MLB Preview: AL Central

The AL Central was easily won by the Cleveland Indians last year, with the Minnesota Twins clinching a wild card spot, 17 games behind them. This season looks to transpire the same way. Although the Twins have seemed to improve over the offseason, I don’t see them putting up much of a competition. The Indians will run away with the Central and the other teams will be left to try and pick up the crumbs.

Last Place: Detroit Tigers

This last place spot could really be a toss-up between the Tigers and the Royals. The Tigers land this spot for me because of their lackluster lineup and subpar pitching rotation. They have one bright spot in the lineup, Miguel Cabrera, and even he is past his prime. He’s really the only hitter to worry about if you are pitching against them. On the mound, they will rely on young Michael Fulmer. He is a very talented pitcher, but with no help, it will be a long season for Fulmer and all Tiger fans.

4th Place: Kansas City Royals

The Royals have entered the rebuilding process. They have lost Eric Hosmer to the Padres, Lorenzo Cain to the Brewers, and Mike Moustakas to free agency. They have parted with their best bats and understand they have another long rebuilding process in front of them. With that being said, they still will have Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, and Jorge Soler to put up some runs. They have a decent lineup and an average rotation. They lack the star power they had. The Royals will swing it good enough to stay just out of last place, but that’s about it.

3rd Place: Chicago White Sox

The White Sox will improve from their record last year, but not by much. They are a year into their rebuilding process and have some good, young talent, but they are still a few years from contention. The bats of Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, and Avisail Garcia will keep them in the middle pack, along with a decent young rotation with some question marks to it right now. Spring Training will show us a little more about their rotation, but I wouldn’t expect too much out of the White Sox this season.

2nd Place: Minnesota Twins

There were many rumors swirling around a connection with Yu Darvish and the Twins this offseason. That signing didn’t happen and that is a huge blow. The Twins are coming off a surprise wild card campaign last year after losing 103 games in the previous season. While not getting Darvish, they managed to improve the lineup with the signing of Logan Morrison, who hit 38 home runs last year. They will have a solid lineup up and down with Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, all along with Morrison. They will score plenty of runs. The problem is a weak pitching rotation. They don’t have a sure ace after losing Ervin Santana to finger surgery. They will ultimately struggle due to the poor pitching. A Wild Card birth is possible, although I would suggest adding a pitcher to the mix hopefully by the trade deadline.

1st Place: Cleveland Indians

The Tribe will run away with the Central this year. After posting the AL’s best record last year, I would expect nothing less out of the star packed team. The lineup through and through is great and the rotation will be dominant with a healthy Corey Kluber. I really don’t see a weakness with the Indians this year. The problem will be getting through October as they have tended to struggle with. Cleveland, get ready for another action packed October from the Tribe.

Written by Justin Raley