With the MLB season fast approaching, I thought it was a good idea to give my full predictions for each and every team. Usually, when I do this, I get about halfway done and stop writing because of burnout. Last year, I had a better idea to prewrite the blogs so I wouldn't stop halfway between the teams on the blogs, but that did not work. I got nowhere close and only wrote about eight teams. I'm going to do something different this time. Instead of writing one blog about my predictions, I'm going to write a division-by-division breakdown. I really enjoy the art of baseball, and I think my ideas are ALWAYS right. After I write the six blogs about the divisions, I will write a blog about my World Series team and the bets I like.
So, with that, let's break down the AL Central. It's probably the slightest knowledge I have of a division this season. I did a quick 3-minute research on the division winners, but honestly, who cares? Almost all of these teams suck, and it's a division no one cares about. And I say that with a lot of respect because why should I care if the owners of these teams won't? All five of these teams are below the league average in payroll at an average of $104,677,471. Regardless, we must blog! So, with that, let's get into it.
1st Place: Minnesota Twins
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost RHP Sonny Gray to St. Louis: 3 years $75M
- Lost RHP Kenta Maeda to Detroit: 2 years $24M
- Lost RHP Tyler Mahle to Texas: 2 years $22M
- Lost RHP Emilio Pagan to Cincinnati: 2 years $16M
- Signed 1B Carlos Santana: 1 year $5.25M
- Lost 1B Joey Gallo 000000000to Washington: 1 year $5M
- Lost OF Michael Taylor to Pittsburgh: 1 year $4M
- Lost RHP Dylan Floro to Washington: 1 year $2.25M
- Signed RHP Josh Staumont: 1 year $950K
- Lost DH Miguel Sano to Los Angeles: MLD
- Lost UTL Jordan Luplow to Atlanta: MLD
- Acquired for Anthony DeSclafani, Justin Topa, two prospects, and cash for OF Jorge Polanco
Still Free Agents:
- LHP Dallas Keuchel
- INF Donovan Solano
Projected Lineup:
C: Ryan Jeffers
1B: Carlos Santana
2B: Edouard Julien
3B: Royce Lewis
SS: Carlos Correa
LF: Matt Wallner
CF: Byron Buxton
RF: Max Kepler
DH: Alex Krilloff
Projected Rotation:
RHP Pablo Lopez
RHP Joe Ryan
RHP Bailey Ober
RHP Chris Paddack
RHP Louie Varland
Offseason Grade: F
Holy shit, what a terrible offseason for Minnesota. A complete embarrassment for them. Let many key players leave, like Sonny Gray, and traded one of their better hitters in Jorge Polanco. They are going to finish dead last in the… oh wait, they play in the AL Central. They'll win 84 games and win the division. In all seriousness, I'm shocked at how many players they let walk, but I guess they're confident in the guys they have. They have a good 1-2 in the rotation, and Bailey Ober is a good, reliable pitcher who will only get better. The big question mark is how long Byron Buxton can last and if he can finish the season. It sucks seeing Buxton go down every season, but the rest of the division feels far behind the Twins in competitiveness.
2nd Place: Detroit Tigers
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost LHP Eduardo Rodriguez to Arizona: 4 years $80M
- Signed RHP Kenta Maeda: 2 years $24M
- Signed RHP Jack Flaherty: 1 year $14M
- Signed LHP Andrew Chafin: 1 year $4.75M
- Signed RHP Shelby Miller: 1 year $3.25M
- Lost RHP Spencer Turnbull to Philadelphia: 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Jose Cisnero to Los Angles (AL): 1 year $1.75M
- Signed 3B Gio Urshela: 1 year $1.5M
- Resigned RHP Trey Wingenter: 1 year $1.2M
- Acquired LF Mark Canha from Milwaukee for a prospect
- Traded INF Tyler Nevin to Baltimore for cash
Still Free Agents:
- LF Austin Meadows
- RHP Trevor Rosenthal
- LHP Matthew Boyd
- INF Jonathan Schoop
Projected Lineup:
C: Jake Rogers
1B: Spencer Torkelson
2B: Colt Keith
3B: Gio Urshela
SS: Javier Baez
LF: Mark Canha
CF: Parker Meadows
RF: Riley Greene
DH: Kerry Carpenter
Projected Rotation:
LHP Tarik Skubal
RHP Kenta Maeda
RHP Jack Flaherty
RHP Casey Mize
RHP Reese Olson
Offseason Grade: C+
After Minnesota, it's a real crapshoot on the rest of the division. I decided to go with Detroit to finish second because I like their young talent, and I expect them to make a leap this season. We saw Spencer Torkelson's power numbers jump last season as he hit 31 home runs with a slugging percentage of .446. It was nice to see him improve, but he needs to get his batting average up. Other than that, he and the Tigers' young arms should continue to improve. Skubal and Mize should have good seasons, and it will be good enough to lead the Tigers to 76-80 wins and be second in the AL Central. I would love the future of Detroit if only they didn't have Javier Baez's contract. That might go down as one of the worst contracts ever.
