Post by Red Sox GM (Ty) on Apr 8, 2015 0:06:52 GMT -5
Opening Day is upon us, and God do I love baseball. So much so, that my wife has yet again taken my kids and left me (for the week) in what has become one of my favorite annual traditions. Fortunately, this affords me the opportunity to spend my evenings penning useless predictions about fantasy baseball rather than catching up on the latest in Real Housewives of Tampa. Thank you, gentlemen, for giving my life purpose.
The last year has seen a litany of male heirs added to our Chin Music family. I am aware of at least 4 prospects for the 2032 MLB draft. This got me thinking, and I want to institute a policy right now that if any of our offspring become professional ballplayers, as their father we get dibs. So if the Dodgers are still rebuilding then and one of us Marinoviches our kid into a potential #1 pick, they’ve got to pass. Right now my son projects better as an offensive lineman, but I’m still holding out hope that I can make a LOOGY out of him yet.
Anyway, with the start of Year 8 here at Chin Music, we’re now closing in on a decade of dynasty baseball. Where has the time gone? Regardless, we’re excited for another season and very thankful for our GMs which make this league fun and competitive. As always, we hope you enjoy our prognostications, and look forward to our best year yet. Previous rankings are in parenthesis.
30. (30) Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick inherited a dumpster fire, the embers of which are still glowing 2 years later. He has committed completely to an extreme plan that involves nobody of drinking age, and will undoubtedly take several years to see results. Prospecting is largely a crapshoot, so he will need to shrewdly leverage his vast financial resources to expedite an emergence from obscurity. Expensive, short-term gambles like Kang are great ways to create value.
29. (15) Milwaukee Brewers
The once dominant Brewers have blown it up and embraced the complete rebuild like many others before them. There are some successful teams that were built that way, and given Brew Crew’s sterling track record, I won’t count them out. They do still have a major league piece or two that should provide a decent return to further stock the farm system. The extent of their prospecting success will determine how quickly Milwaukee can reclaim the division.
28. (29) Cincinnati Reds
About a year ago, Gideon was like: “I hate my team. I’m gonna burn this mother down.” I said, “You better not. You better not.” Well, he’s been able to accumulate tons of desirable prospects (particularly pitchers) in short order. They’re still years away from rejoining the title chase, but when they emerge they’ll be well stocked for a prolonged period of excellence. Gideon knows what he’s doing.
27. (27) San Francisco Giants
There’s a new era in San Fran. Jayson Werth and Justin Verlander have been replaced by Kris Bryant and Mark Appel- which are huge upgrades and could lead to long-term success for the Giants. Adkins has done a great job of stocking his system with elite talent that should begin paying dividends shortly with Bryant’s inevitable promotion. They’re better positioned than ever, but they’re still a few years away.
26. (21) Chicago White Sox
The Pale Hose still have some very good starters, and a franchise cornerstone in Abreu. Souza could prove to be a quality building block as well, but there are enough holes that the Scherzers and Weavers would better serve the Sox by fetching prospect hauls than racking up wins. Graham knows what needs to be done, he just needs to start hawking his marketable players more aggressively.
25. (26) Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils have some interesting pieces, though few to really build around aside from Machado. I loved Nova before the injury, but he’s owed a bunch of money and won’t pitch for a few months still. Josh Hamilton was a good reacquisition, as the risk in terms of dollars was small, and he may be movable later in the year. Jim Johnson sees a resurgence in value with the departure of Kimbrel, and Jepsen, Hammel and Dickey could all yield respectable returns on the trade market this summer. Plenty of work remains, but all is not lost.
24. (22) Oakland Athletics
Last year, I advised that Bird dump Pujols while he still had value, and he proceeded to return to fantasy relevance. He’s probably more valuable than he was then, and I still think he makes more sense on another team. There are plenty of other assets, but the only current franchise cornerstone is Wacha, who should be great for a long time. Hughes, Doolittle, Papelbon and Lind all could fetch decent returns, or produce just enough to get the A’s to the middle of the pack.
