First Look: NL Central

First Look-NL Central

Chicago Cubs:

Pitching: Where do I start with this teams pitching staff?  There are some shining points to this rotation with Jeff Samardzija and Travis Wood but neither would be better than a 3^rd starter on other teams though both are very competent pitchers.  Jason Hammel is a decent pitcher but much like Samardzija and Wood’s he’s a 3^rd or 4^th starter on other teams.  After these 3 though its just bad with Edwin Jackson, a pitcher who’s seen better days, and a battle for the fifth spot between spot starters.  The bullpen is just as bad, actually its worse.  Again they have talent in Jason Veras as their closer and as good as he is Veras isn’t a closer on most teams.  Pedro Strop has talent but last year wasn’t his best season and if he can have a bounce back season he could be a future closer, he has shown the talent to do so.  Overall this teams staff is bad, I mean very bad.  There’s not much that this team can do to improve its staff but with a team this bad a bright future through the draft is in the future.

Batting-As bad as the pitching is the batting is way worse, there are 3 guys that are even not worthy.  Josh Vitters is a young prospect that has talent and if he can capitalize on that potential he could be a great hitter one day.  Anthony Rizzo has shown himself to be a legitimate power threat in the majors.  Rizzo needs to learn to take a walk and lower that strike out rate down he could be a perennial 30 HR guy but he doesn’t have the ability to hit for a high AVG. but he can hit about .260-.265.  Starlin Castro is a mystery as to what he will be next year, he has talent but lacks focus and that causes laps in his defense and not concentrating at the plate.  He’s not a power hitter but could hit 10-13 in a year and if he stays focused he could be a .300 hitter.  Overall this team has massive holes but like the pitching they do have the luxury of being one of the worst teams meaning they’ll have a high draft spot.

Milwaukee Brewers:

Pitching- There are good pitchers here but there isn’t a lot of them.  Kyle Loshe and Matt Garza lead the way as the best of the bunch and they are good pitchers.  Garza is a number 3 pitcher but has number 2 talent when he’s pitching well.  Loshe is pretty much the same pitcher as Garza, a 3^rd starter but with 2^nd starter talent when he’s on.  After that it’s a quick fall with Marco Estrada, was a big sleeper pick last year to have a decent season and he did but Estrada is a 4^th starter nothing more.  Rounding out the top 4 we have Yovani Gallardo and what a fall from grace its been for him, once thought as a top ace in baseball and now is barely holding his own as a 4^th starter.  Declining control over his pitches and a decrease in velocity is a bad sign for any pitcher.  The bullpen actually is pretty talented, not tops but decent.  Jim Henderson was a nice surprise for the team when John Axford lost his control last season and lead the team in saves.  Francisco Rodriguez is a good surprise for the team along with Brandon Kintzler and Tyler Thornburg.  Overall this team has a decent or average staff and a surprising bullpen, could actually give some teams some problems and win a few games.

Batting- They have some problems but a lot of talent too.  Ryan Braun isn’t the same Braun we’ve seen over the years; power is there and his ability to hit for a high average but his speed is gone.  Jean Segura is a dark horse here, if he can pull it together he could be a major star in the majors but he has a lot of work to do staying consistent in hitting for AVG.  Last year ended with him hitting .143 during the second half of the season so that needs to change.  Carlos Gomez is a defensive wizard and is one of the best gloves in the game and can hit for a decent average and slightly above average power.  His speed is game changing in both the field and at bat where he can use that speed to beat out the infield ground ball.  Jonathan Lucroy is a very underrated catcher who’s defense is very solid and his hitting is well above average.  Overall this offense has a lot of potential but it has holes; it needs to have some of the young guns step up and this team could be a problem.

Cincinnati Reds:

Pitching- High talent and a very big strike out club.  Johnny Cueto, Homer Baily and Matt Latos lead this very talented staff and all are very good pitchers.  Cueto has the most talent but injuries have plagued him the last two years limiting his time.  Baily and Latos are both coming into their own and starting to really become the aces they were thought to be.  Mike Leake and Tony Cingrani will battle for the 4^th and 5^th spot both are deception pitchers and have success fooling batters but they can be hit every once in a while.  Bullpen is not as strong as rotation but when you have Aroldis Chapman it’s a good start.  Jonathan Broxtan has seen better years but he is better than most.  Sean Marshall is an underrated pitcher that doesn’t get the credit he deserves as one of baseballs best LHP’s.  Overall the team has a strong staff and decently strong bullpen that is going to give most lineups major trouble.

