Let me be clear before I do this preview: I had a really tough time deciding who will finish 2-4 in the AL Central. I believe the difference between these teams (Chicago, Cleveland and KC) will be minimal in terms of W-L; around 5 games or so. I don't believe any of these teams will make the playoffs, so it's more of who will finish better than last year. Anyway, shout-outs to contributors Joe Longley and Donny Finkle for the help. With that, we look at the President's favorite team: the White Sox. The Sox have been a part of the new managerial craze: former players with no managerial experience, via former Sock Robin Ventura. The White Sox did better than expected last year and kept most of the team intact: only dropping AJ Pierzynski and Kevin Youkilis for Tyler Flowers and Jeff Keppinger. Let's take a look:
Starting Lineup
CF Alejandro De Aza
2B Jeff Keppinger
1B Paul Konerko
DH Adam Dunn
RF Alex Rios
LF Dayan Viciedo
SS Alexei Ramirez
C Tyler Flowers
2B Gordon Beckham
ESPN has De Aza ranked incredibly high for what he is - a one year wonder. Don't believe it until he does it again. Defensively, yes, he's capable, but offensively, don't buy it yet. Keppinger is solid in the 2 hole: he's an underrated hitter and a great signing by the Sox. 3-5 should not be any worries. Konerko can still get it done and is very close to 450 HR's career-wise (hopefully he hangs around for 500). Dunn hits HRs, gets on base, strikes out. Rios has settled back to form for the Sox, he's solid too. Viciedo can be the X Factor. He's talented but his BB/K rate is awful: only hurts his average and OBP. I don't like the bottom of the lineup too much right now. Ramirez has declined each of the last 3 years. Flowers needs to step it up and prove himself as the top prospect he was and Beckham's awful. Just awful. But, 1-6 is capable of getting it done.
Starting Rotation
SP Chris Sale
SP Jake Peavy
SP John Danks
SP Gavin Floyd
SP Jose Quintana
This is my biggest worry about this team: the rotation. The White Sox have a terrible farm system, one of the bottom 5 in the league, which means if someone goes down, they're screwed. What might also hurt? Corrections for Sale and Quintana, i.e. they're worse than last year. I think Sale's talent is too good to produce a down year. He should be better after a full season starting. Peavy was great in a season healthy and productive, but his track record prevents me from expecting another healthy season. Danks went down last year and Floyd did not produce a ton of innings. Quintana's a flash in the pan as far as I'm concerned. I'm worried here because a team can't escape poor SPs (see the Rockies).
Bullpen
CL Addison Reed
SU Matt Thornton
SU Jesse Crain
SU Matt Lindstrom
SU Dylan Axelrod
SU Nate Jones
Here I feel a little better. I think Reed takes a step towards being a dominant closer. He struggled at home (odd) and after the AS break. I think he shaves almost 2 runs off his ERA, being around 3. Lindstrom was a fantastic signing: he's really underrated. Thornton can close: he's a solid 8th inning man. Crain has been fantastic in Chicago: a 2.54 ERA in Chicago and the best K rates of his career. Axelrod and Jones add young arms. Pretty solid depth here, which helps.
I'm predicting 4th. Like I said, it's going to be very close between these 2-4 teams. Not a horrible 4th, more of a 78-80 win 4th. This division should be fun to watch.
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