23. (18) Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have an interesting roster. Their pitching barely fills the starting lineup, but is pretty good overall; meanwhile, they have offense for days, but it’s decidedly mediocre. I don’t really know what to make of them. Dingo didn’t have much to work with when he showed up, but he’s worked admirably to try and improve the roster where he can. It’s definitely still a work in progress, as this is a middle of the pack team right now.
22. (20) Baltimore Orioles
I’ll go on record as a Brantley believer, and Goldschmidt is obviously a stud. That being said, there’s no legitimate pitching to be found and O’s are on the hook to pay those two $46M and $39M in 16 and 17 respectively. It’s going to be difficult to piecemeal a contender around those salaries until 2018. The East is the toughest division in the league right now, but Patrick is a great owner, maybe he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.
21. (25) Houston Astros
I really like what John has done with his team. Offensively, they’re a fringe wildcard team if they’re back in the NL- how ironic, since they just left there. Grandal, Gennett and Cain are all personal favorites, and Zimmerman and Votto should still have something left in the tank. Pitching is a different story. Alex Wood is a very nice building block, but otherwise there isn’t much going for them. It’s a shame that the Stros are beginning to round into form just as the Mariners are establishing a powerhouse atop their division.
20. (17) Minnesota Twins
The Twins have some real talent, but Encarnacion, Andrus, (the good) Upton, CarGo, Melky and Jason Castro are their only current offensive players accumulating statistics. The major leaguers that they have are excellent, but they don’t even have enough of them to fill out a full roster. The team needs a direction. Once one is chosen, they could either end up with a farm system that’s the envy of the league (again) or field a playoff contender. Your move, Mike.
19. (28) Texas Rangers
I feel like the Rangers are in the midst of an identity crisis. They’re no doubt on the right track. They’ve got an enviable collection of prospects in the high minors and just cracking MLB lineups, but there will surely be a learning curve that prevents them from serious contention in the short-term. They’ve also got some interesting impact talent for a team looking to win now (Price, Tanaka, Zimmermann, Bruce). Maybe the prospects develop quickly enough for those guys to remain on the next Texas contender, or maybe Jared will swing some deals to add to an already young and formidable core. Either way, Jared’s got his team in good shape.
18. (16) Pittsburgh Pirates
The Buccos fall into the same category as the Rangers- top end talent, but not enough of it. The defending champs are clear division favorites, but they’re not invincible. It’ll take a concerted effort to add complimentary pieces around Xander, the Gordons, Hanley and King Felix. That seems unlikely to happen in time to compete this year, but the majority of the division looks to be in a multi-year down cycle, so Larry will have his shot.
17. (23) Arizona Diamondbacks
The DBacks have assets, and they’re likely to have a competitive team in the not-too-distant future. That probably doesn’t happen this year, though. His shiny new toy, Rusney, didn’t break camp with the big club despite a $72M pricetag and a solid offensive performance this spring. And while he has relief pitching for days, there are only 4 starters on the roster (if we’re being generous). The lack of innings is crippling, so he can’t hope for much more than trading success and good luck prospecting for the time being.
16. (9) Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa has a top 3 dynasty asset in McCutchen and a solid- albeit thin- team overall, but they just don’t have the firepower to hang with the big boys in the division right now. It’s a shame they’re in the East, because they’re sneaky good, and incredibly balanced offensively, but the Pence injury is a big setback. Outside of Cutch, they’re not young, so it’s the opinion of these rankings that they’d be best served by scrapping the aging vets and take a shot at starting their reign of the AL East in 16 or 17.
15. (24) Atlanta Braves
The Braves, despite Swo’s best efforts, might be decent this year. It looks like he’s just trying to keep his powder dry until he feels like he can really compete, rather than just stay in the hunt through the summer. If he wants it, I believe Swo could be in the playoffs next year, due to his drastically reduced financial commitments (Freeman, excepted). The rest of the division needs to take notice, because Atlanta’s days as a bottom-feeder are quickly reaching their conclusion.