Batting- This lineup is major power but also lacks consistent OBP and AVG guys to supplement that power.  Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips are the main face of this problem.  Bruce has improved over time but he’s still not a big AVG or OBP guy; he’s improved his skill but still needs work.  Phillips skills are starting to decline over time and now it’s getting pretty bad now, his age is making it so he isn’t improving any time soon.  Joey Votto is defiantly the best play on his team though he isn’t the power hitting type that we thought a few years back but he’s the best overall hitter on the team.  The rest of the team has similar skills to Phillips, has some power but cant take a walk.  Overall this is a dangerous lineup but it can be limited with good pitching.

Pittsburg Pirates:

Pitching- Last year this team won with pitching and I don’t see this changing that much this year.  Losing AJ Burrnett is a blow but with Gerrit Cole showing himself to be a potential ace for this team in the near future; being young is going to be his big challenge since he doesn’t have much experience.  They will also need a repeat performance from Francisco Liriano if they want to succeed and I personally think that’s a lot to ask but he proved he could do it last year so we shall see.  Wandy Rodriguez has come a long way from being a Astros rookie to now a very stable 3^rd or 4^th starter but much like Liriano they will need him to pick up the slack of losing Burrnett.  Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke won’t kill them but they aren’t going to become lynch pins in this rotation.  The bullpen is quite strong headed by stellar vet Jason Grilli who finally got his chance to close and ran with it.  While his stats do lean towards the luck side he is still a very good pitcher.  Vin Mazzaro and Mark Melancon were good surprises for this team since both have come into their own and have become essential parts of this bullpen.  Overall this is a good staff but a good 3^rd starter is needed I think and 1 more good bullpen are would sure it up.

Batting- This team has a ton of power bats and balances it with good OBP guys.  Andrew McCutchen is a MVP player and is one of the top 5 players in the game and is a major 5-tool player.  Pedro Alvarez is a legit 40 HR guy but isn’t much of a AVG or OBP player; if he could hit .250 this year he could be an major threat.  Sterling Marte is an interesting player just to see what he becomes this year.  He needs to be able to take a walk and hit a bit more consistently to become an above average OF.  Neil Walker and Russell Martian are good OBP players and really balance out the players like Alvarez.  Overall this team is very balanced in hitting and could be a major player for a playoff spot this year.

St. Louis Cardinals:

Pitching- What can I say about this staff?  Really its very tough since all of them are so good!  Adam Wainwright is the ace of this staff and that’s a big accomplishment considering this is a team that also has Michael Wacha in the minors and he is a legit ace in the making.  Shelby Miller proved himself to be a fantastic pitcher last year but the season proved to long for him and he seemed to drop off, not worried at all about that and look for him to be the 2^nd pitcher on the staff.  Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn will once again provide good inning eating and be very solid pitchers for this team.  The bullpen I just as strong as the rotation if not stronger; Trevor Rosenthal really showed himself and now took over the closer role from Jason Motte who got hurt last year but is back and will really help stabilize this bullpen.  Carlos Martinez and Kevin Siegrist are both very talented pitchers and add more strength to this already strong bullpen.  Overall this could be the best in the majors, the only thing to watch for is health, which many of these pitchers get hurt often, and age since this is a young staff.

Batting- This is a very balanced lineup full of players that can hit for power and average.  Losing Carlos Beltran will sting a bit but Matt Holliday will lead this team with his very solid bat and still hit about 25 HR’s and have a .290 AVG to boot.  Matt Adams will get his chance to play 1B this year and try and prove his talent with top prospect Oscar Taveras waiting for his chance to take over and run away with the position.  Allen Craig will most likely head back to RF and join what looks like a very strong OF with Peter Bourjos taking over CF.  Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina looks to build on their fantastic seasons last year and with Jhonny Peralta taking over SS this team’s infield gets a big boost at the plate.  Overall this is one of the best lineups in the league and arguably the majors, they should easily make it to the playoffs if all goes well.

First Look: NL West

First Look: NL West

            So the last 3 weeks we’ve looked at the AL and saw who looks good and what moves each team has made.  Starting this week we look at the NL starting with the NL West.

