American League Preview

AL East

New York Yankees

            The Bronx Bombers are having the same optimistic feelings that every single MLB team has during the spring. They are healthier, in better shape, feeling happier, etc… than they have ever felt before. While this can often be just misguided optimism, the Yankees are a good bet to win the AL East again this year. They improved their pitching staff by adding Michael Pineda to the already formidable CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, and they think that their offense will be healthier this year (A-Rod). Bet on this team winning 90+ games.

Boston Red Sox

            Speaking of teams who should score roughly 1 million runs this year, the Boston Red Sox should score a TON. Carl Crawford should (repeat, should) bounce back from a career worst year in 2010. The rest of the lineup should benefit from a healthy Kevin Youkilis, Clay Buchholz, and John Lackey. (I am not defending John Lackey, I am just saying he might be slightly better if totally healthy)

Tampa Bay Rays

            How do you spell: Best starting pitchers in the American League? R-A-Y-S. James Shields, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, and Davis/Niemann should be able to give the Rays a great chance to win on most nights. Shields has suddenly found consistency, Price is poised to have a break out season this year, and Moore can apparently strike out 22 batters per game, if the playoffs last year prove to be the norm. The Rays hitters are less impressive, but a full year of Desmond Jennings, and the usual brilliance from Evan Longoria will help this team compete for a wild card spot at the very least.

Toronto Blue Jays

            Man, the Blue Jays get absolutely screwed in the AL East. In the AL Central, they would step in as the 2^nd best team. In the NL, they could win a couple of divisions. But in their current division, they face the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays about 50 times per year (it seems like) and they just can’t keep up the pace. Oh well, this team is fun to watch. Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, and Colby Rasmus should smash the ball pretty well and help this team win some games. I like their pitching less than some, but Brandon Morrow could have a big year in 2012.

Baltimore Orioles

            If the Blue Jays are in trouble because of the depth of this league, the Orioles will seemingly need to wait until there are 7 wild card spots in the playoffs, and that still may not be enough for them to make the post season. The Orioles have had terrible luck with drafting, which makes it hard to build a competitive franchise. They have one of the bleakest futures of any team in Major League Baseball, and will need to work hard to make the next decade bearable for their fans.

AL Central

Detroit Tigers

            Gross. That is what the amount of power in the heart of the Tiger’s lineup should make you say. Carbera, Fielder, Boesch should all hit 20 (or 30) homeruns. Combine those gentlemen with an automatic win every 5 days when Justin Verlander takes the mound, and you have your AL Central division champions. But only if Cabrera doesn’t lose 5 games because of his terrible defense at 3^rd base. That will be the most interesting part of this season, as Miguel Cabrera drops weight and moves back to the hot corner for at least a season.

Kansas City Royals

            The Royals have a lot of talent in their system, and some of that talent is finally making its way into the major league. Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Salvador Perez are all homegrown players who will be difference makers for this club in 2012. The pitching is not quite as ready for the spotlight, but the Royals should contend in the division, at least through the summer months. What I like about this team is that it has a few seasoned players like Jeff Francouer and Alex Gordon to help this team learn how to work through expectations and adversity.

Cleveland Indians

            I can see a lot of people disagreeing with me with this pick. The Indians had a pretty successful season in 2011, finishing 2^nd in the division at 80-82. But the reality is that they finished 15 games behind the Tigers, and I don’t see them improving much this year. The bright spots for this team are Asdrubal Carbera and hopefully Ubaldo Jimenez, if he can regain his 2010 form that he had as a Rockie.

Minnesota Twins

            The Twins lost some pretty important players this offseason with Cuddyer and Nathan heading out of the clubhouse, but in bigger news, they got back the cornerstone of their franchise in Joe Mauer. Mauer was riddled with injuries in 2011 and his season never really got off the ground. If he can hold up under the demands of catching 2 or 3 out of every 4 games and still contribute on offense, this team will have a reasonable amount of success. However, I would like to submit that a team can never be a contender if their best pitcher is Carl Pavano.

Chicago White Sox

            This team is reasonably old and not getting any younger. Paul Konerko is apparently untouched by time, so I fully expect him to put up 30 homers again this season while still hitting around .300. As for the rest of the old men, we can only hope that Adam Dunn can hit again someday, or that Alex Rios wasn’t a flash in the pan in 2010 either. The White Sox have quality pitching, and they could finish as high as 2^nd in this division, but adding a new manager to the mix could make for some growing pains for this crew.

AL West

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
            Apparently, there is money on the west coast. (just not with the Dodgers) Obviously the Angels signed Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson to huge deals, which made a huge splash this offseason. But to me, these are just some finishing touches to a team that has been competing, but always been a player or two away from winning a championship. Well, they added a couple good ones, and the Angels are my pick to win the World Series this year!

Texas Rangers

            The Rangers have some negative publicity this winter as they let their #1 pitcher leave in free agency. But, all clouds have a land-of-the-rising-sun lining, as the Rangers were able to add Yu Darvish from Japan, a pitcher who has absolutely demolished the Japan Professional Baseball League for 5 years in a row. He should be a more than capable starting pitcher, and its not like the Rangers hitters are going to stop hitting homeruns. My only worry with this team is that OF Josh Hamilton will be a distraction instead of an MVP candidate.

Oakland Athletics

            How can you not be improved when you add Manny Ramirez and the biggest mystery since sliced bread in Yoenis Cespedes? The Athletics are hoping that Cespedes can bring them a power threat to partner with Josh Willingham that will allow them to win some games when their pitching isn’t at its best. It is also worth mentioning that the A’s lost their best pitcher to the Washington Nationals.

Seattle Mariners

            Seattle may not win a ton of games this year, but the youth on this team is very exciting. Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero, and the myriad of talented pitchers in the minors make this team look good for years to come. The problem is, 2012 is not one of the “years to come”. I think this team will struggle, even as Ichiro proves that he is not on his last legs yet. Best case scenario, 3^rd place finish in the AL West.

*The Houston Astros will join the AL West in 2013. Kinda sucks for them.

Thanks for reading the AL Rankings! I cannot wait for the actual baseball season to start, and I think this one has some incredibly interesting story lines that I will be sure to keep my eyes on. Thoughts?