Having covered the East, let's move to the AL Central. This division looks as strong as it has been in years. The Twins, White Sox, and the Tigers are all expected to be good enough to compete for a playoff spot. The Indians and the Royals... well, there's always next year. Off-season additions have changed the look of some of these teams.
2010 Records:
Minnesota: 94-68
Chicago: 88-74
Detroit: 81-81
Cleveland: 69-93
Kansas City: 67-95
1st. Minnesota
Sorry White Sox, I just don't see this team giving up its hold on the division title. The Twins didn't have an incredibly exciting off-season, but they did add Tsuyoshi Nishioka to fill a much needed hole in the middle infield. With Mauer, Morneau, Thome, Young, etc. in the lineup, its basically a question of staying healthy. This team is returning ALL of its starters from last year. With a team ERA of under 4, I can only see this rotation improving. The only question about the Twins is the bullpen. They lost Fuentes, Guerrier, and Crain. That being said, Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan are both having stellar springs after returning from injury,. The Twins can always drop their sixth starter into the bullpen or trade him away (the Blue Jays have shown interest in swapping bullpen pitchers for Kevin Slowey). This Twins team is looking strong.
2nd. Chicago
The White Sox won big picking up Adam Dunn. But is he going to be the piece that pushes them over the top? The White Sox have pitching (94 QS last year, one of the best numbers in the AL), and they have strength in batting, but they haven't really been able to put it all together. So will Adam Dunn make them better than the Twins? NO. Last year Dunn posted a 3.9 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). On the other hand, the Twins will essentially be adding Morneau to their lineup (assuming he stays healthy). Morneau posted a ridiculous 5.3 WAR in just HALF of a season (numbers are from fangraphs). A healthy Morneau trumps Dunn easily. The White Sox will make it interesting, then probably pull their typical end of the season choke.
3rd. Detroit
Detroid added bullpen help in Benoit and a bat in Victor Martinez. Again, it won't be enough to tip the balances. The Tigers still have some problems with their starting rotation and pitching as a whole. Their team ERA last year was 4.30. This team needs more than Benoit to put them on the track to winning. Finishing last year with a .500 record, this team will most likely improve. But until they fix their starting pitching woes (they had fewer quality starts than Baltimore last year), they won't go far.
4th. Kansas City
If KC's prospects are still in KC five years from now, expect some playoff runs. Right now this is the best young team in the league. They have a future. Assuming the Yankees don't buy it from them (that's a really really dangerous assumption). Right now, KC needs to give its young guys some playing time. They're not going to compete this year, or maybe even not next year, but if they play their cards right, this team could become a real playoff threat. Sadly though, KC's front office is terrible, and they are as cheap as it gets (except when it comes to Gil Meche, go figure). Enjoy fantasizing about next year. And the next year... and the next year...
5th. Cleveland
I'm not really sure what Cleveland is hoping for. They definitely need Grady Sizemore to return from a down year, and they also need their young guys to step up. But Cleveland has a knack for trading away its best players (C.C., Lee, etc.) and not getting a whole lot in return. At least not in immediate return... The Indians have been rebuilding for a while. Don't expect anything to change anytime soon.
Bottom Line: The Twins are hoping Justin Morneau returns to full time action. With a bunch of superstars returning from injury, look for this team to actually win a series in October. If Mauer and Morneau stay healthy, expect another MVP award to come their way .Take your pick who - Morneau's coming off an 8 month concussion, Mauer off of a down year (yes, I did just call .327 a down year). The Sox will be good, just not good enough. Expect them to pull out a wild-card finish. The Rays and the Yankees will protest, but pitching woes are going to sink their ships. This one will be close though. Game 163 anyone?
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