2013 AL Central Projections

Last season it appeared as if The Detroit Tigers were going to waste the opportunity that was afforded to them. The Tigers play in The American League Central which was the weakest division in The AL. For most of the season The Tigers were mediocre until they figured it out in September. The Tigers won 88 games last season en route to their second AL Pennant since 2006. The main thing for The Tigers has been to provide protection in their rotation for starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander has struck out at least 200 batters in the last four seasons. Tigers general manager David Dombrowski thinks that he has the combination of young pitchers behind Verlander in Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello as the trio combined for 36 wins last season and The Tigers are expecting bigger things from them in 2013.

The Tigers lineup is deep as Detroit hasn’t seen a motor this big since the 1980 Chevy Camaro rolled off the assembly line. The Tigers are led by the reigning AL MVP in third baseman Miguel Cabrera who became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski to win The Triple Crown. It didn’t take All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder that long to get acclimated to The American League as he provided protection for Cabrera with a .313 batting average and 30 home runs last year. The table setter for The Tigers is center fielder Austin Jackson who had an on-base percentage of .377. The addition of outfielder Torii Hunter will provide depth in the outfield. After sitting out the entire 2012 season after suffering an ACL injury, catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez is back in the fold as he is another power bat for The Tigers.

This arguably could be the most talented team that Tigers manager Jim Leyland has had since he came to Motown.

There is no doubt that The Chicago White Sox overachieved in 2012 under first year manager Robin Ventura. Ventura was a scrappy player during his 16-year MLB career and his team embodied that last season. The White Sox played with “house money” all year as they hung with The Tigers in The AL Central. This season won’t be as promising for The South Siders as Detroit has improved while The Sox are rebuilding. Longtime catcher A.J. Pierzynski left The Windy City to sign with The Taxas Rangers. Pierzynski only committed 6 errors last season while he enjoyed 71 assists. Tyler Flowers will more than likely be the man behind the plate on Opening Day for The White Sox. Flowers will be responsible for calling games for a starting rotation consisting of Jake Peavy, Chris Sale, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd.

The White Sox hit 211 long balls last season which was third in The American League. Led by Alexi Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, and Alex Rios, The White Sox will once again be able to put the charge into the baseball which should make White Sox broadcaster Hack Harrelson happy. 

2013 could be a banner year for Konerko as he needs two hits to pass hit former White Sox teammate Frank Thomas for third place on the team’s all-time hit list and he needs 34 home runs to once again pass “The Big Hurt” and become the franchise’s all-time home run king.

It will be an up and down season for The White Sox, but they should give their fans plenty of excitement in Chicago. 

The word enthusiasm hasn’t been used in the same sentence with Cleveland Indian fans for several years. The Indians haven’t enjoyed a winning season since 2007, but there is some optimism that things are getting turned around after Indians general manager Chris Antonetti hired former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona as his new skipper. Francona led The Red Sox to The World Series Championship in 2004 and 2007. The Indians were also proactive in free-agency as they signed Columbus, Ohio native and former New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher. Swisher only has a career .256 batting average, but he has hit at least 21 home runs in each of his full seasons in The Major Leagues. Antonetti also signed former Baltimore Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds. In six seasons Reynolds has connected on 181 career home runs. Reynolds is notorious for striking out, but his strike out totals have decreased in each of the last four seasons while his on base-percentage has increased in the last three years. Cleveland is hoping that they are turning the corner with their young starting pitchers in Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez. Masterson came to The Major Leagues with The Red Sox under Francona and everyone is hopeful that he is ready to put it all together. Jimenez was an unstoppable pitcher as a member of The Colorado Rockies, but since he was traded to Cleveland in 2011 he has never had an earned run average under 5.00. 

A new manager in Francona should keep The Indians going for a bit, but the nostalgia will wear off at some point. If and when The Indians fall out of playoff contention you wonder if Antonetti will begin to field offers for All-Star closer Chris Perez. In the last three seasons Perez has 98 saves and a contender could be willing to acquire him before the trade deadline.

It has been an extremely steep decline for The Minnesota Twins. Since winning consecutive AL Central Division Titles in 2009 and 2010, The Twins have become cellar dwellers. Injuries to first baseman Justin Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer have really taken away from any success that The Twins were hoping for. The Twins are hoping that things will improve as the only way that they can go is up. The Twins were 13th in The American League in earned run average and their offense was last in home runs as they were only able to connect on 131. 2013 will be a little bit better for Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, but three consecutive seasons with a losing record could start to get people talking unfavorably of him in The Twin Cities.

For the past several years many baseball pundits have been waiting for The Kansas City Royals to become contenders because they have “prospects”. Baseball prospects should have the word “hope” attached to them because it is wishful thinking by many that they will succeed. 

The Royals only won 72 games last season and this season will not be that much better. As far as quality starts The Royals were 13th in The American League last season with 69. Royals general manager Dayton Moore has attempted to improve this team. First Moore made a trade with The Los Angeles Angels to acquire starting pitcher Ervin Santana. Santana only won 9 games last season, but The Royals are hopeful that he can regain the form that helped him win 17 games in 2010. Moore wasn’t done as he sent top prospect Will Myers to The Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for starting pitcher James Shields. Since 2007, Shields has thrown at least 200 innings in every season so you wonder if he has too much mileage on his arm? One thing that we have seen is that players who leave The Rays system are never the same player; i.e. Carl Crawford.

Kansas City had the third most hits in The AL last season (1,492), but they were 12th in runs batted in with only 643. The Royals are hopeful that their young core of Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Alex Gordon can put it together for the entire season as all the marbles hinge on their shoulders. 

Especially after the recent success of The St. Louis Cardinals, I know that the fans in Kansas City are tired of hearing the word “rebuilding”, but this team is still not on course to be a contender in 2013.