Now, we are moving to the AL central for our 2019 team previews.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians still have their young core intact, but they lost a lot of outfielders this season. They have tried to remedy this by signing Matt Joyce and Carlos Gonzalez, but they are still very thin there. Their bullpen took a major hit as Andrew Miller left for St.Louis and Cody Allen signed with the Angels, but they still have Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. This team is favored to win the central once again, but the Twins won't be doing them any favors
Minnesota Twins
After a dismal 2018 campaign, the Twins signed sluggers Nelson Cruz, CJ Cron, Jonathan Schoop, and Marwin Gonzalez. They are hoping Miguel Sano can go back to mashing homers and that Byron Buxton can stay healthy, but the pitching needs to step up for them to have a shot at playoff contention. They can perhaps go under the radar and sneak up on Cleveland.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are not looking too good. They had a decent start to the year in 2018, and were in second in the central for a bit, but as soon as Miguel Cabrera got hurt, it was straight downhill for them. Miggy isn't what he once was, and Michael Fulmer is looking good. That's about all there is to look forward to here. This will sadly be the reality in Detroit for a few more years minimum.
Kansas City Royals
There's nothing eye popping here, and this team will be around the 100 loss threshold for another 2 to 3 years minimum. All their power bats are gone and there's no true ace in the pitching corps. Maybe Jakob Junis? The one thing this team can boast is that they are better than the Baltimore Orioles(But that's not saying much). Expect more basement dwelling KC.
Chicago White Sox
They may have failed to get Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, but there's some promise here. This year, the Sox may be able to build off their momentum and maybe not make the playoffs, but at least emerge from the basement. They're a year or two away from serious contention, but there's promise on the southside. Expect a playoff push next year.
Division assesment
This division I feel will be a lot like the AL East. Two teams fighting for the division lead with everyone else fighting for the basement. If it's any solace, the Sox are gonna start being competitive a year or two down the road. For now, just two teams fighting it out. AL West preview coming tomorrow.
Comments
Post a Comment