Hot Stove:  A rundown of each team in the offseason and what they are looking to improve in 2012. 

Los Angeles Angels:                        The next team we will look at is the first team in the AL West, (alphabetically) the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Projected Starting Lineup:

1B            Albert Pujols

2B            Howie Kendrick

SS            Erik Aybar

3B            Alberto Callaspo

LF            Vernon Wells

CF            Peter Bourjous

RF            Torii Hunter

C              Chris Ianetta

DH           Kendry Morales

Projected Starting Rotation:

Jered Weaver

Dan Haren

C.J. Wilson

Ervin Santana

Jerome Williams

Projected Batting Order:

SS            Erik Aybar

2B            Howie Kendrick

1B            Albert Pujols

DH           Kendry Morales

RF            Torii Hunter

3B            Alberto Callaspo

LF            Vernon Wells

C              Chris Ianetta

CF            Peter Bourjous

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the great state of California of the United States of America of the North American continent of the planet Earth of the Milky Way galaxy finished at 86-76, a respectable 10 games over 500.  However they were second to the Texas Rangers for the second year in a row and owner Arte Moreno decided he didn’t want that to happen again.  Fighting speculation that he was cheap and didn’t like to spend big on free agents (after losing out on Mark Teixiera and Carl Crawford) Moreno pulled the trigger on some major signings this season.  The biggest one was obviously new catcher Chris Ianetta.  He also signed a first baseman named Pujols and a starter named C.J. Wilson.  We’ll see if either of those guys can help back up Ianetta and this squad looking to overtake the Rangers this year.  All kidding aside, the Angels have the best offensive player of the decade on their team now.  With his moving to first, injured incumbent first baseman Kendry Morales looks to be the primary DH option.  But that spot is already pretty crowded with Bobby Abreu and youngsters Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo.  All of these guys want to play.  But I think we are likely to see a rotation of Abreu and Morales this season with Trout getting time in the outfield and giving a break to Hunter and Wells.  Trumbo could begin the season in the minors, learning how to play third base since Pujols will be at first for the next decade.  The Angels have plenty of talented hitters.  And while some are old (Abreu) or injured (Morales) they have plenty of depth to enable other veterans to take time at DH and let some youngsters play the field (Trout, Trumbo, Izturis). 

The Angels batting title winner last season was Alberto Callaspo, who looks to bat 6^th on this team.  He hit 288 with 6 HR, 46 RBI, 54 R and 8 SBs.  He doesn’t really have the speed you look for in a top of the order bat, or the power of a middle of the order man.  In fact, once Trumbo can play third he becomes expendable.  But he sees the ball well and has a tremendous OBP (366 with 58 BBs to only 48 Ks).  So they are happy to have him start the season at the hot corner.  Last year’s leader in HRs and RBI was actually Mark Trumbo, who hit 29 HR and drove in 87.  So I don’t know how long he’ll be learning in the minors, if at all.  He did all that with a respectable 254 AVG in his rookie season.  This kid is going to be a star.  His power stroke is already major league ready.  So I guess the best-case scenario for this team is that he excels at third this spring training and is ready to take over for Callaspo.  But that seems unlikely, and he’ll either be on the bench or in Triple A to start the 2012 season.  It just goes to show how strong this offense is when they have the ability to send a 29 HR player to the minors.  So let’s not waste any time.  I know you are all interested in talking about the new guy.  So let’s talk about that big free agent acquisition.  Chris Ianetta is slotted to be the primary backstop for this club.  I make jokes, but the Angels are thrilled to have him on the team.  He’s a veteran bat with plus power from a position that often lacks punch.  His 15 HR potential will be welcome at the bottom of this order, even if his AVG (238 last season) is unspectacular.  Moving to the top of the order we find the Angels’ middle infield tandem of Erik Aybar and Howie Kendrick.  Shortstop Erik Aybar is likely to be the leadoff man after hitting 279 last year and leading the team with 30 SBs.  They’d like to see that OBP percentage improve and hope that taking a few more walks will enable him to score more R (71 in 2011).  But he had good speed and hits for plus AVG so they are happy with him leading off.  Batting second for this team will be second baseman Howie Kendrick.  Kendrick played well last year, staying healthy and hitting all up and down the lineup.  He was best out of the two hole, and with a healthy group of players behind him he looks to be the obvious choice to bat second in 2012.  Last year he hit 285 with 18 HR, 63 RBI, 86 R and 14 SBs.  He contributes in every category in an above average way.  He’s the perfect number two hitter with the potential for a 300 AVG and a 15/15 campaign.  I wouldn’t be surprised if his skills and supporting cast make him an All Star this season with a career year ahead of him.  Moving out of the infield we find an outfield made up of a youngster in center and two veterans in the corners.  2011 rookie Peter Bourjos had a strong audition last season.  He hit 271 with 12 HR, 43 RBI, 72 R and 22 SBs.    He’s the center fielder of the future in LA, and the Angels management is thrilled that he was ready to take the reins last year.  That brings us to the corners of the outfield where we find Vernon Wells in left and Torii Hunter in right.  Wells struggled last year, as the weight of that big contract he signed continues to weigh him down.  He hit an abysmal 218 last season.  They thought he may have finally gotten over the overrated label that’s been put on him in recent years as he had a great 2010 campaign (273, 31 HR, 88 RBI, 79 R).  And while his speed has essentially left him (15 SBs the last two years) and his AVG hasn’t been over 300 since 2007, the one good sign from last season was his 25 HR coming after his 2010 total of 31.  If he can’t contribute in all categories like he used to, they’d at least like him to be good in one.  If that means power then 20+ HR is what they’d like him to deliver.  Anything else is gravy.  Now for something completely different, we have Torii Hunter.  His entire career Hunter has been the epitome of a multiple category stud.  He’s not a star in any of them, but well above average in all of them.  Last year was his first full season in right (after 600 straight Gold Gloves in center).  Some thought it would affect him at the plate.  Hunter used to be a lock for 270+ AVG, 20+ HR, 80+ RBI, 80+ R and 10-15 SB.  And while age affected some of last season’s numbers (5 SBs and 262 AVG), he still played well in the other categories and was a great defensive right fielder.  He hit 23 HR, drove in 80 runs and scored 83.  In a game that’s so fluid, consistency is an incredibly valuable asset.  And Hunter is slotted to hit 5^th in this lineup, and will likely continue to be an above average player in almost all aspects of the game.  Hitting right in front of Hunter will likely be DH Kendry Morales.  The caveat to that is health.  He hasn’t played since May of 2009 after breaking his leg in a walk off celebration that caused him to miss the rest of the 09 season.  In an even more frustrating turn of events, he hurt his ankle while rehabbing and missed all of 2011.  The last healthy season he had saw a 306 AVG with 34 HR and 108 RBI.  If he can return to those kinds of numbers, he’ll be a force in the middle of this lineup.  One of the players who will challenge him for at bats (besides the corner outfielders who will take time at DH to take a breather) is last year’s primary DH Bobby Abreu.  Abreu has started to show some signs of age as he played very little in the field last year and hit 253, one of his lowest AVGs ever in a season.  In addition, his power dipped to 8 HR and 60 RBI.  He still has surprising speed (21 SBs) but he’s on the backswing of a great career.  He recently said that he didn’t want to be on the bench, and if he wasn’t playing full time the Angels should trade him.  After talking to the manager and GM, he said he was happy being assured 400 ABs and some time in the outfield.  I imagine they want to hang on to him until they know what they have in Morales.  He’ll DH a few times a week and maybe spell the corner outfielders.  The last member of this DH rotation will be Mike Trout.  Trout didn’t announce his presence to the majors like his initialed counterpart Mark Trumbo, but he’s been touted as one of the top minor leaguers in the Angels system for a while.  In 40 games last year he hit 220 with 5 HR, 16 RBI, 4 SB and 20 R.  They hope to continue easing him into major league pitching and see if he starts to figure it out a little better in his second year.  And that brings us to the biggest free agent acquisition of the year for the Angels (seriously this time), Albert Pujols.  Pujols is far and away the best hitter in baseball.  He’s a stud.  A star.  The best offensive player of our generation.  Last year was an off year for him.  And it still saw a 299 AVG with 37 HR, 99 RBI and 105 R.  He’s played in at least 143 games every season since 2001 and hit 312 or higher every year except for last year.  In fact he hit over 320 every season since 2002 except for last year.  And he’s not just hitting for a fantastic average each year, he’s had 32 or more HR every year since 2001 too.  From 2003 to 2006 he hit at least 42 HR and drove in at least 117.  2008 and 2009 saw 47 HR and 135 RBI and 42 HR and 118 RBI.  He’s a serious hitter.  And in the middle of this lineup, I have every reason to believe that he’ll hit over 300 again with 30-45 HR and 100+ RBI.  Not to mention 95+ R.  He will be the key cog in this Angels offensive machine.  This offense was formidable before (last year’s injuries not withstanding), but always lacked a big power bat (except for the one year Morales played well).  With Pujols as that big bat, there is no limit to what this offense can achieve.

