and you've got the best top three in the division. But the biggest move the Tigers made to improve their pitching staff was the addition of Francisco Rodriguez. The bullpen has long been their Achilles' heel. It should've have taken them this long to address it, but I'm glad they finally did. Lineup-wise, they're kind of like the Yankees in that they rely heavily on high-priced veterans and are pretty much screwed if they get hurt (like last year when Miguel Cabrera went down). But when healthy, this lineup is really formidable. J.D. Martinez has turned into a legitimate star. And we'll see if Justin Upton is worth the money after escaping San Diego. By opting not to re-sign Alex Avila, it looks like they've handed the catching duties over to James McCann. That's the one area of concern I have for the Tigers, although they're not very deep, so they could end up having the same problems as last year if they with an injury or two again.
Projected Lineup: Ian Kinsler-2B, Anthony Gose-CF, Miguel Cabrera-1B, Victor Martinez-DH, J.D. Martinez-RF, Justin Upton-LF, Nick Castellanos-3B, James McCann-C, Jose Iglesias-SS
Projected Rotation: Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey, Daniel Norris
Closer: Francisco Rodriguez
Projected Record: 92-70
2. Kansas City Royals: They're not a secret anymore, and the defending champion Royals are a prime example of what can happen when you draft well. The only real question after Kansas City's first championship in 30 years is what will they do for an encore? The core of the team remains in tact, so you'd have to think they've got a decent shot of becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the 1998-2000 Yankees. The biggest difference (other than the departures of Alex Rios and Ben Zobrist) is the addition of Ian Kennedy to the rotation. Kennedy was forced to be a No. 1 in San Diego, but is better suited to being a No. 3 or 4 starter, which is where he figures to be slotted with the Royals. Kansas City's biggest strength remains its ridiculous bullpen, though. And, just in case you were worried they didn't have enough stud relievers, they picked up Joakim Soria during the offseason. So, even if Wade Davis goes down, they've got an experienced closer in Soria ready to step in. That's the one are where Kansas City has gotten incredibly lucky over the past two seasons. For the most part, the Royals have been able to avoid significant injuries. But, they're also better-equipped than most other teams to handle it should one happen. That's why no one will get caught off guard by the Royals this season. Barring something catastrophic, Kansas City should be in the mix to make it three straight World Series appearances or even consecutive championships.
Projected Lineup: Alcides Escobar-SS, Alex Gordon-LF, Lorenzo Cain-CF, Eric Hosmer-1B, Kendrys Morales-DH, Mike Moustakas-3B, Salvador Perez-C, Omar Infante-2B, Jarrod Dyson-RF
Projected Rotation: Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura, Ian Kennedy, Chris Young, Kris Medlen
Closer: Wade Davis
Projected Record: 88-74
3. Cleveland Indians: A lot of people have high expectations for the Indians this season. And I can see why. There's a lot of talent in Cleveland. I just have too many questions to say I realistically see them challenging the Tigers and Royals for the division title. Michael Brantley, Jason Kipns and Yan Gomes are stars. Francisco Lindor is going to be a superstar. But outside of that quartet (and, to a lesser extent, Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli), I'm not overly enamored with their lineup. I think scoring runs could be an issue. Which will put a lot of pressure on the pitching staff. After winning the Cy Young in 2014, Corey Kluber went just 9-16 last year. He needs to return to his Cy Young form for the Indians to have any shot at contending. The rest of the rotation is serviceable (they all won at least 10 games last season), but they need Kluber to go back to being a true No. 1. It's the bullpen that gives me the biggest concern, though. On a small-market team like the Indians, relief pitching is the area you're most likely not to spend big on, and that's certainly the case in Cleveland. Cody Allen is vanilla as far as closers go, and I can't tell you the name of any other guys in the Indians' bullpen.
Projected Lineup: Francisco Lindor-SS, Abraham Almonte-CF, Jason Kipnis-2B, Michael Brantley-LF, Mike Napoli-1B, Carlos Santana-DH, Yan Gomes-C, Juan Uribe-3B, Lonnie Chisenhall-RF
Projected Rotation: Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin
Closer: Cody Allen
Projected Record: 81-81
4. Chicago White Sox: Most of the news we've heard about the White Sox lately has involved Adam and Drake LaRoche. That derailed all talk of anything else on the South Side, where there have been so many changes it seems like the entire roster is new except for Jose Abreu and Chris Sale. Brett Lawrie came over from Oakland to play second. After losing his job in LA to Corey Seager, Jimmy Rollins signed with the White Sox and will play short. Austin Jackson finished last season with the Cubs and liked Chicago so much that he just changed which part of town the ballpark's in. Alex Avila wasn't even given an offer by his father in Detroit, so he bolted for the division rival White Sox. But the biggest addition is at the Hot Corner. The White Sox pulled off a major coup by snagging All-Star third baseman (and Home Run Derby champion) Todd Frazier in a trade with the Reds. With all these new faces in the lineup, it'll be interesting to see what their team chemistry will be like. (And, frankly, LaRoche's retirement doesn't really have much of an impact.) They've got a very strong pitching staff, too. Chris Sale is obviously the anchor, but the rotation is very solid 1-5. And they, of course, have a ridiculous closer in David Robertson. If things go as well as the White Sox believe they can, the Cubs won't be the only Chicago team people will be talking about this season. It won't take much for the White Sox to contend in 2016.
Projected Lineup: Austin Jackson-CF, Jimmy Rollins-SS, Jose Abreu-1B, Todd Frazier-3B, Melky Cabrera-DH, Alex Avila-C, Avisail Garcia-RF, Adam Eaton-LF, Brett Lawrie-2B
Projected Rotation: Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Mat Latos, John Danks
Closer: David Robertson
Projected Record: 79-83
5. Minnesota Twins: Last season, everything went right for the Twins and then some. They were the surprise wild card contender all the way until the bitter end and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor was a Manager of the Year finalist in his first year at the helm. Can the Twins do it again? Sure. But in a loaded AL Central, it'll take a lot. The long-awaited Byron Buxton debut took place in September, and now he'll get his first full Major League season. Putting him next to Miguel Sano, last year's rookie sensation, and Eddie Rosario gives Minnesota a young, talented outfield, one that was good enough for them to deem Aaron Hicks expendable, so he was traded to the Yankees for backup catcher John Ryan Murphy. The Twins' two best players are probably Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe, but Face of the Franchise Joe Mauer has significantly less value to this team as a first baseman. And he's turned into a downright average player. Beyond that, I'm concerned about the pitching. Phil Hughes and Ervin Santana are Nos. 1 and 2 in the rotation, but on another team, they'd probably more like a 3 or 4. Which is a shame. Because Glen Perkins is one of the most underrated closers in baseball. He's been solid for the last three or four years now. The Minnesota Twins overachieved in 2015 and still didn't make the playoffs. The rest of the AL Central is better this season, so they'll have to overachieve again, and then some, to contend in 2016.
Projected Lineup: Byron Buxton-CF, Brian Dozier-2B, Joe Mauer-1B, Trevor Plouffe-3B, Miguel Sano-RF, Eddie Rosario-LF, Byung Ho Park-DH, Kurt Suzuki-C, Eduardo Escobar-SS
Projected Rotation: Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Duffey, Tommy Milone
Closer: Glen Perkins
Projected Record: 72-90
No comments:
Post a Comment