Los Angeles Dodgers:

Pitching-This is a surprising strength for the team since last year the starting pitching was actually pretty weak.  As dumb as calling a team where Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are the 1-2 pitchers but after that last year the team’s pitching got kind of spotty.  Hyun-Jin Ryu had a great season last year and proved himself to be a reliable starter and could easily be a number 2 starter on other teams.  Chad Billingsley is defiantly not the pitcher he was from a few years ago but he is a very sturdy number 3 starter on some teams but does pan out to be a above average number 4.  The fifth rotation spot that will be a 3 pitcher battle between Paul Maholm, Dan Haren and Josh Beckett; personally Maholm and Haren are the two that will get the spot since Beckett is just flat out BAD.  Now lets look at the bullpen, the pen isn’t as good as the rotation but it has its strength.  Kenley Jensen is easily the best of the bunch and will start the season as the closer.  One thing to keep an eye on is the fact that Jensen’s job isn’t secure since many scouts have questioned his actual pitching “smarts” saying he’s prone to making bad choices and doesn’t pitch to batters as much as he tries to just blow it past them.  If Jensen fails then Brain Wilson will get his shot to be closer again, though he can be prone to wild streaks.  Many of the other pitchers are just middle relief or worse guys other than J.P. Howell who is a very above average LHP and will add some good depth to a lacking bullpen.  Overall this is a good staff but it has holes, even with these holes though they can easily survive if they can pitch to the way they can.

Batting-They have a deceptively problematic lineup, for 1 thing they don’t have a 2B or 3B.  Hanley Ramirez will play SS and could move to 3B if needed but he is much better at SS.  Ramirez is also the best hitter on this team and was the reason that the Dodgers got so hot at the end of last season, this lineups success depends on Ramirez being as good as he was last year.  Adrian Gonzalez will add some good BA and OBP that this team needs to survive.  Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp are some interesting players for this team, when healthy they are both super stars and can be the best on the team without much effort.  Kemp is the big question mark; he is the team’s best power hitter and if he can stay healthy for the year look for him to be in the middle of the lineup with Ramirez.  Now the last guy that everyone is wondering about is Yasiel Puig, it’s hard to gauge a player that has had little time in the minors and less time in the majors.  Personally I believe the Puig we saw last year is more of an illusion, he has massive talent but I don’t think he can repeat the feat he did last year.  Overall in trouble; this teams lineup and defense is in major trouble at the moment but if they can figure out their infield situation they could be ok

Arizona Diamondbacks:

Pitching-This team has a lot of potential and has a decent chance on matching it.  Patrick Corbin and Wade Miley are good 1-2 pitchers as long as they can play at major levels all season long.  Corbin fell off at the end of the season last year after starting 10-0 but a new year and a full season under his belt should help.  Josh Collmenter is a good young pitcher for this team and will fit in as the number 3 guy with the massively overpaid Bronson Arroyo fitting in at number 4.  The fifth spot is up for grabs for now.  The bullpen is very much like the rotation where it has upside but if it can reach it or not is a question mark.  Getting Addison Reed will aid in the bullpen as he fits into the closer roll nicely.  With some luck David Hernandez will bounce back and have a season like we know he can have.  Other than that the rest of the bullpen is just average.  Overall its just an average to slightly above average staff at the moment but has growth potential.

Batting-This lineup has strength to back up the weaker pitching.  Paul Goldschmidt is a MVP threat type player and will most likely put up some big numbers this year.  Aaron Hill and newly acquired Mark Trumbo will bring some extra power to the team but sacrificing OBP and Avg.  Martian Prado will be a strong source of OBP and Avg. but not enough to bring the teams Avg. problem under control.  Overall this team has a good offense but have some issues when it comes to OBP and Avg., we shall see how the team fairs through the season.

Colorado Rockies:

Pitching-There are some bright points but overall this is a lack luster rotation.  The teams first problem is no defined ace, Brett Anderson has the talent and the pedigree to be an ace but health is a major issue.  After him the next in line would be Jhoulys Chacin who plays out to be more of a number 2-3 pitcher.  Tyler Chatwood is an ok pitching but nothing more than a 3^rd starter.  Jorge De La Rosa has some talent but health is an issue but when healthy he’s a big time strike out pitcher.  The bullpen isn’t in much better shape; this will be a closer by committee and those never work out.  Rex Brothers will get the first chances and he does have the skill to be a decent closer in the end.  Boone Logan is a good LHP and could fill in for closer if needed or Brothers fails to capitalize.  Overall its nothing special and the staff is just average or worse.

