AL Central Predictions: No Surprise, Detroit Tigers Will Dominate
The American League Central is the easiest division in which to pick a winner. The Detroit Tigers are going to win the Central again. Case closed.
The Tigers won the division last year by 15 games and should be even better this season. When Victor Martinez tore his ACL this offseason, it looked like there was a chance they’d slip back to the rest of the pack. Instead, they signed Prince Fielder to essentially replace Martinez’s production.
The addition of Fielder combined with a full season from Doug Fister, who they acquired at last year’s trade deadline, make them a better team. Detroit will also be counting on Brandon Inge less and no longer have the ghost of Magglio Ordonez lurking around in right field. Plus, I’m about as big of a Delmon Young hater as anybody out there, but I think he could have a great year as a designated hitter.
With how much better they are than the rest of the division, I fully expect the Tigers to flirt with 100 wins this season. Once you get past Detroit, however, things get interesting, albeit irrelevant.
The Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals are thought of as up-and-coming teams that should be poised to take the next step. The fact of the matter is the Indians just had a great first month and the Royals lost 90 games. Sure, there are reasons to get excited about the future of both franchises, but that’s more like 2013 or 2014 future.
If the Royals had a better rotation, I could get a lot more excited about their chances. They’ll score plenty of runs this year, but with Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez at the top of their rotation, they’re not going to be able to give Detroit a real run for their money.
It’s actually pretty amazing the Chicago White Sox managed to go 79-83 last year considering just how terrible Adam Dunn and Alex Rios were. Even though they’re in some kind of a pseudo-rebuilding mode, they’ve still got a lot of veterans on the roster, making them potentially the safest pick to finish second in the division. That’s if their roster stays in tact.
I think the Pale Hoes are going to be the biggest sellers at the trade deadline, and that will make them the worst team in the division be season’s end. They have what most consider to be the worst minor league system in baseball, but it could get a whole lot better if general manager Kenny Williams can finish off the rebuild during the season.
And then there are my Minnesota Twins. I don’t like to talk much about this year’s ball club. It doesn’t put me in a good mental state.
Most of the media attention this offseason has revolved around the health of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, but I think this team’s biggest question mark is the pitching staff. Even if Francsico Liriano and Scott Baker can be healthy and effective this year, it’s still a mediocre rotation. Plus, the bullpen looks like it will be the worst in baseball once again in 2012.
I actually think the best-case scenario for this franchise is for the team to get off to a bad start, allowing the front office to be sellers at the deadline. That way, the team can reload the minor league system and start preparing for another run of prominence a few years down the road.
I’ve been wrong about the Twins more often than I’ve been right, but I can’t see them contending in 2012. The homer in me just won’t allow myself to put the White Sox above the Twins.
So there you have it. This is Detroit’s division, and the other teams would be wise just to accept that fact. Cleveland and KC should be building toward 2013 or ’14. Chicago and Minnesota should be aiming for 2015 or ’16.
2012 AL CENTRAL PREDICTION:
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Chicago White Sox
OTHER AL PREDICTIONS
- AL East Predictions: New York Yankees Reloaded, Ready for Another Title
- AL West Predictions: Texas Rangers Stay On Top