The Angels’ hitters were good last year and look to be great this year.  The pitchers were great last year, and seem to have only gotten better in the offseason.  Jered Weaver led the team with 18 Wins, a 2.41 ERA and 198 Ks.  He was in the Cy Young discussion (although Verlander had that pretty tightly wrapped up).  Weaver had 4 CGs, 2 shutouts and a 235 IP, which was good enough for second on the team.  In addition, his secondary numbers (212 BAA, 1.01 WHIP) were strong enough and Weaver’s had enough of a positive history that the Angels feel this guy can be their ace and pitch like this for them every year.  I mentioned that Weaver was second in IP.  The team leader was Dan Haren, who is one of the best number two starters in the majors.  Haren was 16-10 with a 3.17 ERA and 192 Ks.  He matched Weaver’s 4 CGs but threw a third shutout that Weaver didn’t.  His BAA was pretty good as well (235) and his WHIP was almost as good.  He gave up more hits, and that translated to more runs.  But I don’t think any Angels’ fans have a problem with what Haren did last year.  With these two atop the rotation, the Angels have two legitimate studs that can almost guarantee a victory in a 3 game series before the third game is even started.  The third starter for this team will be the new free agent acquisition, C.J. Wilson.  Wilson not only improves their team because he’s a quality pitcher, but since they poached him from the Rangers (the team that’s won their division for two straight years) they weakened their biggest rival as well.  Wilson had a career year last season, going 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 206 Ks.  While he was pretty good in 2010, his first season as a starter, he became a star last year.  His WHIP and BAA were strong as well, and he gives the Angels a third pitcher who can throw over 230 innings and strike out 200 hitters.  There’s a drop off after these three, but any team that only has a significant drop from the 3 to 4 starters is in good shape.  In addition, the Angels’ fourth starter is better than just about any other number 4 man in the league.  Ervin Santana had a disappointing 11-12 record that spoiled the look of his other fantastic numbers.  Despite the losing record, he threw a superior number of innings (228) and struck out plenty of guys (178) while recording a very good ERA (3.38).  The only difference between him and the guys in front of his is a higher BAA, though still a strong one (241).  Santana threw a no-hitter at one point, and is no slouch when he’s a little off.  He had 17 Wins in 2010.  And he’s an important piece of this starting rotation, which is really strong from top to bottom.  If there’s one question, it’s at the 5^th spot in the rotation where Jerome Williams steps in to replace Joel Piniero and Tyler Chatwood.  He’s bounced around the majors in recent years, but went 4-0 with a 3.68 ERA in 6 starts for the Angels last season.  He’s not a big strikeout guy and doesn’t have pinpoint control.  But we are still talking about a number 5 starter with a sub 3 ERA, and passable secondary numbers (1.36 WHIP and 269 BAA).  This guy is not expected to do too much.  They just want him to keep the team in games.  And if he can do that, he’ll be successful.  If the Angels have a weak spot, it might be in their bullpen as closer Jordan Walden struggled at times last season.  But their middle relief is stout (Scott Downs, LaTroy Hawkins, Hisanori Takahashi) and their starters so strong and offense so potent, that there may not be too many save situations to sweat.

2012 Prediction…The Angels were the best team in the AL West for a long time.  For the last two years, they’ve finished just behind the Rangers, who are also very good.  The Athletics and Mariners don’t figure to be too much of a threat, so they just needed to be better than the Rangers.  So Arte Moreno went out and got the best hitter in baseball to join his club and also a strong young starter.  This team now looks to be the favorites to win the division.  And no disrespect to Texas, but on paper the Angels have to be the best team.  Anything short of a division title will be a failure.  This team hopes to play deep into the playoffs and bring home another World Series to the Angels fans.  And I think they can do it.  I have to pick them to win the division.  And if for some reason they don’t, then that means they and Texas both likely won enough games to make the playoffs, and the Angels are the wildcard team.  I’d be shocked if this wasn’t a playoff team next October.

