MLB Division Preview: AL Central

Heading into the second part of our six part series previewing each division is the American League Central, where the defending champion Kansas City Royals reside. This division has some very obvious strengths and some real weaknesses, lead by the Royals and Tigers lineups and the Indians pitching staff.

(Note: Teams in order of finish in 2015)

Kansas City Royals

Top Offseason Move: Resigning OF Alex Gordon

The Royals once again opened up the checkbook and spent some money this offseason. They signed Ian Kennedy (to what might be the worst contract this offseason), extended Salvador Perez, kept Chris Young, and resigned Gordon. Gordon was a huge coup considering no one thought he would fit in their budget and he came in at a very reasonable contract. This move wouldn’t have been possible without the added revenue from their last two postseason runs, and signing him was crucial to keeping their elite defense and very good lineup together.

Key Departure: UT Ben Zobrist 

Johnny Cueto was not nearly as big of a loss as Zobrist. Zobrist gave the Royals the option to moving around players and getting the best defense and lineup on the field and that did not include the weak link in their offense, Omar Infante in the game. Everyone knew Zobrist’s market was going to be robust because his versatility is so valuable, but he gave the Royals another solid hitter who played well all over the field.

X-Factor: SP Yordano Ventura

This staff lacks a top of the rotation starter and really lacks more than backend guys. Ventura has the potential to be a top of the rotation guy with his stuff and he needs to show that now. The Royals are in desperate need of a guy who can stop losing streaks, especially considering their three-man back-end of the bullpen is now just two, and you cannot expect them to pitch every day.

Pitching Staff Rank: 5th

This staff lacks an elite man and in the past it hasn’t mattered due to their immense talent at the back-end of their bullpen, but this year there is no Greg Holland in the back-end, and Joakim Soria cannot be relied upon anymore to get key outs with his stuff continuing to regress badly and this team running out Edinson Volquez as their man on opening day is almost as sad as Ian Kennedy‘s contract.

Lineup Rank: 1st

This was a close one as the Tigers have a very strong middle of the order, but the depth of the Royals offense is too strong to overcome. Granted the Royals took a step back with Jarrod Dyson manning right field, but the Tigers have problems of their own, namely health. This lineup features a strong middle of the order and should once again lead this team to at least 85-90 wins.

Minnesota Twins

Top Offseason Move: Signing of 1B Byung Ho Park

The Twins didn’t do much this offseason, but they did take a chance on Park who has a chance to either surprise some people and hit for solid average and some power, or fall flat on his face and do nothing. I am banking on the former, and honestly, his contract is very reasonable to the point where even if he doesn’t perform it won’t be a huge deal, and if he does he is going to be a steal for years.

Key Departure: none

The Twins had no serious defections this offseason and managed to keep their nucleus together as well as add a full season of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano to the equation.

X-Factor: SP Phil Hughes

Hughes really struggled last year after posting two solid years in the two prior years. The Twins need him to eat innings and pitching to an ERA in the low to mid threes. That is asking a lot of Hughes with some of the offenses in the American League, but this team does not have many other options in their rotation. Hughes has done it before and needs to keep the ball in the park more.

Pitching Staff Rank: 4th

This staff lacks a top of the rotation guy, and I am not crazy about really any of the starters they are going to trot out there. Tommy Milone is a below average guy, and Ervin Santana has shown flashes his whole career but goes through bad inconsistencies. This team has to score runs to win games, and it should with a much-improved lineup. Sano is a key player in this lineup and a force.

Lineup Rank: 3rd

This team should be able to score some runs this year. Buxton should perform better with some at-bats under his belt, Sano will provide 40-50 home run pop, Eddie Rosario is a solid hitter who gets on base, then throw in Park, Brian Dozier, and Trevor Plouffe and this team has a quietly underrated and deep lineup. Plouffe and Dozier are two very good hitters that not many people know, but should.

Cleveland Indians

Top Offseason Move: Not trading their top starters (Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer)

This team had a tight payroll to begin with and that made it tough to improve their team. However the fact they didn’t trade any of their starters really is significant because they do not have a very good offense, especially with Michael Brantley missing some time early, and to have four guys who can be number two starters or better makes a huge difference. This rotation is loaded and could earn the Indians a playoff berth even with a below average offense.

Key Departure: none

The Indians did not really add anyone of significance, aside from outfielder Rajai Davis, but also did not lose anyone. Throw in a full season of elite production from Francisco Lindor and this team should be even better.

X-Factor: 1B Mike Napoli

The real question after the Napoli signing is what Napoli are you going to get. The one in Boston looked done, couldn’t hit for power or get on base, but the one in Texas proved he could still slug and hit left-handed pitching. When at his best Napoli can hit .270 with 25 home runs, but it isn’t fair to expect that from him anymore at his age. He still has the hottest stretches of anyone I have seen, but if he can hit .260 with 15-20 home runs that would be a solid investment and make the lineup better.