Batting: This is an area that this team does have some talent in.  Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki are some of the best and biggest names in the game today.  Both being legit 5-tool players but both come with their own injury risks sadly.  Veterans like Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau adds some good strength in the lineup.  Also Wilin Rosario is a very good underrated catcher that doesn’t get the credit he deserves with the bat and the staff.  This team has weaknesses and sadly they are bad ones, each of the players I’ve just mentioned has had pretty extensive injury history.  If they lose just 1 piece the team can fall apart and the bench players are below average players in the first place.  While the team has strong position guys there is still issues at places like 1B, 2B and 3B.  Overall the offense is good but not great, bad but not terrible.  This isn’t going to win a World Series but growing on what they have is a good start.

San Diego Padres:

Pitching-A staff that took a hit with news that Cory Luebke needs another Tommy John and at least its been reported that it went well.  But the rest of the staff is solid and actually is pretty underrated.  The staff is built for the stadium they play in, pitching’s like Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Eric Stults and Tim Stauffer aren’t going to strike that many players out but they are great ground ball pitchers and have talent in keeping the ball in the park.  Though Luebke would have been a great way to round out this impressive staff Josh Johnson is going to have to hope for a bounce back season and return to somewhat his old form.  The bullpen is pretty much the same as the rotation, guys built to be in Petco.  There should a bit of a battle for closer between Huston Street and Joaquin Benoit both of who are good ground ball pitchers but both will get a few K’s along the way.  Dale Thayer is a very good RP who will add some depth to this teams bullpen.  Overall I’d actually say one of the best staffs in the division.  Many teams are going to over look them in the end but you shouldn’t.

Batting- Better than you thought and better than people give them credit.  Chase Headly, Jedd Gyorko, Everth Cabrera and Yonder Alonso make up a very above average defense and offense for this team.  In Petco none of these guys are over 15 HR guys but all of them have good contact skills and if Gyorko and Cabrera can repeat some of the production they did last year they’ll be in good shape.  The OF has more holes but is still a very decent OF with guys like the power house Carlos Quentin, when healthy.  Cameron Maybin has a good chance to take a step forward and make his name known, he has talent and just needs to make more contact.  Overall very similar to the pitching staff but actually with less risk of failure, if this team is as good on the field as it is on paper they could surprise a lot of people.

San Francisco Giants:

Pitching- Defiantly the strength of this team and it’s a very deep strength.  Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain are two of the best pitchers in the game today and every time they pitch the team has a good chance of winning.  After that the next pitcher is a bit more muddled.  Tim Hudson is the next best pitcher and the odds he has a bounce back season are decent, he was a good low risk middle reward type signing this off-season.  Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum will battle for the 4^th and 5^th spot and looking at the stats Vogelsong is set for a fall at some point and Lincecum has shown signs of being able to reform what he is compared to what he was.  The bullpen is very deep but getting old and we could start to see some age finally get to them with players like Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Castilla both in their mid 30’s now and Sergio Romo not that far behind.  This could mean nothing though since, unlike hitters, pitchers and age don’t seem to affect their careers as much at least on average.  Overall this is a strong staff and there are quite a few good pitchers still in this staff, my big worry is that if they get to old and don’t start to replace stock the team could have issues.  Also the rotation is strong but a better starter may be needed before the trade deadline.

Batting- A team that is blessed by talent and cursed but the field they play.  Buster Posey is the best catcher in the game today and that fact is proven by his stats from last year.  While his WARP was down by a few points it was still well above any other catcher in this position showing that even a bad year for him is a good year for the rest of MLB catchers.  Brandon Belt has a good chance to step up his game but needs to use the field a bit more than he does now, charts show that 75% of his hits were pulled and at some point teams will catch on.  Hunter Pence will be Hunter Pence and as long as he can avoid glass doors he’ll be ok.  The wild cards for the team are going to be Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse, if these guys can play to the expectations that is on them this team could be quite sleepers.  Overall nothing special to look at but that’s how they’ve survived this long.  No one on this team has over 20-25 HR potential but that’s not how they win, we’re going to have to wait to see if this team can thrive in a tough division.

First Look: AL East

American League East

            Lets continue from where we left off and take a look at the AL East.

