2012 AL Central Preview

Part 3 of a 6 part series revolving around the upcoming MLB season. Today, I focus on the AL Central division.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The White Sox are an entirely different team and this will be a rebuilding year after losing SP Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen to Miami. The ChiSox hired manager Robin Ventura to work with this team. Sox GM Kenny Williams also traded pitchers Jason Frasor and Sergio Santos to Toronto and outfielder Carlos Quentin to San Diego, while signing OF Kosuke Fukudome. The ChiSox signed players like pitchers Nestor Molina, Scott Olsen, Eric Stults and position players like Dan Johnson, Osvaldo Martinez and Erik Morrison. The pitching staff features Gavin Floyd, Josh Danks and Jake Peavy, while the lineup contains Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
The Indians had a interesting 2011 season, finishing 2nd (15 games behind DET), but look to have a better season in 2012. The majority of the team returns to Cleveland, including manager Manny Acta. This young lineup features 1B Matt LaPorta, OFs Shin-Soo Choo & Michael Brantley, catcher Carlos Santana, and infielder Jason Kipnis. The starters include Justin Masterson, Derek Lowe (traded from ATL), Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Tomlin. If they can compete, look for the Tribe to contend for the division title.

DETROIT TIGERS
The AL Central division is going to be very tough to contend with, but all roads lead to Detroit. During the offseason, the Tigers signed first-baseman Prince Fielder to a 9-year, $214M deal which moves Miguel Cabrera to 3rd base. Catcher/1B Victor Martinez had offseason surgery from a torn-ACL and will be out for the 2012 season, hence reasons for this signing. The Tigers also re-signed 2B Ramon Santiago, catcher Gerald Laird, outfielder Delmon Young and infielder Don Kelly to deals. The lineup also features Austin Jackson, Ryan Raburn, Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta. The pitching staff features 2011 Cy Young Winner and AL MVP Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister, while Jose Valverde is the closer. Remember, all roads lead to Detroit and this is one tough team to deal with.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
The Royals stepped their game up in 2011, finishing 4th in the division. The Royals re-signed 1B Eric Hosmer and 3B Mike Moustakas to new deals and are in a lineup that features Alex Gordon, Jeff Francoeur, Alcides Escobar and Yuniesky Betancourt. The pitching staff includes closer Jonathan Broxton (probable closer due to Joakim Soria's injury) and starters Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen and Jonathan Sanchez. This is a young team and could be a sleeper if they play their cards right.

MINNESOTA TWINS
After an injury-plagued 2011 season, the Twins are looking forward to 2012. Before the season started the Twins signed reliever Joel Zumaya, who will miss the 2012 season and will need Tommy John Surgery. The Twins hope that 1B Justin Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer remain healthy all year, who are part of a lineup which includes OFs Josh Willingham and Denard Span, 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes. The pitching rotation includes Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis, Brian Duensing, Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano. If manager Ron Gardenhire's team remains healthy, this team can compete with Detroit for the title.

As I've said throughout this entry, I'm gonna take Detroit to win the division.