My AL Central Preview

1. Detroit Tigers - The Detroit Tigers won the American League pennant last year, and are looking to get back to the World Series for a second straight year . The Tigers have some great pitching with Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, and Doug Fister in the rotation. They have some great arms in their bullpen as well with Phil Coke, Joaquin Benoit, Al Alburquerque, and Octavio Dotel. The weak point with their pitching is the Detroit Tigers don't have a clear cut closer yet. They cut ties with closer Jose Valverde in the offseason. I think Octavio Dotel is a possibility there because of his experience. They could go out and sign someone before Spring Training. The Tigers Offense is strong, and it gets stronger for 2013. Victor Martinez is coming off a season where he spent the whole time on the disabled list. The Tigers also signed outfielder Tori Hunter. Both of these players strengthen the Tigers Offense which already has Prince Fielder and triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera. They have a decent surrounding cast to those players with Austin Jackson, Omar Infante, Ramon Santiago, Jhonny Peralta, Brennan Boesch, Andy Dirks, and Alex Avila. The Detroit Tigers have a great offense this year with the addition of Tori Hunter and the fact that Victor Martinez is back in the fold. The starting pitching for the Tigers should be really good this year, but as I said they need a clear cut closer. I do think this team wins the American League Central with what they have.
2. Chicago White Sox.- The Chicago White Sox in 2012 missed out on the playoffs, but I think they could very well make the playoffs as one of the wildcards in 2013. The White Sox just like the Tigers have some great pitchers in their rotation. They have Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and Chris Sale. They have some decent arms in the bullpen this year with Dylan Axelrod, Matt Lindstrom, Jessie Crain, and young closer Addison Reed. It will be interesting to see how Addison Reed does in his first full season as the White Sox closer. Reed had 29 saves as the closer last year for the White Sox, but he was put in that role in early May in 2012. The White Sox offense lost a huge piece in the offseason with the loss of long term catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who signed with the Texas Rangers. Now the catching duties go to youngster Tyler Flowers. It will be interesting to see how he handles that pressure and to see what he adds to Robin Ventura's lineup. We haven't seen much of this kid yet, so it will really interesting to see what he does with a full season behind the plate. The White Sox still have some bats with some serious pop with Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn. They still have Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez in the infield as well. They have a supporting cast of Brent Morel, DeWayne Wise, Alex Rios, Jordan Danks, Alejandro De Aza, Angel Sanchez, and Jeff Keppinger. This team should be really good in Robin Ventura's second season as manager, and I expect to be in the mix for one of the American League Wildcards.
3. Kansas City Royals - This Kansas City Royals team in 2013 is a team I think can sneak up on people this year. They added a lot to their rotation by making two key trades. They got Ervin Santana in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor league Brandon Sisk. They also got James Shields and Wade Davis in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. These strengthen a rotation that has youngster Luke Hochevar and Danny Duffy. The question with their pitching is who will be the closer of the Royals in 2013, they lost Joakim Soria to the Rangers in offseason. They should have a decent rotation in 2013, which is the main reason why I think they will sneak up on people in 2013. The Royals also have some great pieces offensively. In the outfield, they have Jeff Francoeur, Alex Gordon, and former Brewers prospect Lorenzo Cain. Great outfield there especially with the pop that Francoeur and Gordon provide there. In the infield, the Royals have a relatively young infield with Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and another former Brewers prospect Alcides Escobar. They also have another great hitter as their designated hitter in Billy Butler.  This team has what looks like a great rotation on paper along with a young lineup with some pop. This team will finish above .500 in 2013, maybe just maybe they make the playoffs. So in the minds of their fans, it should be a good year for Ned Yost's club. Right now I have them coming up short of that goal.
4. Cleveland Indians - Some changes happened in the offseason with the Cleveland Indians, they now have a new manager in Terry Francona. That's not the only addition they made in the offseason, they did add some pieces offensively with Mark Reynolds (who still has some pop but does strike out a whole a lot), Nick Swisher, Drew Stubbs, and Ben Francisco. Drew Stubbs should be a great hitter for them this year. In addition to those signings, they inked outfielder Michael Bourn to a 4 year $48 million deal. They still have some great bats from last year's club with Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera, and they still have Matt LaPorta (we'll see if he is in the minors or if he makes an impact this season). They also added some small pieces with Mike Aviles and Ryan Raburn. No question this Indians club can rake, the only problem is their pitching isn't consistent. They still have Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez. They also brought in Matt Capps (who I do think will be their closer in 2013), Matt Albers and Scott Kazmir (Kazmir should be part of the rotation). The only question is which Ubaldo Jimenez will show up: the Colorado Rockies version (fairly consistent with a great offense) or the recent version (inconsistent with a not so good offense).
5. Minnesota Twins - The Twins have has some not so good seasons of late, and that isn't Rod Gardenhire's fault necessarily. They have had some inconsistent pitching, but they had some decent hitting. They still have Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau in their lineup. Those three should have pretty good years for the Twins this year. The Twins have some supporting pieces from last year in Brian Dozier, Jamey Carroll, Trevor Plouffe, and Ryan Doumit. Trevor Plouffe was kind of suprising last year. They did lose two outfielders in trades in the offseason in Ben Revere and Denard Span. It will be interesting to see how they replace those two pieces on their roster. Their pitching isn't quite there to compete yet. They have Nick Blackburn, Rich Harden, Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing, and Josh Roenicke in the fold. I don't really see the Twins competing this year because of their pitching.