Toronto Blue Jays:

Pitching- At first looks this seems like a team with a lot of potential, and it is but it’s the ceiling of that potential that worries me.  The main thing I see wrong with this team is just a lack of strong front line starters.  Each of the big names they have don’t actually pan out to be front line starters R.A Dickey is a good pitcher but isn’t an ace that the team was hoping to have, according to the Seidman Starting Pitcher Effectiveness Model Dickey only ranked as a mid 2^nd starter and not a true number 1.  This could be an issue unless Dickey can return to what he was 2 years ago which isn’t likely but if he stays what he is now then getting a true number 1 will help the pitching a lot.  Brandon Morrow needs to stay healthy and needs to limit the walks and he could be another great number 2 starter but again the team needs an ace.  Though the team does have strength in the bullpen, which has many solid pitchers like Casey Janssen, Jeremy Jefferess, Steve Delabar and Brett Cecil make a good core of relievers.  Delabar and Cecil were both surprises last year and if they can keep strong they can help the bullpen keep going strong.  Overall better than you would have feared and worse than you’d hope.  Middle of the road is best way to put it but with a good bullpen they could be a surprise with the right piece.

Batting-A strong lineup that had a few too many underperformers basically defines the year last year for the Jays.  Jose Reyes was a great addition to the team and is still a great leadoff hitter and with hitters like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion behind him adds a lot of pop to the lineup.  Melky Cabrera needs to have a bounce back season and Adam Lind needs to work on hitting LHP to make the team stronger.  The wild card will be Brett Lawrie, a player that seems to get a lot hate that doesn’t deserve it.  If Lawrie can hit like we know he can he will be a major offensive force for the team.  Overall I say this lineup can turn heads when its on but they have to watch out that many of the better hitters are not without flaws and could end up hurting them.

Baltimore Orioles:

Pitching-What a disappointment for the pitching last year and this year they did seem to fix one area but it wasn’t the major weakness.  The starting pitching on this team is in worse shape than the Blue Jays but has more upside than the Jays pitching does.  Kevin Gausman, Chris Tillman and Wei-Yin Chen are the teams best and very arguably played over their heads.  While I have confidence that Gausman and his partner in the minors Dylan Bundy will hit their potential Tillman only has 1 season of plus level pitching and he ranks as a mid level #2 pitcher last year.  Once again they don’t have a defined ace but unlike the Jays they have guys like Gausman and Bundy have a chance to change this in the near future.  The bullpen was the strength 2 years ago but last year was a flop, they’ve made a few moves to try and get it back to what it was but its got some mix results.  Darren O’Day is a good signing but isn’t an end of game guy just a very solid middle relief guy.  This is kind of the problem with the bullpen in general; good middle relief guys but not door closers.  Overall I say weak but bright future needs an ace and a back end guy to be a good pitching staff.

Batting-Has a very solid lineup with guys like Adam Jones and Chris Davis in the lineup.  It has a lot of power to fall back on and with Manny Machado developing the way he is he could be a middle of the lineup guy in the very near future.  Not to leave out Matt Wieters who is one of baseballs better hitting catchers, not a major avg. guy but he has good power.  The team has weaknesses though, and the problems lie in if some of these players being able to repeat, namely Chris Davis.  If he can repeat even just a bit of what he did last year then the team can go far.  Overall they have a lot of potential and could go far but its up to a few guys to repeat to make it a great offense.

Tampa Bay Rays:

Pitching-Easily one of the best staffs in all of baseball and they doesn’t have many weaknesses.  David Price is easily one of the best pitchers in the game even while having a off year last year he should bounce back to be the ace we know.  Pitchers like Matt Moore, Chris Archer and Alex Cobb look poised to have a strong year that will really test hitters in both leagues.  Their bullpen has improved but getting rid of Fernando Rodney and upgrading to Grant Balfour as their new closer and retaining guys like Joel Peralta and Jake McGee will defiantly make the bullpen a strong force for any team to fight.  Overall this team has so many weapons that are getting better every year and is this teams major strength.

Batting-The Rays have a decent lineup but as a team they never seem to be able to hit at the same time.  Evan Longoria and Wil Myers are the two best hitters on this team and they have a lot of potential.  But there are risks to both since Longoria hasn’t really been healthy for the last few years and his inability to hit for a high average seems to be an issue for him.  If this is the year he pulls everything together he’s easily the best 3B hitter in baseball.  Wil Myers is young and this will be his first full season so we shall see how he adjusts to pitchers adjusting to him.  The other staples of this team are still there but many have the same issues as Longoria, can hit but for some reason go into some major slumps.  Overall could be a dangerous lineup but they need to stay consistent to do any damage in the long run.