14. (13) Miami Marlins
Pitching is always tough to come by, and the Marlins have both elite starters and good bullpen depth. They still could use a few more starters to help them keep pace with the leaders in the volume categories, but that’s doable. Offensively, Jose Altuve will single-handedly keep the Fish competitive in steals, and if Steve Pearce really is this good, they could sneak up on some people. They really need Al to be active in free agency and the trade market to add the necessary bench pieces- getting Span back will help. With some luck, and more involved stewardship this could be the year of the Marlin.
13. (8) New York Mets
At some point, you’d have to think that owning Ryan Howard and currently-injured Matt Cain would catch up with him, right? Since it’s not 2009, and ‘depressing contracts’ is not a category, their presence on a team rated this high is somewhat puzzling. However, Barney continues to defy convention (not an isolated incident, by the way) by seemingly mortgaging the future every year and remaining competitive. What saves his bacon is that he’s the Barry Sanders of cap management- creating space where it shouldn’t rightfully exist. By now, there’s no reason to doubt that he’ll pull another contender from his moustache- a repeat playoff appearance is a realistic possibility.
12. (11) Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have more wildcards on offense than any team that I can remember. If you told me that by the end of the year Chris Davis, Mike Morse, Alcides Escobar, Matt Kemp and Joc Pederson make up one of the deadlier lineups in the league, I wouldn’t be totally shocked. If you told me that they’d rack up a combined 300 days on the DL and 2 demotions, I’d probably believe that too. The Kimbrel trade dealt a pretty devastating blow to an already thin pitching staff. As currently constructed, it will take a minor miracle to keep the Mariners from waltzing away with the division.
11. (10) St. Louis Cardinals
The new ownership takes over a respectable team with some very high-end talent in Cabrera and Gomez. If they play their cards right, they could challenge the Cubs for the division, but they may be better served by rebuilding on the fly with younger players on more favorable contracts. Either direction they choose, their recent spending spree is exactly what the doctor ordered. Once they get past the fairly steep learning curve of dynasty franchise management, we’ll see what direction they take.
10. (14) New York Yankees
Matt has the Yankees on the brink of Wild Card contention. His problem is his zip code, as the East is tough from top to bottom. I have them as the 3rd best team in the division. A year or two from now, when they’ll have nearly the full complement of the Steinbrenner fortune at their disposal, they’ll be better positioned to overtake Boston/Toronto and stake their claim as division favorites. For now, it will take some overachieving from their pitching staff if they’re going to sneak past somebody into the playoffs.
9. (10) San Diego Padres
Let’s all pour one out for White Kevin. After intensely scrutinizing his success in our league, I think I’ve been able to discern his revolutionary approach to roster construction. His blueprint for building a perennial contender goes as follows:
Step 1- acquire Mike Trout.
Step 2- you’re done.
In all seriousness, WK was a great owner and will be missed. He left behind a very good team, but missing out on an offseason of activity has put the roster in a tough spot. Nick is going to need to show up on occasion or risk squandering an enviable situation.
8. (12) Chicago Cubs
The reigning champion Cubs will trot out another solid squad again this year. They definitely lack star power, but the offense is pretty deep, and the division has weakened with the Reds and Brewers in tear-down mode. The playoffs seem very likely, but they’re going to need to add pitching. If Scott is able to bolster his aging core and they stay healthy, a title defense is plausible.
7. (6) Colorado Rockies
A duo of Rockies’ outfielders will likely determine whether Kyle repeats last year’s deep postseason run. I believe that Kipnis is due for a rebound and Chris Carter can repeat last year’s power production. If the Dickerson and Blackmon breakouts were real, the offense is in great shape. The pitching is good enough to win a relatively weak division again this year- if San Diego doesn’t find active ownership- but they’ll need to add depth to make a serious title run.
