1. Boston Red Sox (2014 Finish: 77-91, Last Place):
With the American League East, it seem like it is a division full of teams that are loaded with some power in their lineups. The Boston Red Sox are no exception. You look at the veteran bats in their lineup with Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Mike Napoli, Allen Craig and Shane Victorino. Those are guys that not only you can rely on, but they are guys that can bring some power to any lineup. Along with that, the Red Sox have some young guys that have had some good starts to their young careers with Daniel Nava, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley. Ryan Hanigan is a reliable catcher, but doesn't really pack a punch offensively, but they don't really need him to produce a ton with the power they already get from Pedroia, Ortiz, Ramriez, and Sandoval. With some of the pitching in this division, there some good pitchers in this division, but the rotations are not as deep as the ones that you see in the National League. Clay Bucholz, Wade Miley, Justin Masterson and Rick Porcello have had good years in their careers. Just some of them have not put it up consistently year in and year out. Joe Kelly is still a young pitcher, so his best is still ahead of him. I wouldn't be surprised if Alexi Ogando makes some starts during the season as well. Then when you look at their bullpen, there are a few names that stick out with their closer Koji Uehara and Edward Mujica. So when it comes to the Red Sox, I think it will be a battle with them, the Orioles, and possibly the Blue Jays to decide who comes out of the American League East.
2. Baltimore Orioles (2014 Finish: 96-66, 1st Place):
The Orioles come into 2015 looking to build off another playoff appearance under Buck Showalter. Just like the Red Sox, they do have some good power up and down their lineup with Manny Machado, Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy, and Chris Davis. They have some young bats supporting them with Alejandro de Aza, Caleb Joseph, Jonathon Schoop, Steve Pearce, and veteran bat Travis Snider. With their bench, they have some reliable bats there with Nolan Reimold, Ryan Flaherty, Everth Cabrera, Jimmy Paredes, Everth Cabrera, and Delmon Young. Delmon Young really brings some good pop off the bench for them as he has had some good years in his major league career so far. The biggest question for the Orioles is the health of catcher Matt Wieters. If they can get a healthy Wieters, it will help both defensively and offensively with the team. Their lineup looks deeper with him in it and he's one of the better catchers in the league. With the Orioles rotation, they have solid rotation up and down. As a team last year, they had four starters with more than ten wins with Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, and Miguel Gonzalez. They also have Ubaldo Jimenez in that rotation as well, who you always expect more of since his 2010 campaign where he went 19-8. Since then he has never been really able to match that. With their bullpen, Zach Britton is their closer, who comes off a career best 37 saves. Behind that they have some reliable bullpen arms, with Tommy Hunter, Darren O'Day, Brian Matusz, Wesley Wright, Ryan Webb, and Brad Brach. Overall, I think the Orioles will be a playoff team, but they could also easily miss as well.
3. Toronto Blue Jays (2014 Finish: 83-79, 3rd Place):
The Toronto Blue Jays are another team in this division with some power up and down their lineup with Jose Bautista, Russell Martin, Edwin Encarnacion, Justin Smoak, and Josh Donaldson. They have a really good speed threat at the top of the lineup with Jose Reyes, and behind all that they have some young bats in Kevin Pilar, Devon Travis and Dalton Pompey. With their bench, there is Josh Thole, Maicer Izturis, Dioner Navarro, Danny Valencia, Andy Dirks, Chris Dickerson, and Caleb Gindl behind that for a decent bench. With their rotation, the pitchers who stick out are R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle. The Blue Jays return three guys to their rotation that recorded 10 or more wins in 2014 with Buehrle, Dickey, and Drew Hutchinson. Behind that they also have Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris. I wouldn't be surprised if they get a few starts out of Felix Doubront, Johan Santana, and Jeff Francis at some point during the season especially if an injury happens to the rotation. If Santana can somehow get back to how good he was with the Twins that would really add to what they with their starting pitching. With their bullpen, Brett Cecil is going to be pushed into his first ever season as a closer, but he has been a really good bullpen arm the last few years for the Blue Jays. Behind that they also have Aaron Loup, Marco Estrada, Rob Rasmussen, Todd Redmond, Liam Hendriks, and Steve Delabar. Don't be surprised if Estrada has the same kind of year he had in Milwaukee with how many home runs he gave up in Miller Park and how similar that could be in Rogers Centre in Toronto. I think there is some potential with the Blue Jays.
4. New York Yankees (2014 Finish: 84-78, 2nd Place):
The two biggest questions for the Yankees in 2015: how will Didi Gregorius do as the heir apparent to Derek Jeter and how effective will Alex Rodriguez be after being suspended for over a year. The Yankees do have some pop in this lineup with Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, Chase Headey, and Alex Rodriguez. The other thing you have to like about their lineup is their speed with Ellsbury, Gardner, Stephen Drew and Didi Gregorius. Speed and power will be a big factor in New York this year. With their bench, the Yankees also have some pop their with Garrett Jones and Chris Young behind that. The Yankees rotation has three solid starters with C.C. Sabathia, Masachiro Tanaka, and Michael Pineda with Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Capuano behind that, who have both had experience starting at the Major League level. With their bullpen, there is still the question of who will be their closer after David Robertson left for the White Sox. That might be a question all season. They do have some good bullpen arms with David Carpenter, Andrew Miller, Andrew Bailey, Esmil Rogers, Alfredo Aceves, and Dellin Betances, With the Yankees, this might be a year where they take a step back from previous years.
5. Tampa Bay Rays (2014 Finish: 77-85, 4th Place):
New manager in Tampa in Kevin Cash and a young team on paper. There are some good bats on their roster with Evan Longoria, James Loney, Asdrubal Cabrera, Desmond Jennings, and John Jaso. The Rays also have some upcoming young hitters in the lineup as well with Stephen Souza, Kevin Kiermaier, Rene Rivera and Nick Franklin. Logan Forsythe, David DeJesus, Alexi Casilla, and Juan Francisco are good bats for them coming off the bench. Forsythe, DeJesus and Francisco all bring some good power off the bench. With their rotation, they have some young good arms there as well with Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, and Drew Smyly. Lost a bit with losing a consistent Jeremy Hellickson from this rotation. With the Rays' bullpen, there are some experienced arms with Jake McGee, Grant Balfour, Ernesto Frieri, and Ronaldo Belasario. Grant Balfour in my opinion wouldn't be a bad option at some point during the season as their closer. With how young the Rays are, it might be a few more years before they are back to the playoffs.
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