Up next…Oakland Athletics

Hot Stove:  A rundown of each team in the offseason and what they are looking to improve in 2012. 

Minnesota Twins:            The next team we will look at in the AL Central is the Minnesota Twins.

Projected Starting Lineup:

1B            Justin Morneau

2B            Alexi Casilla

SS            Jamey Carroll

3B            Danny Valencia

LF            Ben Revere

CF            Denard Span

RF            Josh Willingham

C              Joe Mauer

DH           Rene Tosoni

Projected Starting Rotation:

Carl Pavano

Francisco Liriano

Brian Duensing

Jason Marquis

Scott Baker

Projected Batting Order:

CF            Denard Span

2B            Alexi Casilla

C              Joe Mauer

1B            Justin Morneau

RF            Josh Willingham

3B            Danny Valencia

LF            Ben Revere

SS            Jamey Carroll

DH           Rene Tosoni

The Twins had a very disappointing 2011.  At 63-99, they had the worst record in the American League.  Injury was mostly to blame as their two best offensive players Mauer and Morneau missed a ton of time.  But there was concern that their supporting cast was able to do so little without them.  And the ones that did perform (Cuddyer, Kubel and Thome) are no longer with the team.  Mauer and Morneau are the heart of this club.  If they perform, then this club can compete.  But even if they are playing at an All Star level, they need the players around them to step up their game if they are going to make any noise in an improved AL Central.

With Morneau and Mauer out for the majority of last season, it was up to other players to step up and perform.  Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 who stepped up best have since left the club.  Michael Cuddyer led this team in AVG and HR and was second in RBI.  Jason Kubel was second in AVG and third in HR and RBI.  And Thome slugged himself into consideration with 12 HR in limited ABs and a great 351 OBP.  The only other hitter who made any noise in this lineup last year was third baseman Danny Valencia, who led the team with 72 RBI.  That came with 15 HR, but also a 246 AVG.  He needs help, as he’s young and can’t carry this offense alone.  Left fielder Ben Revere played pretty well hitting 267 last season.  He didn’t have any power (0 HR) but he did chip in 30 RBI and 34 SBs.  Alexi Casilla only played in 97 games last year hitting 260 with 2 HR, 21 RBI, 52 R and 15 SBs.  If he can stay healthy he can play either second or short.  They liked his numbers and hope he can add to them in a full season.  His partner up the middle, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, didn’t play well in limited games last season.  He hit 226 with 19 RBI, 14 R and 2 SBs.  They weren’t pleased with what their big free agent acquisition gave them in 2011.  He’s going to have to fight for his starting job.  Casilla could take time, mainly at second and Jamey Carroll looks to rob him of time at short.  Carroll played well in LA last year hitting 290 with 17 RBI, 52 R and 10 SBs for the Dodgers last season.  The veteran isn’t a star, but hits for high AVG and can get on base and score runs.  I’d expect him to play a lot this season, unless Nishioka really turns it on.  In the center field, Denard Span also missed a lot of playing time.  He only played in 70 games with a 264 AVG, 37 R and 6 SBs.  He’s been solid at the top of this lineup for the last two years and they hope that a healthy season of him can see plus AVG, 100 R and 25 SBs.  The last member of this outfield is free agent Josh Willingham.  Willingham hit 246 with 29 HR, 98 RBI and 69 R for the Oakland Athletics last year.  He was a big prize to go after, and his power is pretty consistent, especially if he can flirt with 30 HR in a pitchers park like the Oakland Coliseum.  They hope that power will translate in Target Field as he backs up the M brothers.  And that brings us to the former batting champ and MVP.  Mauer is arguably the best offensive catcher in baseball.  While his power has never been where people thought it would be, he consistently hits for a tremendous AVG and drives in runs.  In his best season in 2009, he hit 365 with 28 HR and 96 RBI.  When healthy, he should hit over 300 with 15-20 HR and 70+ RBI.  They need that output, as he’s their number three hitter and the best player on this club.  The former MVP Morneau is hoping to finally be healthy.  Since suffering a concussion in late 2009, Morneau has been unable to play a full season.  Even in his limited time he’s hit for plus AVG and great power.  In 2009 he had 30 HR and 100 RBI. However, last year wasn’t great as he hit only 227 with 4 HR.  Morneau’s been dealing with concussion symptoms for so long that he’s not sure he can come back.  But if he can stay healthy he anchors this lineup, hitting cleanup.  And they need those 30 HR and that plus AVG if they are going to even be in the discussion for the playoffs.

You have to be pretty bad on in all aspects of the game to finish with the worst record in the league.  And as bad as the Twins’ offense was, their pitching was just as bad.  Not a single pitcher on this staff had double digit wins.  (To be fair 3 guys were tied with 9 Wins).  The best ERA among the starters last season was Carl Pavano’s 4.30.  (He was one of the guys with 9 Wins).  But he did little else well (though I don’t know that “well” should be the adverb attributed to a 4.30 ERA).  His BAA was an atrocious 294, his WHIP was a pedestrian 1.36 and he only struck out 102 hitters in 222 IP (at least he ate up innings).  I guess he’s the ace.  The guy who they were hoping to be the ace didn’t pitch much better.  Francisco Liriano (also a 9 game winner) had some numbers that were better than Pavano, and some that weren’t.  His BAA was much better (249) but his WHIP was not as good (1.49).  He struck out more guys and gave up fewer hits.  But he also walked more guys, and didn’t strand as many runners as Pavano, ending the year with a terrible 5.09 ERA.  Both of these guys need to improve dramatically, as they are expected to be the two best pitchers on this staff.  Scott Baker (underachiever, only won 8 games) led the team with 123 Ks.  Nolan Ryan he was not.  But he was one of the better pitchers on this team last year.  He went 8-6 in 21 starts, with a 3.14 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 248 BAA.  But as good as he was, he’s fighting for a spot in the rotation.  Pavano and Liriano are going to start, as are Brian Duensing and new arrival Jason Marquis.  So Baker is fighting Anthony Swarzak for a spot in the rotation this spring training.  Swarzak was a starter/reliever for the Twins last year.  He had a 4.32 ERA and a 4-7 record.  His 275 BAA left a lot to be desired and his WHIP wasn’t anything special.  If it were me, I’d let this guy be my spot starter/long reliever and let Baker start.  I mentioned the other two starters Duensing and Marquis.  Duensing (the third guy with 9 Wins) had little else worth mentioning.  His ERA was terrible (5.23), the WHIP was also bad (1.52) and the BAA was also pretty weak (299).  So he’s hanging onto his job by virtue of experience, though strong performances from other pitchers could cost him the rotation spot.  The last starter is Jason Marquis who has been unspectacular the last couple of years.  In 20 starts in Washington he went 8-5 with a respectable 3.95 ERA.  Luck was part of it as his 283 BAA was entirely too high.  But he played well enough to be traded to the Diamondbacks at the deadline.  However his luck faded in the desert.  He went 0-1 in 3 starts with a 9.53 ERA, 2.29 WHIP and 386 BAA.  An injury mercifully kept him from making more starts.  Overall he was 8-6 with a 4.43 ERA on the season.  That’s very passable.  If he can pitch like he did in D.C he should be a valuable asset at the back end of this rotation.  But if he struggles, there are plenty of pitchers who are looking to start for this Twins team.  These starters need to play well, because the middle relief for this club doesn’t look great.  The loss of Joel Zumaya was a major blow.  Matt Capps is a solid closer and Glen Perkins should be good to set up, but the other pitchers have a lot to prove this season.  In all, this pitching staff has a lot of improvements to make if they want to help pull their team out of the basement. 

