2011 American League Central Preview

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MLB Divisional Previews – 2011 AL Central

Once again, the Minnesota Twins reigned supreme in the American League Central.  They are probably the favorites to repeat again in 2011, but they will need to be wary of the White Sox and Tigers, who both finished at or above .500 last year.  The Indians and Royals will probably finish at the bottom of the AL Central again in 2011, but you never know which of their young stars will step up and make it an interesting year.  Let’s take a look at the final standings in the American League Central from last year.

2010 AL Central Final Standings
Team Win Loss
Twins 94 68
White Sox 88 74
Tigers 81 81
Indians 69 93
Royals 67 95

 

2011 Minnesota Twins Preview

2011 Min Twins Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 F. Liriano
SP2 C. Pavano
SP3 S. Baker
SP4 B. Duensing
SP5 N. Blackburn
Catcher J. Mauer
First Base J. Morneau
Second Base T. Nishioka
Third Base D. Valencia
Shortstop A. Casilla
Left Field D. Young
Center Field D. Span
Right Field M. Cuddyer
Designated Hitter J. Kubel

The Twins are consistently in the running to win the AL Central thanks to strong pitching, great young talent, and a lineup full of players who can come up with big hits.  At the top of the Twins rotation is Francisco Liriano.  He wowed the league in ’06 when he posted a 12-3 record with an ERA of 2.16. He followed that up with some up and down years, but seemed to settle down last year.  Now in his sixth year, he will be asked to once again top the Twins rotation and step up as a consistent number 1 starter.  Carl Pavano is second in the rotation and bounced back after a couple bad years with the Yankees to put up 17 wins last year, including seven complete games.  Combine him with Liriano and you can see why the Twins are favored to win the American League Central in 2011.  The Twins lineup, of course, is anchored by Mauer and Morneau, but they aren’t going at it alone.  Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer had solid years at the plate and should put up similar numbers in 2011.  The Twins infield has seen some revamping over the last couple of years. Danny Valencia played about half a season last year and put up impressive numbers, Alexi Casilla will look to play his first full season as a starter and Tsuyoshi Nishioka enters his rookie year as the starting second baseman.  The biggest questions for the Twins lie up the middle, both offensively and defensively as neither piece of their double play combo has ever played a full season in the majors as a starter.  To catch all the action, head down to Target Field for some exciting Twins baseball.

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2011 Chicago White Sox Preview

2011 Chi White Sox Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 M. Buehrle
SP2 G. Floyd
SP3 J. Danks
SP4 J. Peavy
SP5 E. Jackson
Catcher A. Pierzynski
First Base P. Konerko
Second Base G. Beckham
Third Base B. Morel
Shortstop A. Ramirez
Left Field J. Pierre
Center Field A. Rios
Right Field C. Quentin
Designated Hitter A. Dunn

The Chicago White Sox fell a little short in the AL Central last year, but made some moves that they hope will put them atop the division in 2011.  Adam Dunn comes over from the Nationals and will take over the designated hitting duties.  He brings consistent power, hitting 38 or more homers in the last 7 years, but also strikes out as much as anyone in the league.  He is an upgrade to this White Sox team, however.  The Chicago outfield is very solid.  Pierre is a career .298 hitter with over 520 stolen bases, Rios can hit for power and average in center field, and if Quentin can stay healthy, he should hit 30 homers this year.  The infield is led by Alexei Ramirez who just signed a well deserved contract extension.  Konerko brings a veteran presence to the clubhouse, but might be in his last year as an everyday player.  Buehrle leads a solid rotation followed by Floyd and Danks, but the staff will need plenty of run support as all three top starters posted ERA’s over 3.7 last year.  I feel like the White Sox have all the pieces in place to win the American League Central, but they will probably need to win 90+ games to take the division in 2011. Catch some gorgeous summer baseball at U.S. Cellular field and watch the Chicago White Sox make a run at the AL Central championship in 2011.

