Tampa - Ever since their surprise World Series appearance years ago, the Rays have been in the thick of the AL East race. Even when they trade away pieces that people think will end the Rays' run, Tampa keeps rolling. With all the years of sucktitude that they had, the Rays were able to stockpile a wealth of young talent, which allows them to make these moves. This is the toughest division in the majors to predict, especially now with all the talent that Toronto acquired, but out of all the teams, I think the Rays have the best value.
Kansas City - The Royals made some moves. Wait...the Royals...made....moves? A solid starting rotation that can eat innings (Ervin Santana, James Shields & Wade Davis join Jeremy Guthrie & Luke Hochevar). They have some guys who can rake (Butler's one of the most under-rated guys in the majors). It'll take a strong effort for any of these AL Central teams to take the division away from the Tigers, but if there is going to be a team who does it this year, I believe it'll be the Royals (not the White Sox).
Oakland - If you watched the way they ended the year last year, you'd be hard-pressed to tell me that they should be a 6/1 shot to win the division. This team improved every month of the year, with a miraculous comeback to take the division from the Texas Rangers on the last day of the season. Yoesnis Cespedes is a stud and should get better this year. And now with them having the Astros to whip around, there should be a good shot of Oakland getting in the 85-90 win range again.
St. Louis - Every year, the Cardinals are in the talk for the playoffs. Outside of the Yankees, the Cardinals are the team you associate with making the playoffs on a consistent basis and having a reasonable shot to win the World Series every year. I don't even need to know what offseason moves they made, because simply put, they always make the right moves. Letting Pujols go was the smart move. (an aside: Do you see how bad A-Rod looks at the end of his huge deal with the Yankees? That could very well be Phat Albert in about five years.) St. Louis isn't a huge underdog in this division, but they're doggish enough to have value. Wainwright is scheduled to start the year - Carpenter is scheduled to miss the entire year. That didn't seem to matter a couple years back when it was the reverse that happened as they won the World Series in dramatic fashion.
Philly - Last year's prohibitive favorite to dominate the NL East thanks to a stalwart pitching staff, the Phillies ended up underachieving to a level that only the Marlins and maybe the Red Sox could relate to. A pitching staff with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee can go far and do wonderful things together if they can stay healthy. With their increased age (Halladay will be turning 36 in May while Lee turns 35 in August), you can only hope they can pitch their elite-level 200+ innings. With Hamels in the mix, this will continue to be a devastating rotation. If they can get some production from some of their younger hitters (like Domonic Brown) and some of these older guys can find the fountain of youth or undetectable PEDs (I'm looking at you Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins & Chase Utley - a trio of guys who feel like have been with the team for 20 years together), they can easily contend again for the NL East crown.
Arizona - The Diamondbacks are a year removed from winning the division. While the Giants were busy winning their second World Series in three years and the Dodgers were spending money like Steinbrenners, the Diamondbacks made some rather curious moves, trading for Heath Bell (coming off a disastrous year) and trading Justin Upton in separate deals. However, like many of the other teams on this list, I like them for their pitching. Ian Kennedy, Brandon McCarthy, Trevor Cahill & Wade Miley are all capable of 200+ quality innings. Solid pitching can keep a team in contention till the very end, and I think Arizona is very capable of winning this division.
I'll be writing a blog in the next couple weeks with official predictions. I figured I'd get out of my lack-of-writing blues that seem to hit after the Super Bowl every year.
Happy Spring Training, y'all!
| MLB American League East Mon 4/1 1:05PM | |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees | +175 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | +185 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | +340 |
| Boston Red Sox | +600 |
| Baltimore Orioles | +750 |
| MLB American League Central Mon 4/1 1:05PM | |
|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | -290 |
| Chicago White Sox | +645 |
| Kansas City Royals | +700 |
| Cleveland Indians | +1000 |
| Minnesota Twins | +2200 |
| MLB American League West Mon 4/1 1:05PM | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Angels | -150 |
| Texas Rangers | +190 |
| Oakland Athletics | +600 |
| Seattle Mariners | +1450 |
| Houston Astros | +6000 |
| MLB National League East Mon 4/1 1:05PM | |
|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | +110 |
| Atlanta Braves | +225 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | +250 |
| New York Mets | +1700 |
| Miami Marlins | +3300 |
| MLB National League Central Mon 4/1 1:05PM | |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | -130 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | +210 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | +580 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +1050 |
| Chicago Cubs | +1800 |
| MLB National League West Mon 4/1 1:05PM | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | -110 |
| San Francisco Giants | +230 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | +400 |
| San Diego Padres | +1900 |
| Colorado Rockies | +2500 |
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