Pitching Staff Rank: 1st

This staff is fantastic with depth, strikeout potential, and two very viable Cy Young contenders in Carrasco and Kluber. This rotation will keep them in games and much like the Rays, it will need to do that if they want to make the playoffs, but this staff has some great weapons to keep them in the race. I am a huge Carrasco fan, maybe even more than Kluber.

Lineup Rank: 5th

This lineup is not very good. Jason Kipnis, Lindor, Carlos Santana, and Brantley (when he returns in May or so) should be solid performers, but everywhere else there are question marks. This team is going to need huge years from those guys to keep this offense afloat. There also won’t be much power here so they will need a lot of timely hits to drive in runs.

Chicago White Sox

Top Offseason Move: Acquisition of 3B Todd Frazier 

The trade for Frazier was an excellent deal. Frazier gives this team another bat to help protect their big bopper Jose Abreu and will lengthen their lineup. The question is will the first half Frazier of last year come back when he was an MVP candidate and showed good pop and a solid average or the second half guy who flopped and dropped precipitously. I think he will hit .270 with about 25 home runs and average defense at third. That is a solid player though and what the White Sox need.

Key Departure: SP Jeff Samardzija

The loss of Samardzija is not a huge deal because his results have continued to be inconsistent, but he still ate a lot of innings and gave them a durable mid-rotation guy with the potential for more. This team will no doubt miss him, but he also never unlocked his potential and probably made the coaches mad with the talent and stuff he possesses and the results he gave them. Nonetheless, he didn’t get overpaid too badly and should pitch very well in San Francisco.

X-Factor: SP Carlos Rodon

Rodon is a huge factor in this rotation and if he pitches up to his potential then this rotation could be a lot better than people think with two solid top of the rotation guys in the top two spots. Chris Sale and Jose Quintana are both very durable and excellent pitchers, but if Rodon uses his wipeout slider and solid fastball and can unlock a third pitch to be consistent, he could make this rotation more promising and allow John Danks to slide into the four slot where he really belongs.

Pitching Staff Rank: 2nd

This staff gets high marks mainly for having two guys at the top that any team would like to have and they even have them on very team friendly contracts. Sale also should compete for another Cy Young award and continue to rack up strikeouts. If Rodon pitches to his potential, Danks pitches like earlier in his career instead of the past two years, and Mat Latos wins the last spot and pitches like he has in the past they could be better than the Indians, but a lot has to break right.

Lineup Rank: 4th

This lineup has a solid top portion of the lineup that got a lot better with Frazier. Adam Eaton is very underrated in center field and I think Adam LaRoche will bounce back, but other than that, this team lacks solid and reliable contributors. A lot of weak parts in this lineup, but they get the edge over the Indians because of Abreu in the middle.

Detroit Tigers

Top Offseason Move: Signing of SP Jordan Zimmermann/ OF Justin Upton

The Tigers spent big money once again despite GM Al Avila saying they were not in on outfielders. The Zimmermann signing at that rate is a good move and the Upton deal makes sense. Both should really help the team this year, but it would have been more wise to invest more money into the bullpen rather than on another bat. This team already had a good lineup and although Upton has very consistent production, he is frivolous for them.

Key Departure: none

The Tigers had no really big departures instead adding a lot of pieces. Their big loss was not being able to sign one of Scherzer or Price the past two seasons and having to live with the Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera contracts.

X-Factor: SP Jordan Zimmermann

Zimmermann was a good signing, but the jury is still out on if he is an ace or if he just pitched well against bad lineups in a weak hitting division for his career. I think there is some middle ground and he should give them an ERA around the low threes, but if he doesn’t they will be in real trouble. After all, Verlander has had a lot of problems over the past years.

Pitching Staff Rank: 2nd

This staff has some very nice pieces with Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey and Daniel Norris all capable of giving them innings and with the Tigers lineup that is really all they need. Sanchez has had some forearm problems early this spring though and if he misses any time this rotation takes a serious hit. Pelfrey is also risky to rely on, but should give them at least 175 innings and an ERA around four.

Lineup Rank: 2nd

This lineup has some really big hitters in it, but health and age concerns weigh them down below the Royals in the division. Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Jose Iglesias have all missed a solid amount of time in the past couple of seasons. On the other side inconsistency has plagued Nick Castellanos and Cameron Maybin. This lineup has a chance to be the best in the American League, but could also be just a top 5-7 unit if health affects them. Either way not bad.

Projected Division Finish:

1. Kansas City Royals

2. Cleveland Indians

3. Minnesota Twins

4. Detroit Tigers

5. Chicago White Sox

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