2012 Prediction…The Twins had a huge letdown season last year.  Their two stars got hurt, then after a terrible season a lot of their role players departed.  They have a lot of room for improvement, but are essentially trying to do it with a new team.  While they have every reason to believe they will be better with Mauer and Morneau, they had a 2011 Indianapolis Colts situation on their hands where they were abysmal without their stars.  If these two come back strong, the Twins will be better, but with so many other losses it’s really hard to see them playing October baseball.  I think Detroit wins the division, and I don’t think they have enough wins for a wildcard berth.  Honestly, I think any finish outside of last should be something the Twins should be happy with.

Up next….Los Angeles Angels.

Hot Stove:  A rundown of each team in the offseason and what they are looking to improve in 2012. 

Kansas City Royals:                        The next team in the AL Central (alphabetically) is the Kansas City Royals.

Projected Starting Lineup:

1B            Eric Hosmer

2B            Johnny Giavotella

SS            Alcides Escobar

3B            Mike Moustakas

LF            Alex Gordon

CF            Lorenzo Cain

RF            Jeff Francoeur

 C             Salvador Perez

DH           Billy Butler

Projected Starting Rotation:

Felipe Paulino

Bruce Chen

Luke Hochevar

Aaron Crow

Jonathan Sanchez

Projected Batting Order:

LF            Alex Gordon

SS            Alcides Escobar

DH           Billy Butler

1B            Eric Hosmer

RF            Jeff Francoeur

3B            Mike Moustakas

2B            Johnny Giovatella

C              Salvador Perez

CF            Lorenzo Cain

The Royals finished last season, like so many before it recently, with a losing record.  In fact, they’ve had only one winning record since 1994.  Last year they started out hot, going 10-4 in the first 14 games.  It was the best record in the American League.  However they struggled soon after that and by the All Star Break had the worst record in the American League.  Quite the swing.  They finished the year at 71-91, good enough for 4^th in the AL Central, 24 games back of first.  They’ve pretty much brought up all the young guys they were claiming would be the saviors for the team.  They’ve been re-building for years.  This is the year we start to get an idea of if these guys are going to be any good.  I don’t think we settle it this year, they are all still very young.  But hopefully we see some improvement as these guys make some strides in their second years in the majors. 

The Royals had three different hitters leading them in AVG, HR and RBI.  Melky Cabrera led the team with a 305 AVG, as well as hitting 18 HR, 87 RBI, scoring a team leading 102 R and stealing 20 bases.  It was a breakout year for the star who they brought in on a low-risk one-year deal.  They traded him in the offseason to the Giants for a talented young starter named Jonathan Sanchez.  More about him later.  But young Lorenzo Cain will now take over in center for Cabrera.  Cain has only played parts of two seasons in Milwaukee and Kansas City.  But in 49 games he has a 302 AVG with 1 HR, 14 RBI, 21 R and 7 SBs.  He doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he’s being handed the starting job, and they’ll see what they have in him.  The depth chart is pretty shallow at this position, so they hope he works out.  One of the other three leaders on this team was Alex Gordon, who led the team with 23 HR.  He really figured things out last year, and finally found a place to play in the field.  He won a Gold Glove for his defense in left field, and hit 303 with those 23 HR and 87 RBI.  He stole 17 bases and scored 101 R.  He’s the leadoff hitter for this club and is finally living up to his potential as a high draft pick.  His OBP was fantastic and with that AVG and all his tools, the Royals look forward to him leading off for them for years to come.  The third offensive leader for this club was DH Billy Butler.  Butler is one of the youngest DHs in the majors.  He’s not DHing because he’s an aging veteran (though he is one of the oldest players on this team), but because with their wealth of young talent, they have a better defensive first baseman on the team.  Butler led the team with 95 RBI last season.  That came with a 291 AVG, 19 HR and 74 R.  He’s the enforcer.  The big bat.  They were worried about his power a few years ago, but some of his league leading doubles numbers carried a little more last year and went over the fence.  He hits for a plus AVG and now seems able to hit 20 HR.  Even when he doesn’t, he hits 40 doubles and knows how to drive in runs.  He’s being counted on to be an offensive leader for this club.  After Butler, the only other real veteran on this club is right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who had a career year coming over to Kansas City.  Perhaps the lack of expectations is what he needed to flourish.  He hit 285 with 20 HR and 87 RBI.  He also stole 22 bases and scored 77 R.  He’s still very young and has tons of tools.  And while he washed out with the Braves and Mets, he is having a renaissance with the Royals.  His 20/20 season came out of nowhere, and showed that the Royals can make smart, low-risk investments.  He’ll probably hit 5^th for this club, providing some protection to Butler, and the youngster Eric Hosmer.  Hosmer had quite the rookie year.  He hit 293 with 19 HR, 78 RBI, 11 SBs and 66 R in 128 games.  A full season could see 25 HR, 20 SBs and 90 RBI.  He’s slotted to hit cleanup and drive in the runners who get on in front of him.  That would include Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and, for my money Alcides Escobar.  A lot of people think second baseman Johnny Giovatella will be hitting second for the team.  Last year Melky Cabrera was in the two hole and was fantastic.  So either way there are some big shoes to fill.  But I’d go with Escobar because the young shortstop has more upside and great wheels.  Neither hitter was great in the majors last season and both need some seasoning to hit major league pitching.  So why not let the higher ceilinged player have a shot?  Escobar hit 254 with 4 HR, 46 RBI, 69 R and a team leading 26 SBs.  His bat hasn’t been too scary in his first three years in the majors, though in 38 games in his rookie season he did hit 304.  He improved in his second full season pulling his AVG from 235 to 254.  Another similar improvement this season makes him a 270 hitter.  That should probably put him in line for about 30 SBs and 80 R.  I’ll take that in the two hole any day of the week.  Escobar’s competition for that spot is second baseman Johnny Giavotella.  Giavotella hit 247 with 2 HR, 21 RBI, 5 SBs and 20 R in 46 games.  It’s a small sample size and they do worry about his bat.  But he’s young and looks to get a lot more experience in a full season next year.  Speaking of youngsters needing more seasoning, catcher Salvador Perez was called up to the major league club at the age of 21 to be the final piece of this young team.  In 39 games he hit 331 with 3 HR, 21 RBI and 20 R for the major league club.  In 5 minor league years that equals out to a little over two major league seasons, he hit 285 with 20 HR and 177 RBI.  He’s who they hope will be their catcher of the future and they wanted him up here with the rest of the club who they hope will carry them forward.  And the two main pieces of that Royals future are aforementioned first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas. Moustakas didn’t arrive with the bang of Hosmer, but still showed some great talent.  He hit 263 with 5 HR, 30 RBI and 26 R.  He only played 89 MLB games last season, but they like what he’s done in the minors.  He’s supposed to be a star for this team, and is slotted to hit sixth in this lineup.  The Royals have a ton of young, talented hitters.  They should be a fairly formidable offense this season.  The future of the Royals offense is bright.

