MLB Preview: AL East

Honestly, this division could shake out in a number of ways.  It does not feature clear favorites like the Indians in the Central or the Astros in the West.  In fact, this division could even hinge on the Red Sox shoring up their lineup in the upcoming weeks.  A move like landing JD Martinez could add strength and power to the middle of the Boston lineup, and bolster production from guys like Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts.  Surely the Yankees should build on their surprise run to the pennant last year, right? This is especially after adding NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, but there remains questions surrounding a new manager and a lot of young players.

Fifth Place: Baltimore Orioles

I hate to look at last season and predict a very similar outcome, but the worst rotation in baseball has a chance to be as bad or possibly even worse this season.  Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman have flashed in their careers, but certainly do not have the stability to command the front end of a good MLB rotation, and Gabriel Ynoa, Miguel Castro, and Alec Asher are slotted as their 3-4-5 starters right now.  That is weak.  On the lineup end of the game, the Orioles do boast some talented players.  Manny Machado should perform at a high level the whole year, and Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop also showcase some pop in their bats.  It’s just not strong enough to compensate for this horrific rotation.  Expect around 70 wins.  

Fourth Place: Tampa Bay Rays

Coming off a surprise year from the Rays, they lost two of the big bats (Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison) in their lineup that propelled them to 80 wins and a third place finish.  They’ll keep Corey Dickerson and Steven Souza Jr. as the centerpieces, but even with all 4 players in their lineup last year, they were only 25th in runs scored.  The key method to their success was home runs(they were 6th), and pitching.  Without the timely home runs, can the Rays really win ball games? I’m going to bet they are pesky due to their pitching but finish around 4th due to their lineup.

Third Place:  Toronto Blue Jays

While I have this team at third, I like them a lot more than that indicates.  This offseason they had a decision to make: keep the core for one more year or blow it up.  Despite the Josh Donaldson trade rumors, they are going to hold tight and keep him in his contract year. That returns the 2-3-4 of Donaldson, Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales, who all wreaked some havoc last year.  In addition, the team added Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson, Yangervis Solarte, and also Aldemys Diaz on the bench likely.  That’s a much deeper team who can deal with injuries.  If their rotation and bullpen can hold up, this team is extremely dangerous.  Aaron Sanchez and the old JA Happ NEED to stay healthy. That’s the key.

Second Place: Boston Red Sox

Ahhh, the hometown team.  There’s a ton of room for improvement here. Nobody on their entire team hit over .280, minus Dustin Pedroia and Christian Vasquez, who did not play full seasons. There is too much talent here for that to happen again.  I attribute it to the protection of David Ortiz being gone, which caused guys in the middle of the lineup to struggle.  In essence, pitchers could pitch more carefully and walk hitters if needed because they did not have to worry about Papi behind them.  I do envision Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez improving, and if they do, watch out Yankees. The Sox have a ton of pitching talent, and what I saw from David Price in the Playoffs encourages me.  I also think Alex Cora bolsters this squad as a players’ guy who can relate to the team.  He is fiery and also speaks Spanish, key to help a guy like Hanley, who could sure use some motivation and coaching.  Why do I not see the Red Sox winning the division yet? I cannot make that prediction without a big bat like JD Martinez.  I do not know if this lineup has the protection for these young hitters to make that much of a leap without that. Another interesting stat: The Sox were 15-3 in extra inning games, something that definitely led to their division title last year. That’s a chain of events I do not see continuing.  

First Place: New York Yankees

Let me preface this by saying I think this team is overrated, but not crazy overrated.  I could forsee a scenario where they finish third in this division and are either the second wild card or completely out of it. This division should be close between the Yankees and Red Sox, and possibly the Blue Jays.  Adding Stanton was clearly a huge move, and the 3-4-5 of him, Judge, and Sanchez is clearly very formidable. That could easily be 110 home runs right there.  Look at the rest of this lineup though. Greg Bird hitting fifth? Ronald Torreyes and 21 year old Gleyber Torres, ‘fresh’ off of Tommy John, both slotted to start? There just simply isn’t another bat in this lineup that scares me. To add to that, Aaron Judge could easily hit below .250.  After a torrid start, he hit just .228 in the second half.  Along with an inexperienced, brand new manager in Aaron Boone, I do not get why everyone is overhyping the Yankees.  What I will say is a full season of Sonny Gray alongside  Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino is definitely an emerging- elite front of a rotation.  We know their bullpen is lights-out, forming an elite pitching staff in general.  The strength of this team could be those two units, more so than their hitting. I have the Yankees winning it, but my point is I am not just handing them the division like many pundits are doing.

Written by Will McGuinness