Central Division:
White Sox: The White Sox accomplished what they set out do in the offseason by trading two of their veteran assets in SP Chris Sale and OF Adam Eaton. The Sox hope to trade off their other veteran assets in SP Jose Quintana, 3B Todd Frazier, OF Melky Cabrera and CL David Robertson. The main goal for them is to boost up the trade value of these veterans before trying to trade them at the deadline and for the current/future young players to develop as the year goes. Chicago’s strength again will be their rotation even with the trade of Sale and the bullpen with two of the mainstays coming back from injury. Again the Sox’s offense will be their weakness but since Robin Ventura is no longer the manager they may have new blood in Rick Renteria. The team shouldn’t finish worse than 4th and no better than 3rd this year in the Central division.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Jacob May(R)
- SS Tim Anderson
- 1B Jose Abreu
- 3B Todd Frazier
- LF Melky Cabrera
- RF Avisail Garcia
- DH Matt Davidson
- 2B Tyler Saladino
- C Omar Narvaez
Pitching Staff:
|
|
||||||
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Rick Renteria
|
Hitting Coach-Todd Steverson
|
|
Bench Coach-Joe McEwing
|
Pitching Coach-Don Cooper
|
|
1B Coach-Daryl Boston
|
Bullpen Coach-Curt Hasler
|
|
3B Coach-Nick Capra
|
Bullpen Catcher-Mark Salas
|
Additions:
|
SP Derrick Holland
|
UTL Cody Asche
|
|||
|
C Geovany Soto
|
P Anthony Swarzak
|
P Giovanni Soto
|
Subtractions:
|
SP Chris Sale
|
OF Adam Eaton
|
C Alex Avila
|
CF Austin Jackson
|
||
|
RP Matt Albers
|
OF JB Shuck
|
SP Jacob Turner
|
OF Jason Coats
|
Indians: They were one win away from winning the World Series and that was without two of their best starting pitchers and Michael Brantley. They are the clear favorites to repeat in the AL with only one real competitor. With a healthy Brantley, Yan Gomes and the signing of DH Edwin Encarnacion the offense will be better than it was last year. While if the rotation stays healthy for the playoffs, all they will need to do is pitch 6 innings before turning the bullpen over to the four good relievers from last year they still have. They have now five with the addition of lefty specialist Boone Logan. The obvious strength for them is the pitching staff as a whole especially with fireman reliever Andrew Miller and ace Corey Kluber. They should run away with the Central division. Health will be a question but center field will be their weakness.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Jason Kipnis-DL
- SS Fransico Lindor
- 1B Carlos Santana
- LF Michael Brantley
- RF Lonnie Chisenhall-DL
- 3B Jose Ramirez
- C Yan Gomes
- CF Tyler Naquin
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
OF Brandon Guyer–Opening Day RF
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Terry Francona
|
Hitting Coach-Ty Van Burkleo
|
|
Bench Coach-Brad Mills
|
Pitching Coach-Mickey Callaway
|
|
1B Coach-Sandy Alomar Jr
|
Bullpen Coach-Jason Bere
|
|
3B Coach-Mike Sarbaugh
|
Bullpen Catcher-Ricky Pacione
|
Additions:
|
DH-Edwin Encarnacion
|
RP-Boone Logan
|
|||
|
OF-Austin Jackson
|
Subtractions:
|
1B-Mike Napoli
|
OF-Rajai Davis
|
OF-Collin Cowgill
|
||
|
INF-Jesus Aguliar
|
P-TJ House
|
Tigers: Detroit really should give this attempt at trying to make the playoffs this year since most of their core players are impending free agents or aging veterans. If they aren’t in the race they should sell off some of their players like RF JD Martinez, CL Francisco Rodriguez, P Anibal Sanchez, and maybe even 2B Ian Kinsler or SP Justin Verlander. It makes the most sense for Martinez and Rodriguez since they both can become free agents and have value to teams. The Tigers have the talent to finish in second place, but just looking outside of the wild card spots since there are four other teams fighting for those two spots. Surprisingly, their weakness will not be their rotation since Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, and the three youngsters form a solid rotation, but as always it’s the bullpen even with K-Rod or without him. The strength has always been how good the offense is, whoever is on the team since you have 1B Miguel Cabrera and DH Victor Martinez, the other Martinez and LF Justin Upton to anchor the middle of the order, plus Kinsler table setting for them. They also have the emerging 3B Nick Castellanos and Catcher James McCann as well. The issue they will be to figure out who will play CF and who will be in RF once they trade JD.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Ian Kinsler