Unfortunately for the Royals, hitting is only one part of the game.  The best pitcher on this staff may have been Luke Hochevar.  He was second on the team with 11 Wins.  He led the staff with 198 IP, 128 Ks and a 4.68 ERA.  While some of those numbers are good, and all are solid, none should be good enough to lead the team.  At best Hochevar is a passable pitcher.  It speaks to the Royals pitching issues that he may be their ace.  Bruce Chen led the team with 12 Wins.  His 12-7 record and 3.77 ERA was a pleasant surprise in his 25 games.  They’d like to see fewer walks, but his BAA was acceptable and his ERA was good.  He played well enough to be brought back for another season in Kansas City.  Felipe Paulino is also slotted to start for this team.  In 20 starts for him last season he went 4-6 with a 4.11 ERA.  He struck out 119 hitters in 124 IP.  His WHIP and BAA were a little too high, but they’d like him to take over as one of the leaders of this staff.  The 4^th starter for this club was last year’s All Star representative, Aaron Crow.  In 57 games out of the bullpen last season he went 4-4 with a 2.76 ERA.  He struck out 65 hitters in 62 innings and had a tidy 237 BAA.  They’d like that WHIP to come down because he does walk a few too many guys.  But he was the lone All Star from the Royals last season, and he earned a shot to make this rotation.  The likely fifth starter is the man who the team received in the trade for Melky Cabrera, Jonathan Sanchez.  He’s had 6 solid years in the majors, with a 38-46 record and a career 4.26 ERA.  He had a great season in 2010 going 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA.  He didn’t play as well in 19 starts last season going 4-7.  But his ERA wasn’t too high at 4.26 and his 220 BAA was very good.  In fact, in the last three years the highest BAA he’s had is 221.  Those are solid numbers.  They’d like for him to walk a few less hitters and get that WHIP down.  Strikeout pitchers walk a lot of guys.  But in his 205 K season in 2010 he had a 1.23 WHIP, which is pretty solid.  So he’s got plenty of talent and a pretty high ceiling.  So there is some talent in this rotation.  The issue for them is that they have no ace.  Their starters are okay, and some could be good.  The Royals just hope that they can keep them in games and send it to the back end of the bullpen.  If the Royals have a lead late, they like their chances with Joakim Soria as the closer and former Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton setting up for him.  But there are holes in this pitching staff, and that could certainly hurt the Royals in a long season.

2012 Prediction…The Royals are improving.  When you re-build for so long, you are bound to have some talent on your team from the draft.  The Royals are hoping that they are finally at the precipice of contending.  But like so many young teams in the majors, they are talented with the bats but lacking on the mound.  This offense is good, but still young.  The pitching can’t be described with such high praise.  The Royals are improved, but I’d be shocked if they had a winning record this season and even more surprised if they were in the playoffs in 2012.

Up next…Minnesota Twins.

Hot Stove:  A rundown of each team in the offseason and what they are looking to improve in 2012. 

Detroit Tigers:            The next team to discuss in the AL Central is the Detroit Tigers.

Projected Starting Lineup:

1B            Prince Fielder

2B            Ryan Raburn

SS            Jhonny Peralta

3B            Miguel Cabrera

LF            Delmon Young

CF            Austin Jackson

RF            Brennan Boesch

C              Alex Avila

DH           Brandon Inge

Projected Starting Rotation

Justin Verlander

Max Scherzer

Rick Porcello

Doug Fister

Jacob Turner

Projected Batting Order:

CF            Austin Jackson

RF            Brennan Boesch

3B            Miguel Cabrera

1B            Prince Fielder

LF            Delmon Young

C              Alex Avila

SS            Jhonny Peralta

DH           Brandon Inge

2B            Ryan Raburn

The Detroit Tigers have had quite the offseason.  They signed one of the biggest free agents on the market in the biggest surprise move of the offseason.  The Prince Fielder sweepstakes were thought to be between the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers.  Instead the Tigers swooped in at the last minute and grabbed the young power hitter.  He now heads to the city where his father used to be a star to anchor this talented offense.  As good as their hitters are expected to be, the other headlining story for this club is, how will this defense work?  The Tigers won the AL Central last season with a defense that could be generously be considered average.  They hope that they have enough offense to cover the precipitous drop this defense took from average, to decidedly subpar.  The good news for them is that they have a few power pitchers on their staff that overwhelm hitters, striking them out and getting weak contact.  And the theory is that their powerful offense can overcome any defensive deficiencies that the Tigers will face.  If they are right, the Tigers should be headed for a second straight division crown and some October baseball.