6. (3) Washington Nationals
The Nats will out-throw just about everybody this year. The amount of arms they’ll utilize is dizzying and will no doubt put them at or near the top in the volume categories. On offense, though, the 2015 Nats are a pretty significant step behind last year’s squad. The Mets are always competitive, so if Cork can’t bolster his offense to achieve greater balance, he could see his string of division titles snapped this year.
5. (2) Kansas City Royals
The Royals aren’t the powerhouse that they once were, but they’re still a legitimate contender. They’ve got company atop the Central these days, and a playoff spot, like last year, isn’t guaranteed. If Segura can remember how to hit, even a little bit, and BK can pull another respectable year out of Colon’s ancient colon, then it should be another nail-biter for a playoff spot. Anything can happen in the post-season, and another title for KC is far from out of the question.
4. (4) Boston Red Sox
After a heartbreaking loss to the division rival Jays in last year’s ALCS, the Sox have revamped their roster in an attempt to stay competitive. The rotation is vastly improved, and 1-9 is solid on offense, but they’ll need to add some bench bats to withstand the bumps and bruises of a long and arduous season. It should be a highly competitive AL this year, and the Sox are among the contenders again.
3. (7) Cleveland Indians
The Tribe head into 2015 looking to repeat as Central division champs. It will be a tall order yet again with BK looking to reclaim his crown, but Cleveland is well equipped with a star-studded lineup and two legitimate aces (come June when Jose Fernandez returns). They have yet to hit their peak, and they’re already a top-5 team, so the rest of the AL needs to take notice- last year wasn’t a fluke.
2. (1) Toronto Blue Jays
It’s a testament to the incredible wealth of talent in Toronto that after losing Yu Darvish to TJ, they remain among our league’s elite. I believe the injury significantly reduces the gap between the Jays and Sox in the division, but my money is still on Toronto. If some of their young pitchers make the leap, they’re likely to remain a juggernaut for years to come with all of their cost-controlled talent.
1. (5) Seattle Mariners
Mike has officially completed his rebuild. Last year’s first round exit looks to be a worst case scenario for this year. With an offense that’s the envy of the entire league, and a solidly above average pitching staff (assuming Harvey returns with a portion of his pre-TJ dominance, and Kluber wasn’t entirely a flash in the pan), the Mariners are the prohibitive favorite.
The last year has seen a litany of male heirs added to our Chin Music family. I am aware of at least 4 prospects for the 2032 MLB draft. This got me thinking, and I want to institute a policy right now that if any of our offspring become professional ballplayers, as their father we get dibs. So if the Dodgers are still rebuilding then and one of us Marinoviches our kid into a potential #1 pick, they’ve got to pass. Right now my son projects better as an offensive lineman, but I’m still holding out hope that I can make a LOOGY out of him yet.
Anyway, with the start of Year 8 here at Chin Music, we’re now closing in on a decade of dynasty baseball. Where has the time gone? Regardless, we’re excited for another season and very thankful for our GMs which make this league fun and competitive. As always, we hope you enjoy our prognostications, and look forward to our best year yet. Previous rankings are in parenthesis.
30. (30) Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick inherited a dumpster fire, the embers of which are still glowing 2 years later. He has committed completely to an extreme plan that involves nobody of drinking age, and will undoubtedly take several years to see results. Prospecting is largely a crapshoot, so he will need to shrewdly leverage his vast financial resources to expedite an emergence from obscurity. Expensive, short-term gambles like Kang are great ways to create value.
29. (15) Milwaukee Brewers
The once dominant Brewers have blown it up and embraced the complete rebuild like many others before them. There are some successful teams that were built that way, and given Brew Crew’s sterling track record, I won’t count them out. They do still have a major league piece or two that should provide a decent return to further stock the farm system. The extent of their prospecting success will determine how quickly Milwaukee can reclaim the division.
28. (29) Cincinnati Reds
About a year ago, Gideon was like: “I hate my team. I’m gonna burn this mother down.” I said, “You better not. You better not.” Well, he’s been able to accumulate tons of desirable prospects (particularly pitchers) in short order. They’re still years away from rejoining the title chase, but when they emerge they’ll be well stocked for a prolonged period of excellence. Gideon knows what he’s doing.