Boston Red Sox:

Pitching-A team that has a few too many question marks, yes they are the World Series Champs but that doesn’t mean the pitching is getting better.  Many of the pitchers are getting up in age and are already past their primes.  Jon Lester is still the best they have and it’s a good bet he will be able to keep up the pace he set last year but the rest of the rotation may not be so lucky.  John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront all have the chance to be very good but all of these pitchers have had better season than they had last year and all rank as number 4 guys.  The teams hopes really rely on Clay Buchholz coming back from his injury plagued season after starting off so hot.  If he does Lester and Buchholz could lead this rotation to victory.  The bullpen has its strengths but is much like the rotation with its question marks.  Koji Uehara will return as the closer for the team and as much as I think he can do fine it will be his first full season as a closer and combined with his age/work load might catch up with him.  Edward Mujica was a great pitcher in the beginning of the 2013 season but he fell off late in the season so we need to find out if he can bounce back from last season.  Andrew Miller and Junichi Tazawa will be good to decent pitchers for the team but in Miller’s case I don’t expect too much.  Overall a good staff but its not as strong as Tampa’s though to be fair not many teams can match Tampa’s.  They will be successful if they can stay healthy the entire season, which was a major issue last year.

Batting-Still strong but the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury is going to hurt the production no matter how you slice it.  This doesn’t mean the team is a pushover they still have some strong bats in Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, both of which will be strong assets to the team just like always.  Mike Napoli is a good hitter and will add the power the team needs in the middle of the lineup.  The team has a lot of interesting players that can make a strong impact: Mike Carp, Brock Holt, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts could make a big difference for the team.  Overall this team doesn’t look like they have a strong lineup but its deceiving how much talent they have.  They still may have the best lineup in the division.

New York Yankees:

Pitching-This is the team I’m sure everyone was waiting to hear about and I’ll just come out and say it right now.  No Masahiro Tanaka is not going to be the new ace of the team, from what I can find on him since information is limited on him.  From what I’ve seen about him he has a mid 90’s fastball that stays around 92-93 on average and uses very nasty off-speed pitches like his split finger to get guys out.  He profiles as a number three starter at the moment.  We have to see how he manages in a new league in a new country.  As for the rest of the rotation it’s actually quite strong with C.C Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda at the top and having Ivan Nova behind Tanaka makes a great 4 starters.  The fifth spot will be fought over by David Phelps and Michael Pineda both could do the job but Pineda has the upside.  The bullpen is in good shape even with Mariano Rivera is gone.  David Robertson is a great pitcher and will fill in for Rivera admirably.  Signing Matt Thornton gives them another good relief option.  The team could use a few more good relief options after them but the team should survive as long as the starters do their jobs.  Overall this is a mixed bag of pitching; while the starters are great the relief is just ok.  The starting pitching is actually the 2^nd best in the division and one of the better in the league, while not the best of the bunch they are in the top 5.

Batting-With the signing of Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury make the outfield one of the stronger ones in baseball.  Throw Brett Gardner into the mix its easily the one of the better defensive outfields in the game.  The infield however is not as lucky, Derek Jeter is getting older, Alex Rodriguez is suspended for the next year, Mark Teixeira is not nearly as potent a hitter as he was in his prime and that makes Kelly Johnson one of the more consistent hitters?  That’s just wrong.  It can defiantly be better than it looks like on paper but the OF is going to have to carry the team this year.  Overall the offense is not as good as the pitching but its good enough to get the team a good amount of wins.

First Look: AL Central

American League Central

            Today we take a look at the AL Central and see what the teams look like at the current moment.  As I’ve stated in the last blog this is a quick look at what the team has done to improve and did it help the team this year.  So without further delay we shall start with last years Central champs the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit Tigers:

Pitching- At first looks this teams starting pitching look amazing.  With Verlander still leading the team as their Ace and with Scherzer, Sanchez and Porcello behind him this shapes to be one of the strongest if not the strongest SP rotations in the league.  Now I’ve mentioned the SP’s strength and how that hasn’t changed from last year but the weakness of the Tigers wasn’t the SP it was the RP and lets look at the changes they made there.  Joe Nathan was a major plus to a RP staff that sorely needed that end of game arm or just a shut down arm.  Drew Smyly added some much needed relief last year and he should be fine this year IF he doesn’t win a rotation spot.  Other than that the team hasn’t really improved, Phil Coke is still there but that’s not a plus for them and that seems to be the case for many of the other potential pitchers.  This could still be the major problem area for the team but we shall see what Nathan can add.  Overall the team is a mixed bag in pitching and is a major wait and see.