Miguel Cabrera was the core of this team last season, leading them in AVG (344), HR (31), RBI (105) and R (111).  He was in the heart of the MVP discussion and is a batting champ.  He’s one of the best hitters in the majors and is a lot younger than most people realize.  He was a third baseman in Florida and in his first year or so in Detroit.  However he was a little big for the hot corner, and moved over to first a few seasons ago.  Jim Lelyland wants him to play some third this season to open up first base for Fielder.  The fact is, he was bad at third before he moved over to first.  Moving him back to third could be bad news for groundball pitchers Porcello and Fister, especially with Fielder’s limited range and first and Rayburn’s limited range at second.  The only decent fielder in the infield is Jhonny Peralta.  But even he’s, at best, slightly above average.  So we’ll see if this defense ends up being a major problem for Detroit.  The theory is, they hit so well that bad range and the occasional error can be made up for at the plate.  We’ll see if that happens.  After Miguel Cabrera, the second best hitter on the club was Victor Martinez who hit 330 with 103 RBI.  But he’s been lost for the year due to injury.  The other All Star for this team was young Alex Avila behind the plate.  Avila hit 295 with 19 HR and 82 RBI.  This was a welcome surprise, and looked like it was for real.  I don’t know if he’ll hit that well in 2012, but Tigers think he’s a legitimate star and he really does look good at the plate.  The other player who had a surprisingly good offensive season was shortstop Jhonny Peralta.  A lot of people have expected him to be a star, and he hasn’t delivered.  But he’s been pretty good in parts of different seasons and really put it together last year.  He hit 299 with 21 HR and 86 RBI for the Tigers last season and was an All Star.  He’s had power in the past, and was always good at driving in runs.  The AVG finally went to a place they thought it should be and the Tigers are hoping it continues for him this season.  The good news for people like Peralta, Inge and Avila is that with two monster hitters in front of them, they should get lots of pitches to hit.  Speaking of Inge, he had a down season last year.  He played in only 102 games and logged only 269 ABs.  He hit 197 with 3 HR and 23 RBI.  The Tigers really hope injury was to blame for that.  He’s only two years removed from a 27 HR, 84 RBI, 71 R scored effort in 09.  But he slumped a bit in 2010 hitting 13 HR and 70 RBI.  And the reason those power numbers are important is because his highest AVG over the last three seasons was 247.  He needs to turn it around this year, as he’s already losing playing time over at third, and there are plenty of other strong hitters waiting to take some time away from him at DH.  One of the hitters who may move into a DH role a little more this season is left fielder Delmon Young.  Young only played in 124 games last season between Minnesota and Detroit.  He hit 268 with 12 HR and 64 RBI.  However visions of his 2010 are dancing in Detroit’s heads when he hit 298 with 21 HR and 112 RBI.  He’s a talented young man, who will start in left for this club.  He’ll get some time at DH as he’s not a defensive phenom either.  Moving around the outfield we find Austin Jackson in center.  The second year center fielder hit 249 with 10 HR, 45 RBI, 90 R and 22 SB.  He’s your classic leadoff man with great speed.  He’s young and his AVG and OBP leave something to be desired.  In his rookie season he hit over 300, but a very generous BABIP left everyone expecting that number to come down.  He did get on base and score 90 R.  If he can cut down on those Ks (181), and improve that AVG and OBP then he should get to 100 R, and maybe steal 30 bases this season.  The SBs aren’t that important though, because as long as he can get on base, multiple people can drive him in by taking pitchers deep.  The right fielder will also hit at the top of the lineup.  Second year man Brennan Boesch had a strong season last year hitting 283 in 115 games.  That came with 16 HR, 54 RBI, and 75 R.  After a streaky rookie season and the departure of Magglio Ordonez, he hit well enough to get himself a starting job.  Some think he’ll platoon with Don Kelly, but I’d let Boesch start.  He could take some time at DH as well, though I think Kelly will get a lot of playing time there.  They have 2 outfielders and a spare third baseman, all of which are expected to take some time at DH.  Leyland would like Fielder and Cabrera to DH occasionally too, but it’s hard to sell them on that.  The one player we haven’t talked about in that rotation is Don Kelly.  In his fourth year in the majors last year, Kelly hit 245 with 7 HR and 28 RBI in 112 games.  I don’t think he takes the starting job from Boesch, though it’s feasible to see him get playing time at both corner outfield positions, especially if Inge struggles as a DH.  The last part of the offense to talk about is the right side of the infield.  Ryan Raburn will man second this year.  After two strong years in 2009 and 2010, he slumped a little in 2011.  He hit 256 with 14 HR, 49 RBI and 53 R.  The years before saw similar power numbers but a much higher AVG in the 280-290 range.  If he can bounce back to that range, he will give the Tigers a full infield of hitters with plus power and AVG.  And that brings us to the big offseason acquisition:  Prince Fielder.  Fielder had a typical season for him, hitting 299 with 38 HR, 120 RBI and 95 R.  He’s hit for pretty good AVG most years (slumped a bit to 261 in 2010) but has hit at least 30 HR and 83 RBI in every season.  If you overlook his slump year in 2010, he’s been one of the best power hitters in the majors.  After his rookie call-up in 2006, his HR totals have been as follows:  28, 50, 34, 46, 32 and 38.  His career AVG is 282.  And he’s never missed time with injury.  His defense at first base isn’t great, but he’s improved every season.  He now heads to Detroit to hit 4^th in this lineup and provide some protection to Miguel Cabrera.  He should be a lock for 30 HR and 100 RBI easily, though 40 and 120 aren’t unrealistic.  He may get some time at DH this season, but either way he’ll be hitting in this lineup almost every day.  This may be the best offensive lineup in the majors, and Fielder and Cabrera are at the heart of it.