27. (27) San Francisco Giants
There’s a new era in San Fran. Jayson Werth and Justin Verlander have been replaced by Kris Bryant and Mark Appel- which are huge upgrades and could lead to long-term success for the Giants. Adkins has done a great job of stocking his system with elite talent that should begin paying dividends shortly with Bryant’s inevitable promotion. They’re better positioned than ever, but they’re still a few years away.
26. (21) Chicago White Sox
The Pale Hose still have some very good starters, and a franchise cornerstone in Abreu. Souza could prove to be a quality building block as well, but there are enough holes that the Scherzers and Weavers would better serve the Sox by fetching prospect hauls than racking up wins. Graham knows what needs to be done, he just needs to start hawking his marketable players more aggressively.
25. (26) Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils have some interesting pieces, though few to really build around aside from Machado. I loved Nova before the injury, but he’s owed a bunch of money and won’t pitch for a few months still. Josh Hamilton was a good reacquisition, as the risk in terms of dollars was small, and he may be movable later in the year. Jim Johnson sees a resurgence in value with the departure of Kimbrel, and Jepsen, Hammel and Dickey could all yield respectable returns on the trade market this summer. Plenty of work remains, but all is not lost.
24. (22) Oakland Athletics
Last year, I advised that Bird dump Pujols while he still had value, and he proceeded to return to fantasy relevance. He’s probably more valuable than he was then, and I still think he makes more sense on another team. There are plenty of other assets, but the only current franchise cornerstone is Wacha, who should be great for a long time. Hughes, Doolittle, Papelbon and Lind all could fetch decent returns, or produce just enough to get the A’s to the middle of the pack.
23. (18) Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have an interesting roster. Their pitching barely fills the starting lineup, but is pretty good overall; meanwhile, they have offense for days, but it’s decidedly mediocre. I don’t really know what to make of them. Dingo didn’t have much to work with when he showed up, but he’s worked admirably to try and improve the roster where he can. It’s definitely still a work in progress, as this is a middle of the pack team right now.
22. (20) Baltimore Orioles
I’ll go on record as a Brantley believer, and Goldschmidt is obviously a stud. That being said, there’s no legitimate pitching to be found and O’s are on the hook to pay those two $46M and $39M in 16 and 17 respectively. It’s going to be difficult to piecemeal a contender around those salaries until 2018. The East is the toughest division in the league right now, but Patrick is a great owner, maybe he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.
21. (25) Houston Astros
I really like what John has done with his team. Offensively, they’re a fringe wildcard team if they’re back in the NL- how ironic, since they just left there. Grandal, Gennett and Cain are all personal favorites, and Zimmerman and Votto should still have something left in the tank. Pitching is a different story. Alex Wood is a very nice building block, but otherwise there isn’t much going for them. It’s a shame that the Stros are beginning to round into form just as the Mariners are establishing a powerhouse atop their division.
20. (17) Minnesota Twins
The Twins have some real talent, but Encarnacion, Andrus, (the good) Upton, CarGo, Melky and Jason Castro are their only current offensive players accumulating statistics. The major leaguers that they have are excellent, but they don’t even have enough of them to fill out a full roster. The team needs a direction. Once one is chosen, they could either end up with a farm system that’s the envy of the league (again) or field a playoff contender. Your move, Mike.
19. (28) Texas Rangers
I feel like the Rangers are in the midst of an identity crisis. They’re no doubt on the right track. They’ve got an enviable collection of prospects in the high minors and just cracking MLB lineups, but there will surely be a learning curve that prevents them from serious contention in the short-term. They’ve also got some interesting impact talent for a team looking to win now (Price, Tanaka, Zimmermann, Bruce). Maybe the prospects develop quickly enough for those guys to remain on the next Texas contender, or maybe Jared will swing some deals to add to an already young and formidable core. Either way, Jared’s got his team in good shape.
