AL Central

2013 AL Central Preview: The Detroit Tigers and Everyone Else

Final Standings

Detroit Tigers 93-69

Cleveland Indians 83-79

Kansas City Royals 74-88

Chicago White Sox 70-92

Minnesota Twins 66-96

The American League Central is the Detroit Tigers division. For one of the other teams in this division to win it something catastrophic will have to happen for the Tigers. Cleveland has made some improvements and should be able to put up some runs but the pitching staff has too many question marks. Kansas City is still developing and next season could make a lot of noise but for now they will be the same old non-playoff Royals. The White Sox will make the biggest drop in the division as their roster is old and/or average. Minnesota is a team with a few good pieces but not much else.

1.  Detroit Tigers (93-69)

The Detroit Tigers are stacked and will run away with the least competitive division in baseball. Playing against inferior competition has a lot of benefits, all of which Detroit will reap in its division win and home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. The pitching staff is headed by perennial Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander and rounded out with four above average starters who would be welcomed into a lot of rotations around baseball. They lose the absurd and unnecessary theatrics of Jose Valverde which will be a huge blessing. The rest of the bullpen is a solid mix of veterans and young arms that can go toe to toe with anyone.

The lineup for the Tigers is arguably the best top to bottom order in the game. Led by AL MVP and Triple Crown Winner Miguel Cabrera, a.k.a. the best and most dangerous hitter on the planet, these guys will score a ton of runs and have the ability to never be out of a game no matter what the deficit is. They will get a big boost from the returning Victor Martinez, a dangerous switch hitter who can give them another lefty power option on occasion to complement Prince Fielder. The addition of Torii Hunter is a great move for the club. Hunter may have lost a little power but in a big ballpark like Comerica he can be a deadly gap to gap hitter with his speed. Austin Jackson will look to continue his great development and build on his great season last year. He needs to continue to add walks and decrease strikeouts, but the thing is, even if he did take a step back, the rest of the lineup is so stacked it wouldn’t really matter much.

 

2.  Cleveland Indians (83-79)

Cleveland had a great offseason and will be the most improved team in the division no doubt. The pitching staff has a lot to prove and will go a long way in determining just how great the success of the team is. Justin Masterson heads the rotation and he is the definition of a hit or miss pitcher. He is capable of throwing a complete game two hit shutout or a three inning ten hit five run performance. His sinker is his money pitch, and when it’s on he is almost unhittable and when it’s off his starts are hard to watch. Following Masterson is Ubaldo Jimenez who is another pitcher that makes you question what kind of performance you’re going to get. He is a ground ball pitcher who was phenomenal in Colorado a few years ago and that should translate to great games outside the thin air of Coors Field but he just isn’t the same pitcher. Brett Myers is a good veteran addition and a guy who should be able to log some innings. Trevor Bauer may start the year in the minors but once he comes up to the show I feel this guy will be a future front end starter who will win a lot of games.

On offense Cleveland is much more balanced with the additions of Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds, Mike Aviles, Drew Stubbs, and Michael Bourn. In addition to providing balance, these guys will help shore up a defense that ranked among the worst in the game last season. Bourn was a phenomenal get for them and is one of the more underrated players in the game. Having him setting the table will help them score a lot of runs and his speed will keep pitchers on their toes.

Another reason I see this team improving so much is the hiring of Terry Francona. He is a players manager if there ever was one and his two world series championships will garner him even more respect than he already deserves. He was unfairly shipped out of Boston, having to fall on the sword and take the blame for that team’s collapse so you know he is itching to get back to doing what he does best and also showing Boston what they let get away.

 

3.  Kansas City Royals (74-88)

Kansas City is slowly but surely heading back to respectability and this year will be no different. While they may not be a playoff team they are getting their young guys more experience, they have a number one ace type pitcher, and the much heralded minor league system will provide them with more arms and bats once ready.

James Shields will be a workhorse who can lead this rotation for years to come. They picked up Ervin Santana this offseason and Jeremy Guthrie returns after finishing the year strong with the team. These guys aren’t long term solutions but decent options until the young minor leaguers are ready. The bullpen features some quality arms that should be able to get some crucial outs.

If the Kansas City offense is going to do anything this year Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas will need to play better and be better hitters than they were last year. They are players the franchise is looking to build around so they need to take that next step and play well, and with consistency. If they can’t do that then it will be a really long year in the City of Fountains. Salvador Perez is a player who could be a breakout candidate this season. He hit over .300 in his short time in the majors last year but is poised to become the regular starting catcher and will do well with more at bats and more chances to succeed.

 

4.  Chicago White Sox (70-92)

The Chicago White Sox are a team that I wouldn’t want to watch, even if I was a White Sox fan. There is no one on the team from an offensive standpoint that makes you think there is hope for the future and the potential to be a franchise guy, there are a lot of guys with a lot of miles on the odometer, and having the worst play by play man in the business in Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, your ears will bleed along with your eyes from all the horror you’ll have to endure.

Chris Sale is the lone bright spot on the team and will head a rotation that is average and injury plagued. Jake Peavy left his pitching repertoire in 2007 and hasn’t met up with Doc Brown yet to go back and get it. John Danks is coming off an injury plagued year due to a shoulder problem and needs to hope the surgery will help his velocity and command return to what it was.

Paul Konerko should have a good year but given what he is surrounded by I don’t see many RBI opportunities for him, just like in 2012 when he finished with 75 RBI. At 37 years old his best years are behind him and there aren’t many more years ahead in the game either. He is joined by Adam Dunn, The Big Donkey, who surely isn’t The Big Hurt, and racks up more K’s than a Kardashian family tree. Now Dunn may very well have hit 41 home runs last year, but in doing so had only 96 RBI. That’s the equivalent of a 6’10 power forward/center in the NBA who scores 20 points a game but can’t grab 10 rebounds. Add in the fact that he struck out 222 times and The Big Donkey makes people pine for The Big Hurt, but unfortunately he isn’t walking through the clubhouse door.

 

5.  Minnesota Twins (66-96)

The Minnesota Twins are a team in shambles. Any lineup that contains names like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Josh Willingham could be much worse off but the other six names in there are names that even Billy Heywood couldn’t work with. On the pitching side of things Scott Diamond isn’t a bad arm to have but I’m not sure he’s an ace or a number two starter like Minnesota will ask him to be. The rest of the roster for the time being will have to be plugged in however Minnesota can do it given the money owed to Mauer leaves them with not much more to work with.