West
- LA Angels – Take the #1 pitcher from the 2011 AL Champion and the #1 hitter from the 2011 NL Champion and put them on an already really good team. What do you get? The Angels. These guys are going to be pretty unstoppable this year. Weaver, Wilson, Haren are the best trio in baseball. With Morales coming back their offense is going to be even deeper, watch out for these guys.
- Texas Rangers – Darvish can cover what Wilson did last year, but what the Angels have is just going to be too much for them in the West. I’m really curious if they are going to move Hamilton at the break if they can’t get an extension together for him. *Wild Card Pick
- Seattle Mariners – They gave up what could potentially be a lot losing Pineda, but I think they got the good end of the deal. It looks like Montero is going to be solid catcher for years to come. By years to come I mean until they move him to 1st.
- Oakland Athletics – The A’s continue their perpetual state of rebuilding after giving up Gio Gonzalez. At least with the Astros coming they won’t be the cellar dweller much longer.
Central
- Detroit Tigers – They blew away the division last year, and now they’ve added Prince Fielder. This is the easiest pick of all. Also, Verlander is nasty.
- Cleveland Indians – Good staff, good players, but nothing stands out about these guys. Their best player, Grady Sizemore, will most likely gone by the trade deadline.
- Chicago White Sox – Lost their ace, and Dunn put up one of the worst offensive seasons in history. Putting them 3rd just shows how bad the AL Central is after the Tigers.
- Minnesota Twins – While they have a veteran staff and a couple stars, injuries always seem to kill the Twins. It’s really a toss up between them and the Royals for last.
- Kansas City Royals – Its gonna be another long year for the Royals, and while they have some good players, its not enough to compete. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t finish last in the division.
East
- New York Yankees – I think trading away Montero was a bad idea, but that is corrected by trading away Burnett, which was the best idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pineda sucks this year, I also wouldn’t be surprised if he wins 15 to 18 games.
- Tampa Bay Rays – Joe Maddon keeps bringing these guys back from the dead. Longo has turned into one of the best players in the game and their pitching staff is strong enough for the AL East. *Wild Card Pick
- Boston Red Sox – The big names just keep getting older, this isn’t the team that won in ’04 or ’07. I think Bobby V can keep them competitive, but I don’t think they have enough to make the playoffs.
- Toronto Blue Jays – Solid all around team, in the Central they would finish 2nd or 3rd. This isn’t the Central.
- Baltimore Orioles – See Toronto Blue Jays.
*I have the Rangers and Rays playing each other in the one game play-off for the Wild Card spot.
MLB Playoff and Award Predictions to come.