18. (16) Pittsburgh Pirates
The Buccos fall into the same category as the Rangers- top end talent, but not enough of it. The defending champs are clear division favorites, but they’re not invincible. It’ll take a concerted effort to add complimentary pieces around Xander, the Gordons, Hanley and King Felix. That seems unlikely to happen in time to compete this year, but the majority of the division looks to be in a multi-year down cycle, so Larry will have his shot.
17. (23) Arizona Diamondbacks
The DBacks have assets, and they’re likely to have a competitive team in the not-too-distant future. That probably doesn’t happen this year, though. His shiny new toy, Rusney, didn’t break camp with the big club despite a $72M pricetag and a solid offensive performance this spring. And while he has relief pitching for days, there are only 4 starters on the roster (if we’re being generous). The lack of innings is crippling, so he can’t hope for much more than trading success and good luck prospecting for the time being.
16. (9) Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa has a top 3 dynasty asset in McCutchen and a solid- albeit thin- team overall, but they just don’t have the firepower to hang with the big boys in the division right now. It’s a shame they’re in the East, because they’re sneaky good, and incredibly balanced offensively, but the Pence injury is a big setback. Outside of Cutch, they’re not young, so it’s the opinion of these rankings that they’d be best served by scrapping the aging vets and take a shot at starting their reign of the AL East in 16 or 17.
15. (24) Atlanta Braves
The Braves, despite Swo’s best efforts, might be decent this year. It looks like he’s just trying to keep his powder dry until he feels like he can really compete, rather than just stay in the hunt through the summer. If he wants it, I believe Swo could be in the playoffs next year, due to his drastically reduced financial commitments (Freeman, excepted). The rest of the division needs to take notice, because Atlanta’s days as a bottom-feeder are quickly reaching their conclusion.
14. (13) Miami Marlins
Pitching is always tough to come by, and the Marlins have both elite starters and good bullpen depth. They still could use a few more starters to help them keep pace with the leaders in the volume categories, but that’s doable. Offensively, Jose Altuve will single-handedly keep the Fish competitive in steals, and if Steve Pearce really is this good, they could sneak up on some people. They really need Al to be active in free agency and the trade market to add the necessary bench pieces- getting Span back will help. With some luck, and more involved stewardship this could be the year of the Marlin.
13. (8) New York Mets
At some point, you’d have to think that owning Ryan Howard and currently-injured Matt Cain would catch up with him, right? Since it’s not 2009, and ‘depressing contracts’ is not a category, their presence on a team rated this high is somewhat puzzling. However, Barney continues to defy convention (not an isolated incident, by the way) by seemingly mortgaging the future every year and remaining competitive. What saves his bacon is that he’s the Barry Sanders of cap management- creating space where it shouldn’t rightfully exist. By now, there’s no reason to doubt that he’ll pull another contender from his moustache- a repeat playoff appearance is a realistic possibility.
12. (11) Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have more wildcards on offense than any team that I can remember. If you told me that by the end of the year Chris Davis, Mike Morse, Alcides Escobar, Matt Kemp and Joc Pederson make up one of the deadlier lineups in the league, I wouldn’t be totally shocked. If you told me that they’d rack up a combined 300 days on the DL and 2 demotions, I’d probably believe that too. The Kimbrel trade dealt a pretty devastating blow to an already thin pitching staff. As currently constructed, it will take a minor miracle to keep the Mariners from waltzing away with the division.
11. (10) St. Louis Cardinals
The new ownership takes over a respectable team with some very high-end talent in Cabrera and Gomez. If they play their cards right, they could challenge the Cubs for the division, but they may be better served by rebuilding on the fly with younger players on more favorable contracts. Either direction they choose, their recent spending spree is exactly what the doctor ordered. Once they get past the fairly steep learning curve of dynasty franchise management, we’ll see what direction they take.
