After four days of spring training games, there are only two undefeated teams remaining: The Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Indians. Does this mean these are the two best teams in baseball? Probably not. But fans have to dream, right?
With spring training underway, the regular season is just over a month away and will arrive before we know it. With that in mind, it is time to make predictions about which American League (AL) teams will do well once games start to matter, and which teams will dwell in the cellars of their divisions.
AL East: Boston Red Sox
It seems like the Red Sox have turned away from the strategy of stacking the lineup with bats in order to outscore other teams that defined the AL East for the last few years. The Red Sox are now trying to get as many Cy Young winners as possible into their rotation, as they are now at three with the offseason addition of Chris Sale.
With so many great arms in addition to All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, it will fall on the offense to score runs. Most of that burden will fall on the shoulders of Mookie Betts, who would probably be the perennial American League Most Valuable Player were it not for Mike Trout. If the offense can put up numbers, the Red Sox should be nearly impossible to beat.
No other team in the AL East has the type of manpower to go up against the top-loaded Boston team. The Toronto Blue Jays lost star Edwin Encarnación to the Indians. The New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays all have huge holes to fill before they become contenders.
AL Central: Cleveland
Indians
The Indians kept all the key parts from their magical playoff run last year and will add tools to give them a chance to break baseball’s longest championship drought. The addition of Edwin Encarnación and the assumed return of Michael Brantley should make the offense a pitcher’s nightmare from top to bottom.
Add star pitchers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco, who both did not pitch in the playoffs due to injuries, and this team will be the favorite to repeat as AL champions in October.
Both the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox are teams looking toward the future rather than right now, and the Kansas City Royals do not seem to have the pitching to legitimately contend this year.
That leaves the Detroit Tigers, who have the bats to keep up with anyone. With the re-emergence of Justin Verlander last year in addition to the surprise performance of Michael Fulmer, the Tigers will be a team to watch. They could easily secure a wild card spot, and any team would be afraid of them if their bats get hot at the right time.
AL West: Texas Rangers
The AL West has turned into what the AL East used to be: A league full of stacked lineups and an immense void of pitchers to get them out. This league will be the closest in the American League, and it will come down to which team’s pitchers perform the best.
If Yu Darvish can remain healthy, he will be one of the best pitchers in baseball and will complement Cole Hamels nicely for the Rangers. The Rangers are also a good mix of experience and young stars, so I believe their pitching will do just well enough to win them the AL West crown again.
The Houston Astros are a very similar team to the Rangers offensively, especially after this offseason with the additions of Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltrán and Brian McCann. If Dallas Keuchel can improve on an abysmal 2016 campaign and the Astros can find pitchers who can help on the other days, it could easily be the Astros, not the Rangers, who are crowned AL West Champions at the end of the year.
The Angels and the Seattle Mariners are also two teams with offenses that should be explosive for most of the year, but pitching will be big question marks for both. That being said, Félix Hernández is a great number one pitcher for any team, so the Mariners have a leg up on the Angels.
The Oakland Athletics do not have much to play for this year, as they are almost certain to be bottom dwellers, though if their young and very talented pitching rotation lives up to the hype, they could eventually have the best rotation in the AL West.