When we talk about Detroit’s pitching, one name obviously jumps out:  Justin Verlander.  He’s an All Star, Rookie of the Year, and, as of last year, is a Cy Young Winner.  But all that pales in comparison to the other award he won last season:  the AL MVP.  He was the first pitcher to win the award since Dennis Eckersley won it in 1992, and the first starter to win it since Roger Clemens in 1986.  He led the majors in the AL Triple Crown categories last season with 24 Wins, a 2.40 ERA and 250 Ks.  Also, he led the league in IP, with 251.  There are no words to express how fantastic his season was last year.  It was good enough to unanimously win the Cy Young, and beat out all hitters for the MVP.  This guy is the best pitcher in the majors.  He is the epitome of an ace, and leads this team on the mound.  The number 2 pitcher on this staff was Max Scherzer who had a pretty good season last year.  He went 15-9 with a 4.43 ERA.  He was second on the team in IP with 195 and had 174 Ks.  His WHIP and BAA left a lot to be desired, and a good offense helped him earn those 15 Wins.  But despite giving up a ton of hits, he was able to bear down and not give up too many runs.  They’d like for him to not let as many guys on base, but if he can continue to strand runners and overpower hitters while eating innings, the Tigers will be happy with him as the guy pitching after Verlander.  The other two pitchers who started 30 games were the departed Brad Penny and the youngster Rick Porcello.  Porcello continued to improve in his third season.  He went 14-9 with a 4.75 ERA.  His secondary numbers were similar to Scherzer’s, and they were too high (1.41 WHIP, 292 BAA).  He’s a groundball pitcher who eats innings.  He’s still got a lot to learn, and the AL is an unforgiving place to pitch.  If he keeps pitching with runners on, then his luck won’t continue to hold out and his ERA (which isn’t good right now) will continue to climb.  The other concern for Porcello this year is that the defense behind him got a lot less talented.  He is pitching best when he’s pitching to contact and inducing weak groundballs.  But if those weak groundballs are getting through the infield, he’s going to be in a lot of trouble this season.  The number 3 starter for this year will be Doug Fister, who joined the team halfway through last season.  In 21 games for Seattle before he was traded, he went 3-12.  But he had a solid 3.33 ERA, 252 BAA and a good 1.17 WHIP.  After he joined a better team in Detroit, he went 8-1 in 10 games with a 1.79 ERA and a sparkling 206 BAA and 0.84 WHIP.  That’s absolutely superb.  Overall his numbers for last season 11-13 in 32 games, with a 2.83 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.  Fister is a very good pitcher.  However, he too is a groundball guy who eats innings and relies on a strong defense behind him.  The concern with these new players is that they will not be able to cover as much ground, and hitters that were grounding out for Fister last year will be finding holes and getting on base.  But I think Fister is less likely to suffer as he’s shown that hitters really don’t hit well off of him, and his numbers are less prone to the passing winds of luck.  The 5^th starter is likely to be youngster Jacob Turner.  Turner has been solid in the minors, but never a star.  After 42 starts in all levels of the minor leagues, he has a 10-10 record with a 3.36 ERA and 212 Ks in 246 IP.  In 3 starts for the major league club last season, he went 0-1 with an 8.53 ERA.  He struck out 8 and walked 4 in 12 IP.  They hope that sample size means nothing and that a spring training preparing to start for the major league club will bring numbers closer to his stats from the minor leagues.  He was a highly rated prospect, but never was seen as a star.  They’d like to give him a chance as he’s so young, but if he struggles Phil Coke lurks in the bullpen waiting to steal starts away.  That bullpen looks pretty solid, with Jose Valverde coming off a strong season as closer and Joaquin Benoit and Octavio Dotel setting up for him.  The Tigers feel that if that can get to the late innings, the MLB saves leader from last season won’t let them down.

2012 Prediction…Detroit won the division last year.  After their tremendous offseason, you have to assume they got even better.  And with no other Central team making grand improvements, they have to be the favorites to win the division this season.  I think they were a good offense with solid pitching led by an ace.  Now I think they are a great offense with solid pitching led by an ace.  They should be playing October baseball, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing for the pennant this year.

Up next…Kansas City Royals.

Hot Stove:  A rundown of each team in the offseason and what they are looking to improve in 2012. 

Cleveland Indians:            The second team in the AL Central (alphabetically) is the Cleveland Indians.

Projected Starting Lineup:

1B            Casey Kotchman

2B            Jason Kipnis

SS            Asdrubal Cabrera

3B            Lonnie Chisenhall

LF            Michael Brantley

CF            Grady Sizemore

RF            Shin-Soo Choo

C              Carlos Santana

DH           Travis Hafner

Projected Starting Rotation:

Ubaldo Jiminez

Derek Lowe

Justin Masterson

Josh Tomlin

Kevin Slowey

Projected Batting Order:

CF            Grady Sizemore

SS            Asdrubal Cabrera

RF            Shin-Soo Choo

DH           Travis Hafner

C              Carlos Santana

LF            Michael Brantley

1B            Casey Kotchman

3B            Lonnie Chisenhall

2B            Jason Kipnis

Last year’s Indians team finished second in the AL Central at 80-82, 15 games back of the division winning Detroit Tigers.  They started out incredibly strong and were the division leaders at the All Star Break.  They then traded for Ubaldo Jiminez to lead their pitching staff, and got some outfield support in the form of Kosuke Fukodome.  But Jiminez wasn’t great in Cleveland, and the team faded down the stretch finishing under 500 and outside of the playoffs for the 5^th straight year.  Manager Manny Acta has done a tremendous job with these young players making them competitive.  He hopes to keep the fire burning in them this year and have it be hot enough to last for a whole season.