10. (14) New York Yankees
Matt has the Yankees on the brink of Wild Card contention. His problem is his zip code, as the East is tough from top to bottom. I have them as the 3rd best team in the division. A year or two from now, when they’ll have nearly the full complement of the Steinbrenner fortune at their disposal, they’ll be better positioned to overtake Boston/Toronto and stake their claim as division favorites. For now, it will take some overachieving from their pitching staff if they’re going to sneak past somebody into the playoffs.
9. (10) San Diego Padres
Let’s all pour one out for White Kevin. After intensely scrutinizing his success in our league, I think I’ve been able to discern his revolutionary approach to roster construction. His blueprint for building a perennial contender goes as follows:
Step 1- acquire Mike Trout.
Step 2- you’re done.
In all seriousness, WK was a great owner and will be missed. He left behind a very good team, but missing out on an offseason of activity has put the roster in a tough spot. Nick is going to need to show up on occasion or risk squandering an enviable situation.
8. (12) Chicago Cubs
The reigning champion Cubs will trot out another solid squad again this year. They definitely lack star power, but the offense is pretty deep, and the division has weakened with the Reds and Brewers in tear-down mode. The playoffs seem very likely, but they’re going to need to add pitching. If Scott is able to bolster his aging core and they stay healthy, a title defense is plausible.
7. (6) Colorado Rockies
A duo of Rockies’ outfielders will likely determine whether Kyle repeats last year’s deep postseason run. I believe that Kipnis is due for a rebound and Chris Carter can repeat last year’s power production. If the Dickerson and Blackmon breakouts were real, the offense is in great shape. The pitching is good enough to win a relatively weak division again this year- if San Diego doesn’t find active ownership- but they’ll need to add depth to make a serious title run.
6. (3) Washington Nationals
The Nats will out-throw just about everybody this year. The amount of arms they’ll utilize is dizzying and will no doubt put them at or near the top in the volume categories. On offense, though, the 2015 Nats are a pretty significant step behind last year’s squad. The Mets are always competitive, so if Cork can’t bolster his offense to achieve greater balance, he could see his string of division titles snapped this year.
5. (2) Kansas City Royals
The Royals aren’t the powerhouse that they once were, but they’re still a legitimate contender. They’ve got company atop the Central these days, and a playoff spot, like last year, isn’t guaranteed. If Segura can remember how to hit, even a little bit, and BK can pull another respectable year out of Colon’s ancient colon, then it should be another nail-biter for a playoff spot. Anything can happen in the post-season, and another title for KC is far from out of the question.
4. (4) Boston Red Sox
After a heartbreaking loss to the division rival Jays in last year’s ALCS, the Sox have revamped their roster in an attempt to stay competitive. The rotation is vastly improved, and 1-9 is solid on offense, but they’ll need to add some bench bats to withstand the bumps and bruises of a long and arduous season. It should be a highly competitive AL this year, and the Sox are among the contenders again.
3. (7) Cleveland Indians
The Tribe head into 2015 looking to repeat as Central division champs. It will be a tall order yet again with BK looking to reclaim his crown, but Cleveland is well equipped with a star-studded lineup and two legitimate aces (come June when Jose Fernandez returns). They have yet to hit their peak, and they’re already a top-5 team, so the rest of the AL needs to take notice- last year wasn’t a fluke.
2. (1) Toronto Blue Jays
It’s a testament to the incredible wealth of talent in Toronto that after losing Yu Darvish to TJ, they remain among our league’s elite. I believe the injury significantly reduces the gap between the Jays and Sox in the division, but my money is still on Toronto. If some of their young pitchers make the leap, they’re likely to remain a juggernaut for years to come with all of their cost-controlled talent.
1. (5) Seattle Mariners
Mike has officially completed his rebuild. Last year’s first round exit looks to be a worst case scenario for this year. With an offense that’s the envy of the entire league, and a solidly above average pitching staff (assuming Harvey returns with a portion of his pre-TJ dominance, and Kluber wasn’t entirely a flash in the pan), the Mariners are the prohibitive favorite.