3rd Place: Cleveland Guardians
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost RHP Lucas Giolito to Boston: 2 years $38.5M
- Lost RHP Reynaldo Lopez to Atlanta: 3 years $30M
- Signed C Austin Hedges: 1 year $4.5M
- Signed RHP Carlos Carrasco: 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Zach Plesac to Los Angeles: 1 year $1M
- Lost C Eric Haase to Milwaukee: 1 year $1M
- Signed RHP Ben Lively: 1 year $750K
- Acquired RHP Scott Barlow from San Diego for RHP Enyel De Los Santos
- Acquired CF Estevan Florial from New York (AL) for RHP Cody Morris
- Acquired C Kody Huff from Colorado for RHP Cal Quantrill
- Traded C Christian Bethancourt to Miami for cash
Still Free Agents:
Projected Lineup:
C: Bo Naylor
1B: Josh Naylor
2B: Andres Gimenez
3B: Jose Ramirez
SS: Brayan Rocchio
LF: Steven Kwan
CF: Tyler Freeman
RF: Ramon Laureano
DH: Will Brennan
Projected Rotation:
RHP Shane Bieber
RHP Triston McKenzie
RHP Tanner Bibee
LHP Logan Allen
RHP Carlos Carrasco
Offseason Grade: D-
After two teams, I'm starting to run out of words to say about this division. I think Cleveland will be neck and neck with Detroit for the second spot, but it won't matter much. The only reasoning I have Cleveland finishing third is because I have Detroit finishing second. Not much more reasoning than that, and I think that is a pretty damn good reason. I mean, look at who they acquired this offseason. At least Detroit made an effort.
4th Place: Kansas City Royals:
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed RHP Seth Lugo: 3 years $45M
- Signed RHP Michael Wacha: 2 years $32M
- Signed RF Hunter Renfroe: 2 years $13M
- Signed RHP Chris Stratton: 2 years $8M
- Signed LHP Will Smith: 1 year $5M
- Signed 2B Adam Frazier: 1 year $4.5M
- Signed SS Garrett Hampson: 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Josh Staumont to Minnesota: 1 year $950K
- Lost RHP Brad Keller to Chicago (AL): MLD
- Acquired RHP Nick Anderson from Atlanta for cash
- Acquired RHP Kyle Wright from Atlanta for RHP Jackson Kowar
- Acquired a prospect for RHP Dylan Coleman
- Acquired John Schreiber from Boston for a prospect
Still Free Agents:
Projected Lineup:
C: Salvador Perez
1B: Vinnie Pasquintino
2B: Adam Frazier
3B: Maikel Garcia
SS: Bobby Witt Jr
LF: MJ Melendez
CF: Kyle Isbel
RF: Hunter Renfroe
DH: Nelson Velazquez
Projected Rotation:
LHP Cole Ragans
RHP Seth Lugo
RHP Brad Singer
RHP Michael Wacha
RHP Alec Marsh
Offseason Grade: B
Another team in the AL Central that I enjoyed what they did this offseason. It's nice that teams like the Tigers and Royals actually made an effort this offseason. They know they aren't the best team in the MLB, but with how this division shapes up, anything can happen. I wouldn't be shocked if the Royals ended up competing this season. They have a decently good blend of veterans and young players. Lugo and Wacha are good additions to go with Ragans, and the offense has a lot of young talent that has the potential to be good. For now, I have them 4th in the division, but as I said, I wouldn't be shocked if the Royals went on a run.
5th Place: Chicago White Sox
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Lost RHP Liam Hendricks to Boston: 2 years $10M
- Signed RHP John Brebbia: 1 year $5.5M
- Lost SS Tim Anderson to Miami: 1 year $5M
- Signed C Marin Maldonado: 1 year $4.25M
- Signed CF Kevin Pillar: 1 year $3M
- Lost C Yasmani Grandal to Pittsburgh: 1 year $2.5M
- Signed 3B Mike Moustkas: 1 year $2M
- Signed LHP Tim Hill: 1 year $1.8M
- Signed RHP Chris Flexen: 1 year $1.8M
- Signed SS Paul DeJong: 1 year $1.75M
- Acquired RHP Steven Wilson and three prospects for RHP Dylan Cease
- Acquired RHP Michael Soroka, RHP Braden Shewmake, LHP Jared Shuster, RHP Riley Gowens, and INF Nicky Lopez from Atlanta for LHP Aaron Bummer
- Acquired C Max Stassi from Atlanta for player to be named
- Traded RHP Yohan Ramirez to New York (NL) for cash
- Acquired OF Dominic Fletcher from Arizona for a prospect
Still Free Agents:
- RHP Mike Clevinger
- OF Tyler Naquin
Projected Lineup:
C: Martin Maldonado
1B: Andrew Vaughn
2B: Nicky Lopez
3B: Yoan Moncada
SS: Paul DeJong
LF: Andrew Benintendi
CF: Luis Roberts Jr
RF: Dominic Fletcher
DH: Eloy Jimenez
Projected Rotation:
LHP Garrett Crochet
RHP Michael Soroka
RHP Erick Fedde
RHP Chris Flexen
RHP Nick Nastrini
Offseason Grade: D
What a dogshit organization the Chicago White Sox are. They should have been competing for a World Series this season with all the young talent they had, but instead, they will be competing for one of the worst records in baseball. Jerry Reinsdorf is a loser and a cheap bastard.
No comments:
Post a Comment