AL Central Preview

1. Detroit

Last year’s AL champions, led by AL MVP and Cy Yong winner Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 250 K), added more offensive firepower as they landed top-tier free agent Prince Fielder (.299, 38 HR, 120 RBI). Fielder will provide even more power to a lineup that already has weapons such as Miguel Cabrera (.344, 30 HR, 105 RBI) and Alex Avila (.295, 19 HR, 82 RBI). The Tigers also return the rotation that helped carry them to the World Series. To go along with Verlander the Tigers have Doug Fister (8-1, 1.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), Max Scherzer (15-9, 4.43 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 174 K), and Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.75 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 104 K). The weak AL Central coupled with the Tigers superior talent should equal another trip to the postseason and possibly the World Series.

2. Kansas City

No seriously. The Royals are one of the teams on the rise, not just in the division but also in the league.  Players who were drafted years ago are coming up to the majors now and succeeding. Alex Gordon (.303, 23 HR, 87 RBI, 28 years old) leads the charge, and Billy Butler (.291, 19 HR, 95 RBI, 26 years old), Eric Hosmer (.293, 19 HR, 78 RBI, 23 years old), and Sal Perez (.331, 3 HR, 21 RBI in 39 games, 22 years old) are close behind. The Royals rotation is the only question mark, but the foundation is there for a solid group, most notably in Luke Hochevar (11-11, 4.68 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 128 K). Look for the Royals to push for a wild card spot in 2012.

3. Cleveland

The Indians are a team that has been on the brink of becoming a powerhouse ever since their division title in 2007, but they have not been able to maintain success over the long-term, last year they won 80 games and finished 2^nd in the division. This year they must overcome another injury to centerfielder Grady Sizemore and an overall anemic offense to challenge for a playoff berth. The Tribe’s offense is led by Carlos Santana (.239, 27 HR, 79 RBI) and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo (.259, 8 HR, 36 RBI in 85 games) but beyond those two, the cupboard is bare. On the hill, the Indians best pitcher is Justin Masterson (12-10, 3.21 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 158 K) After Masterson, the Indians must rely on an assortment of veterans (Ubaldo Jimenez, Roberto Heredia [aka Fausto Carmona] and Derek Lowe). The bullpen is solid for the Tribe however, closer Chris Perez finished 4^th in the AL with 36 saves.

4. Minnesota

The Twins suffered through 2011, finishing with a record of 63-99 and missing their two biggest stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau for the majority of the season. Both Mauer and Morneau look to be healthy for 2012, but the Twins will need more than their two stars to make any noise in the division. Denard Span (.264, 2 HR, 16 RBI in 70 games) is another bat the Twins can count on, but he too missed a big chunk of time in 2011. For years the Twins rotation was their hallmark but in 2011 those numbers slipped, as only one pitcher finished with a winning record (Scott Baker, 8-6). The Twins added Jason Marquis (8-6, 4.43 ERA) in the offseason, hoping to bring some veteran savvy to the rotation but at 33 years old, he is on the decline.

5. Chicago

The White Sox are a team in flux. They parted ways manager Ozzie Guillen after he provided one too many headaches for the club and brought on former White Sox player Robin Ventura to lead the team. Unfortunately for Chicago, Ventura is only managing, as they could’ve used his bat from his playing days. The White Sox have one true offensive threat in 1B Paul Konerko (.300, 31 HR, 105 RBI), and after him the lineup is weak. Adam Dunn was brought on in 2011 to improve the lineup but he struck out 177 times on the way to a .159 average and a .292 OBP. If Dunn can return to his career numbers (.243, .374 OBP) the White Sox will be much improved. The rotation for the Sox is not much stronger, with only John Danks and Gavin Floyd having real potential to put out a successful season. The White Sox will need to rebuild if they want to return to the glory years that saw them win a World Series in 2005, the first the city of Chicago had seen in nearly 90 years.