AL East
Projected Standings:
1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
This was easily the toughest division to pick one through four. Unfortunately for Baltimore, they stand out as the weak link in a brutal division, although they should hang around in the standings behind their solid frontline starters and stellar bullpen. Picking Boston and Toronto 3-4 is so difficult, as both teams field impressive rotations (six tier 2 or betters out of their eight pitchers!), and Toronto may have the best offense in the division. Both teams are not in those places because I believe they'll perform poorly, but because I'm just so high on the Rays and Yankees. Tampa Bay is more of a hunch, just a gut feeling that their lineup flexibility and elite bullpen will be the difference in an extremely close, four-way division race. New York takes second beyond great pitching of their own and an offense on par with Toronto, but with a key difference: they've got a dependable lead-off man. Jeter's production will trump Cruz and his higher OBP will led to more runs, just barely pushing them over Toronto for best offense. I seriously expect the fourth place team to finish within four games of fourth, with all four teams playing for first place and a playoff spot in their final series of the season.
AL Central
Projected Standings:
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Minnesota Twins
Placing the Tigers in fourth place is easily my boldest prediction, especially considering their two-headed monster in the rotation. However, the rest of the division's pitching is fairly comparable at those spots, but vastly superior in the backend. I project Detroit wins 60% of Verlander and Scherzer's starts, but wins only 35-40% of Fister and Holt's starts, leaving them hovering just below .500. Meanwhile the Indians are going to power their way through this division and I project that they earn the #1 seed in the playoffs. Expect Roberto Alomar and Manny Ramirez to garner MVP considerations as Cleveland surpasses 30 wins in 48 games. The Royals and White Sox won't finish within 6 games of first place, but they'll still have solid years. I believe in the White Sox power approach, projecting big numbers from streaky players like Jose Valentin, Alex Rios, and Chris Singleton. In a division with many control 4 and 3 starters, those potent OB 8s will thrive. The Twins will finish in last place, but they'll hover near .500 and will be single digit games behind the second place finisher.
AL West
Projected Standings:
1. Texas Rangers
2. Los Angeles Angels*
3. Oakland A's
4. Houston Astros
5. Seattle Mariners
I'm in agreement with the computer on this one and project Texas to win the division, but just barely over the Angels. I love the big three that Los Angeles is bringing into the season, but Texas has so much offensive firepower supporting their duo of aces. Seattle is my last place team, as they feel like a weaker version of Texas to me, but they could climb out of that hole and end up in third. Oakland feels a lot like Kansas City to me and I think they'll end up very close to winning the division or wild card spot, probably having a shot at either going into their final series. Houston is an enigma, as their pitching will either end up surprising, making them contenders, or flopping so badly they end up in last by a landslide. I think it'll take the middle path and place them in fourth.
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