Hitting- As good as it was before but hasn’t really improved.  This seems like a bad thing not to improve but look at the team and you realize they didn’t have that many areas to improve.  The addition of Ian Kinsler could actually hurt since Prince Fielder is the better hitter in overall talent but adds a major boom to defense of the team.  Jose Inglesias surprised many people last year by hitting for a better average than most thought he could and if he could repeat and keep his amazing glove work up that is a major win for this team.  Miguel Cabrera…The Outfield looks strong but the worry is in LF, they don’t have a solid option that could fill that role 100% but a platoon of Andy Dirks, Nick Castellanos and Rajai Davis could fill that role well. 

Overall the offense looks the same but that doesn’t mean they’ll be worse.

Kansas City Royals:

Pitching- This is a team that surprised many in 2013 and I predict that they will do it again with strong pitching.  James Shields is a very underrated pitcher and is a great role model to the younger pitchers like Danny Duffy and Clayton Mortensen.  The one way they could improve more is if they added Ervin Santana back into the fold.  I do feel that the rotation gets weaker with his loss and getting him back could add a lot to this team but Jason Vargas is a good backup.  The relief has strength and may be the main strength of the team as well with Greg Holland, Luke Hochever Aaron Crow leading the way.  Kelvin Herrera and Louis Coleman add more depth to a strong bullpen.  Overall the pitching looks strong and could be a strong season for this team if the hitting can match.

Hitting- Unlike the pitching the hitting is a little more up in the air.  They have tons of talent with Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer and many more have such great talent but for some reason they can’t find that grove at the same time.  If they all click this is a dangerous team to face for any team.  It’s hard to gauge this team since the potential is off the charts but the stats don’t say much at the moment.  Overall I love this offense if they can click but we shall have to see how it works out for them.

Cleveland Indians:

Pitching- In a word, mixed.  They have good starters like Justin Masterson and Danny Salazar but many of them are just slightly above average but they have many slightly above average pitchers, which is an advantage.  While this seems like an insult the team has a depth that other teams don’t have.  Overall it’s not much to talk about, while they won’t rock the world they will stay in the race with their pitching at the moment.

Hitting- Very much the same as the pitching, better overall than the pitching but nothing super special.  This team is very much a mix of the Tigers and Royals since they don’t have the talent to beat each but they have more talent across the board to stay in the race.  Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana are the real stand out stars for this team and they have a lot of talent, Kipnis had a break out season last year and Santana is poised to have one this year.  Overall they’re ok nothing terrible and nothing outstanding but don’t let that fool you or they will hurt you.

Minnesota Twins

Pitching- They signed Ricky Nolasco to the largest Free Agent contract in club history.  I think that should tell you how good the pitching is for this team.  To be fair this team has some talent in Glenn Perkins, Brian Duensing and Scott Diamond but it’s really nothing very special.  Perkins is the best of this bunch and he actually is a very talented pitcher, he’ll repeat as the teams closer and is someone to keep a look on.  Overall a very large question mark, we shall see if any of the you guys can step it up but we shall see.

Hitting- Has way more talent here than the pitching but I want to take a “wait and see” approach to the actual level of talent they have.  Joe Mauer is of course a major threat to any team and a legitimate .300+ hitter every year but teams can’t ignore players like Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks.  Both of who have talent and lots of it but wont carry the team.  Overall underwhelming and wont expect to see them on any Power Rankings listings unless it’s the bottom 5.

Chicago White Sox:

Pitching- It’s the Twins with Chris Sale, there’s not much here and I don’t see that changing soon.  The talent is there and they have more MLB talent than the Twins have at the moment but it’s going to be a long season for this team’s pitching.  Overall a disappointment in all areas in pitching.

Hitting- The team is better than the pitching and way better than the Twins in all areas but not up to snuff with the rest of the division.  They have good hitters like Jeff Keppinger, Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia and a few others.  It’s a lot of you hitters and hitters that I see progressing forward this year and making a name for themselves.  I actually am keeping an eye on Eaton and Garcia since they have great talent and could make a break out this season.  Overall not terrible but this is not a championship caliber offense yet.