This team was carried by All Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera last season.  He led the team with a 273 AVG, 87 R, 17 SB and 92 RBI.  He was also second on the team with 25 HR.  It was a career year for the talented young man, who finally put everything together.  But the numbers weren’t great after him.  Carlos Santana led the team with 27 HR but only hit 239.  His OBP was pretty solid at 351, but as is often the case with guys who walk a lot, he also had a number of strikeouts (133).  The power is good, but they’d like that AVG to improve mightily.  The real keys to this offense are in the outfield.  Center-fielder Grady Sizemore can’t stay healthy.  Last season, his counterpart in right, Shin-Soo Choo couldn’t either.  Sizemore used to be a 30/30 threat who would hit over 300 consistently.  Choo was a 20/20 threat that hit 300 for three straight years.  Last season Sizemore played in 71 games hitting 224 with 10 HR and 32 RBI.  They are hoping he was just rusty last season.  But if his numbers are going to be closer to his 2011 totals then the Indians have to worry.  I think he can bounce back, though more to the tune of 25-30 HR and 10-15 SB.  But they really need his AVG to be closer to 300 than 250.  If he can at least do that, he will again be a leader on the Indians.  He hasn’t had a full season in the majors since 2008.  2010 saw only 33 games, and last year only 71.  Choo hasn’t had nearly as much bad luck with the injury bug.  He was limited to only 85 games last season, hitting 259 with 8 HR and 36 RBI.  He was healthy in 2010 and hit 300 with 22 HR, 90 RBI and 21 SBs.  He’s been fairly consistent his whole career, and when healthy he can get his 20 HRs and 20 SBs and be a force in the middle of that lineup.  They need him to be.  He’s carried the team with Sizemore hurt, and they really click when both of them are hitting well.  Beyond them they are planning on bringing in Casey Kotchman to take over for Matt LaPorta at first.  The LaPorta experiment yielded average numbers, but numbers that were way too low at the position.  In 107 games last year, LaPorta had 11 HR, 53 RBI and 247 AVG.  Kotchman had a good season in 2011, hitting 306 with 10 HR, 48 RBI and 46 R.  Those aren’t generally what you are looking for at first base.  But since neither guy is giving them the power they want, they will take Kotchman who has a much better AVG.  There’s not much of a ceiling here, but he plays good defense and hit for plus AVG last season.  The big power threat on this team is Travis Hafner.  Last year he hit 280 with 13 HR, 57 RBI and 41 R in 94 games.  Hafner and his contract have been a drain on Cleveland ever since his health failed him.  From 2004 to 2007, he was a tremendous power threat hitting at least 24 HR and driving in 100 guys every year in there.  He also hit over 300 all but one of those seasons.  He makes a ton of money for a guy who doesn’t play in the field, and for that reason they really need him to produce.  Cleveland needs his 2006 numbers when he hit 308 with 42 HR and 117 RBI.  But his last healthy season was in 08, and they desperately need him to stay healthy and provide some power for this team.  If Cleveland is healthy, they have 4 potential All Stars in Choo, Sizemore, Cabrera and Hafner.  Backing up those guys are Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisnehall.  Brantley has the most experience of the three.  Last year was his longest as he played in over 100 games.  They liked his skill set, and want him to continue to improve on his modest power and speed (7 HR, 13 SBs).  In a full season he could hit 15 HR and steal 25 bases.  Kipnis and Chisenhall were both rookies last year.  Kipnis had a strong audition in his 36 games.  He hit 272 with 7 HR, 19 RBI and 5 SBs.  He’s likely to start at second this season.  Chisenhall played twice as many games, hitting 255 with 7 HR and 22 RBI.  These guys are both young and learning major league pitching.  If the Indians are going to make any noise at the plate, it will come from the veterans on this club.

Justin Masterson led the Cleveland pitchers last season.  He led the team with 12 Wins, a 3.21 ERA, 158 Ks and 216 IP.  He had a lot of luck as he gave up over 200 hits in those innings and had a 257 BAA.  But he kept his WHIP pretty low at 1.28 at got the job done on the hill.  It was a pleasant surprise for the Indians as the 5^th year player had his best season yet.  They hope it wasn’t an outlier.  If he can keep that ERA below 4 and continue to eat innings, they like what they have in him.  However he’s not supposed to be the ace of the staff.  That job belongs to Ubaldo Jiminez, who came to the Indians before the trade deadline last year.  Overall, Jiminez was 10-13 with a 4.68 ERA last year.  He wasn’t sharp and his ERA climbed.  But in 2010 he had a career year, going 19-8 in the legendary hitters haven, Coors Field.  He had a 2.88 ERA and struck out 214 hitters in 221 IP.  His BAA was 209 and he had a 1.15 WHIP.  He was in the running for the Cy Young that year.  The year before was also strong, with over 200 innings, a 3.47 ERA, 198 Ks and 15-12 record.  Jiminez has the stuff to be a star.  The Indians hope last year was an aberration, and that he can be their ace.  The other pitcher the Indians were counting on was Fausto Carmona.  He had an All Star season in 2007, going 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA and 137 Ks in 215 IP.  The next two seasons were terrible, with ERAs north of 5 both years and 13 Wins in those two years.  He bounced back a little bit in 2010 going 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA.  However they don’t know that he will be back.  He was arrested in his native Dominican Republic for identity theft.  His real name is Roberto Hernandez and he’s actually 31, not 28.  And they don’t know when he’ll be back to the majors.  He’ll almost certainly miss spring training, and maybe more time on top of that.  This was a killer for the Indians.  Luckily, they made two trades to add depth to their rotation.  The first was made before they found out about Carmona, the second after.  They made a trade for veteran Derek Lowe early in the offseason.  They got him for a minor leaguer, and it was more a bit of salary relief for the Braves, who got Cleveland to pay $5 million of the $15 million Lowe is owed this year.  Lowe led the league in losses with 17 last season.  But he’s a veteran who lives on his sinkerball and gets outs.  His ERA climbed to over 5 with mechanical issues last year.  But the Indians want to work with him, and they hope they can get him back to a dependable innings eater who will get groundball after groundball for this team, giving their bullpen some rest.  The other move they made was to bring in Kevin Slowey from Minnesota.  They made this move as soon as they found out about Carmona.  Slowey had a terrible season last year, going 0-8 with a 6.75 ERA in 14 starts.  They hope some of that was rust and injury, but the two years before saw 10 and 13 wins respectively.  He’s not a star (4.86 ERA in 09 and 4.45 ERA in 10), but he’s a solid pitcher with experience that can get the job done.  He looks to have an inside track at the 5^th spot in this rotation.  The one youngster who’s likely to break the rotation is Josh Tomlin.  Last season he went 12-7 in 26 starts with a 4.25 ERA.  The year before he started 12 games, going 6-4 with a 4.56 ERA.  He’s young and has shown that he knows how to get guys out.  He’ll more than likely be a fixture in the starting mix for the next few years.  There are other starting options if injury or ineffectiveness is a problem for the chosen starters (Jeanmar Gomez, David Huff).  And the bullpen has some unproven commodities before the final innings.  Chris Perez is the closer after a good season last year with Rafael Perez hoping to setup for him.  If the Indians can make it to those two, they feel pretty good about their chances.   But their pitching is unproven and young and they will need help from the offense if this team is going to contend.

2012 Prediction…The Indians played a good half season last year.  But they slowed down in the second half and missed the playoffs.  Now, the Tigers have improved greatly and the Twins and White Sox want to make their mark on the Central too.  So the Indians have plenty of competition and they have a lot of question marks on both sides of the ball.  If things all work out for them, then they should be a pretty good team.  But that’s far from guaranteed, and even if it does, I don’t think they have the talent to win the division or the wildcard.  This team is still putting the pieces together, and it will likely be a few years before they are ready to really contend in this division.

Up next…Detroit Tigers.