AL Central Preview

It’s that time of year again. We are officially five (!!!!!) days away from Opening Day. St. Louis will travel to Pittsburgh, Jays are heading to Tampa, and the Mets will battle the Royals in a World Series rematch on  Sunday, April 3.

As you see, there are no AL Central teams scheduled…but that doesn’t mean the division isn’t going to be interesting this year. Let’s take a look at each team.

Cleveland Indians

The Indians finished third in the AL Central in 2015, winning 81 games. Because a game with Detroit didn’t have to be made up, Cleveland finished above .500, as it only lost 80 games.

The Indians are known for making smaller moves, which is what they did this off-season. They signed (and invited to Spring Training) pitchers Tommy Hunter, Ross Detwiler, and Tom Gorzelanny. To deal with Michael Brantley being out for a little bit once the regular season begins, they also signed Rajai Davis and traded for Colin Cowgill.

The Indians also brought in Juan Uribe and Mike Napoli, who will start on the corners for the team.

Yan Gomes, Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor, and Brantley are all returning, while the staff still has Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Danny Salazar.

Opening Day projected lineup at Red Sox:

Lindor SS

Kipnis 2B

Santana DH

Napoli 1B

Uribe 3B

Davis LF

Byrd RF

Naquin CF

Gomes C

This lineup isn’t bad, but it doesn’t blow anyone away. Once Brantley returns, this lineup could score some more runs than people think. Plug him into center and it’s a big upgrade over Naquin/Cowgill. If Napoli could repeat what he did with Texas for 35 games in 2015, even smaller since he raked, that would be a very solid five-hole hitter.

The pitching staff is going to be good, to say the least. I expect Kluber to be Kluber, with Carrasco and Salazar having their best season thus far. Cody Allen has saved 70 games over the last three seasons, including an increasing strikeout rate. Last season, Allen had a 1.82 FIP and a 1.168 WHIP to go along with his 99 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.

Kansas City Royals

There’s a lot not to like about the reigning World Series champions. Besides re-signing Alex Gordon, the Royals have really only signed…Ian Kennedy.

Besides a few minor moves every team makes every off-season, the Royals will be returning the same team less Johnny Cueto and a top-of-the-line farm system.

Lorenzo Cain, who finished third in AL MVP voting in 2015, will be back to man center field with two years left on his contract. Edinson Volquez will  be the so-called “Ace” of the staff as he is scheduled to start Opening Night vs. Matt Harvey and the Mets.

The lineup isn’t bad as a whole, but the starting pitching isn’t good enough for the offense to be able to hold the weight all season.

Opening Night projected lineup vs. Mets:

Escobar SS

Moustakas 3B

Cain CF

Hosmer 1B

Morales DH

Gordon LF

Perez C

Orlando RF

Infante 2B

The middle of this lineup is good, as already stated, but I don’t know if it can hold up and score as many runs as its going to have to with Volquez and Kennedy leading the way from the rubber. If they can stay in the race through June, I can see them trying to make a splash like Cueto again, but they only have so many farm prospects left.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers made some major moves this off-season that I feel may not be getting enough respect or love.

After losing Davis and Gorzelanny (Indians, remember?), the Tigers traded for Francisco Rodgriguez – one of the most consistent closers in this era. The team, then, traded for Cameron Maybin.

A couple weeks later, the Tigers signed Jordan Zimmerman as the first major free-agent piece to sign during the off-season.

After signing Mike Pelfrey and Mark Lowe to help secure the bullpen, the Tigers made a splash by signing Justin Upton.

I can see this team starting the year slow with Maybin and Daniel Norris beginning the season on the DL. However, this lineup is by far the best in the AL Central, and a one-two punch of Justin Verlander and Zimmerman is the second-best behind Cleveland.

Opening Day projected lineup at Marlins:

Iglesias SS

Kinsler 2B

Cabrera 1B

JD Martinez RF

Upton LF

Castellanos 3B

McCann C

Gose CF

Verlander P

I love this lineup. I think Victor Martinez will drop off for obvious reasons, but he’s not even in this lineup because they’re playing in Miami with no designated hitter. Once you insert him in the lineup, Upton could be the best six hitter in the majors.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins didn’t make any moves that would “wow” you, but trading Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy and then signing Byung Ho Park are upgrades for the team at their respective positions.

The team also invited Carlos Quentin, which is meh.

Miguel Sano, Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, and Trevor Plouffe is still a solid core returning, with Kurt Suzuki coming back behind the plate.

The Twins do have one of the better back-ends of a bullpen in the division in Casey Fien, Trevor May, Kevin Jepsen, and Glen Perkins. The rotation of Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, and Tommy Milone isn’t anything special, and probably worse than the Royals’ current one.

Opening Day projected lineup at Orioles:

Buxton CF

Plouffe 3B

Mauer 1B

Sano RF

Dozier 2B

Park DH

Suzuki C

Rosario LF

Escobar SS

If Buxton comes around from last season, which I think he will, this is probably my second favorite lineup in the division. Mauer continues to lose his power, but his average and OBP will stay steady. Plouffe and Dozier will show some power from their respective positions, and Sano is going to RAKE. That dude is a beast.

I do think Suzuki is a solid-hitting catcher, but Park is a toss-up. He will probably be solid for most of the season, giving the team a slight chance of stealing a wild card spot.

Jose Berrios almost came up last season in the thick of the race, so you can almost guarantee he will see the majors in 2016 no matter what.

Chicago White Sox

Did me putting them last make you read the other four teams? If not, oh well.

I still don’t know what to think of this team. After losing Alexei Ramirez to the Padres, the team traded for Todd Frazier. I don’t need to tell you how big of a pick-up that is.

The team proceeded to sign Jimmy Rollins to replace Ramirez at short and signed Mat Latos…which is blah.

Then you have the whole LaRoche issue, which most Sox fans don’t seem to be too upset about. His .207/,293/.340 slash line in his first season with the team is definitely no reason to cry about his departure.

I have been pretty vocal about the White Sox needing to go after one of those outfielders such as Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, or Dexter Fowler, so I think they missed out on a big upgrade in right field.

The pitching staff is staying under the radar. Chris Sale is already one of the best pitchers in the league, and then you have Jose Quintana sitting in the two-spot. In his 119 starts the last four seasons, Quintana 3.36 ERA and 1.270 WHIP with over an over 4:1 K:BB ratio. In that time, he ONLY has 67 decisions. In nearly half of his starts, he has not been the pitcher of the record…and he’s thrown over 200 innings each of the least three years.

I think Carlos Rodon will have a breakout year after a not-that-bad rookie season. Latos and John Danks will just sit at the end of the rotation and give people the most headaches this year, and that seems pretty obvious. Latos has the potential to perform decently, and he, in all actuality, might be the key to success this year for the Sox.

David Robertson and Zach Duke are both dirty at the back-end of that bullpen, and Alex Avila behind the plate is an upgrade from Tyler Flowers.

Opening Day projected lineup at A’s:

Eaton CF

Lawrie 2B

Abreu 1B

Frazier 3B

Cabrera LF

Avila C

Garcia DH

Jackson RF

Rollins SS

I’m not a big fan of Avisail Garcia, but Austin Jackson is’t that much of an upgrade, if at all. That lineup 1-4 is pretty tight with Eaton setting the stage and Abreu and Frazier cleaning up those runners.

I think the AL Central is a very balanced division, and after the Tigers it’s any team’s race. Hell, even the Tigers are in that same mix because nobody really knows about this division. In terms of balance, it’s right there with the AL East as in nobody knows who is going to win it or who will finish last.

*Picture is courtesy of SouthsideSox.com