The AL Central has quietly become one of the better divisions in baseball producing the AL representative to the World Series in 2 of the past 3 seasons. Here are my predictions for 2015:
1. Cleveland Indians- I'm jumping on the bandwagon because that rotation looks terrific, especially if Zach McCallister takes an expected big step forward. There is some risk here as this group came together quickly as last season went along and there is always the specter of injuries. I'll go bold here and say they are for real. Do they have enough hitting?
2. Chicago White Sox- The ChiSox have a powerhouse lineup with huge OBP guys at he top of the order and power in the middle. The rotations drops off steeply after Sale, Samardzija and Quintana, but Carlos Rodon should step in within a few weeks to give them a solid 4.
3. Detroit Tigers- There has been some serious talent erosion here. The loss of Scherzer hurts badly. The season may depend on whether Verlander can bounce back. If not, this team is in a lot of trouble.
4. Kansas City Royals- They kind of did it with smoke and mirrors last year. Losing James Shields hurts and they didn't really replace him. I doubt Alex Rios replaces Aoki either. That bullpen is still sick though and they still have a lot of speed and defense.
5. Minnesota Twins- The Twins are building something but not ready to compete until Buxton and Sano arrive and have a season or two under their belts.
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