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2011 Detroit Tigers Preview

2011 Det Tigers Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 J. Verlander
SP2 M. Scherzer
SP3 R. Porcello
SP4 P. Coke
SP5 B. Penny
Catcher A. Avila
First Base M. Cabrera
Second Base C. Guillen
Third Base B. Inge
Shortstop J. Peralta
Left Field R. Raburn
Center Field A. Jackson
Right Field M. Ordonez
Designated Hitter V. Martinez

The Tigers finished at .500 last year, which many viewed as a pleasant surprise.  Ever since their world series appearance in 2006, this team just hasn’t been the same.  They have some solid players at key positions, but just don’t have the depth in the pitching rotation or lineup to really make a legit run at the AL Central in 2011. They return Inge, Cabrera, Peralta and Guillen to the infield which makes them one of the few teams in baseball to start the 2011 season with the same infield they ended last year with.  The outfield is getting younger with Raburn and Jackson in left and center. Both had solid years last year and if Maggs can stay healthy in right, they might have potentially the best offensive outfield in the AL Central. Emphasis on potentially.  Where this team really falls short is on the mound.  Verlander is great at the top of the rotation, but Porcello and Scherzer are too inconsistent to create a truly dominant staff.  On paper, this team should be able to improve from last year, but I really feel that the Sox and Twins are too good to let the Tigers slide into the division lead.  Still, this team will be great to watch so make plans to head over to Comerica Park a few times this summer. You won’t be disappointed.

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2011 Cleveland Indians Preview

2011 Cle Indians Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 F. Carmona
SP2 J. Masterson
SP3 M. Talbot
SP4 C. Carrasco
SP5 J. Tomlin
Catcher C. Santana
First Base M. Laporta
Second Base O. Cabrera
Third Base J. Donald
Shortstop A. Cabrera
Left Field M. Brantley
Center Field G. Sizemore
Right Field S. Choo
Designated Hitter T. Hafner

The Cleveland Indians have some good talent on their roster, but just haven’t been able to put all the pieces together for a solid AL Central run.  The Indian’s two biggest names, Sizemore and Hafner, have either been hurt or have underperformed of late.  Hafner, who averaged 34 homers a year from 2004-2006 has yet to hit more than 16 in the past 3 years. Sizemore has been hurt and only played in a handful of games last year.  His recovery from knee surgery is taking some time, but he is still projected to be the opening day starter in Center. There aren’t too many household names on this roster, but I’d be surprised if even the most casual fan didn’t know the name of Shin-Soo Choo by the end of 2011. He has hit 20 homers and batted over .300 the past two years –  with speed to boot.  The young Fausto Carmona leads the Cleveland rotation despite having a losing record last year.  He is followed by Justin Masterson who isn’t much better.  This team will most likely be battling the Royals to stay out of the AL Central cellar for most of the year.  Either way, catching a night game in Cleveland is the perfect way to spend the evening.  Get your tickets to the Jake now.

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2011 Kansas City Royals Preview

2011 KC Royals Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 L. Hochevar
SP2 V. Mazzaro
SP3 J. Francis
SP4 S. O’Sullivan
SP5 K. Davies
Catcher J. Kendall
First Base K. Ka’aihue
Second Base M. Aviles
Third Base W. Betemit
Shortstop A. Escobar
Left Field A. Gordon
Center Field L. Cain
Right Field J. Francoeur
Designated Hitter B. Butler

The Royals roster saw some changes in the offseason, but not really any positive ones.  After losing Greinke, the Royals rotation will be led by former #1 pick Luke Hochevar who has yet to post a winning season in the last 4 years.  Jeff Francis comes over from Colorado and while many think his numbers are inflated from years of pitching in Colorado, he really just isn’t that great of a pitcher.  Vin Mazzaro is another young pitcher who will be asked to step up in a big way.  It will be tough to keep up this young pitching staff’s confidence in Kansas City this year.  One bright spot in the lineup is Billy Butler who is on our list of the best young first baseman, but is projected to be the opening day Designated Hitter.  From there, the lineup is just filled in with semi average to below average players, making this one of the most vanilla top to bottom rosters in all of Major League Baseball.  Come on down to Kauffman Stadium anyways, for the chance to catch a homerun ball from whoever the Royals are playing that day.

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