- SS Jose Iglesias
- 1B Miguel Cabrera
- DH Victor Martinez
- RF JD Martinez-DL
- LF Justin Upton
- 3B Nick Castellanos
- CF Mikie Mahtook–Opening Day RF
- C James McCann
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Brad Ausmus
|
Hitting Coach-Lloyd McClendon
|
|
Bench Coach-Gene Lamont
|
Pitching Coach-Rich Dubee
|
|
1B Coach-Omar Vizquel
|
Bullpen Coach-Mick Billmeyer
|
|
3B Coach-Dave Clark
|
Bullpen Coach-John Murrian
|
Additions:
|
OF-Mikie Mahtook
|
C-Alex Avila
|
|||||||
Subtractions:
|
C- Jarrod Saltalamacchia
|
INF-Eric Aybar
|
OF Cameron Maybin
|
RP-Mark Lowe
|
|
|
RP-Bobby Parnell
|
||||
Royals: Kansas City is in a similar situation as the Tigers with many pending free agents even after extending SP Danny Duffy and trading CL Wade Davis and OF Jarrod Dyson, but they still have some of their best players about to be free agents. Only one is guaranteed to be offered a long term deal after the season, and that’s 1B Eric Hosmer, while CF Lorenzo Cain, 3B Mike Moustakas, and SS Alcides Escobar will probably be dealt if they can’t make the wild card or have a bad first half. Their usual strength is more of a weakness since both pitchers in the back end could be dealt with four positions players, and that most of their bullpen are starters who didn’t make the rotation. While the rotation will be always a question since the tragic loss of their ace Yordano Ventura, they will have to try to pick up the pieces and fill the void of his potential. The strength as always is the amazing defense that has five gold glovers on the team. Like the Tigers, whey will ultimately finish from the outside looking in for the two wild card spots.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Raul Mondesi JR
- LF Alex Gordon
- CF Lorenzo Cain
- 1B Eric Hosmer
- RF Jorge Solger–DL
- 3B Mike Moustakas
- SS Alcides Escobar
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
OF Paulo Orlando–Opening Day RF
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Ned Yost
|
Hitting Coach-Dale Sveum
|
|
Bench Coach-Don Wakamatsu
|
Pitching Coach-Dave Eiland
|
|
1B Coach-Rusty Kuntz
|
Bullpen Coach-Doug Henry
|
|
3B Coach-Mike Jirschele
|
Bullpen Catcher-Ryan Eigsti
|
Additions:
|
OF-Jorge Soler
|
OF-Brandon Moss
|
P-Travis Wood
|
SP-Jason Hammell
|
|
|
SP-Nathan Karns
|
Subtractions:
|
DH-Kendrys Moralas
|
OF-Jarrod Dyson
|
CL-Wade Davis
|
OF-Daniel Nava
|
OF-Raymond Fuentes
|
|
|
OF-Brett Eibner
|
C-Tony Cruz
|
SP-Edison Volquez
|
SP-Dillon Gee
|
Twins: They could lose 100 games for a 2nd straight year with the team they have and their flaws and all. This season should be all about playing the youth and not get complacent even if you were over .500 in 2015, this team is not close to even be competitive for awhile. They shouldn’t demote young CF Byron Buxton, let him play through his slumps instead of demoting him for a third straight year and use him in the leadoff spot. Give him, RF Max Kepler, LF Eddie Rosario, SS Jorge Polanco, 3B Miguel Sano and DH Kenny Vargas as many as bats over the course of a year to see what they can do. The actual strength will be the starting pitchers since they have solid rotation of Phil Huges, Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson, Hector Santiago, and one of two youngsters Tyler Duffey or Jose Berrios. Like the other three teams not named the Indians they should try to trade off their veteran assets in Hughes, Santana, 2B Brian Doizer, RP Craig Breslow, RP Matt Belisle, and CL Glen Perkins when he comes off the DL to help the rebuild. They will finish in last place even without the trades and they have too many weaknesses except their defense.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Byron Buxton
- 1B Joe Mauer
- 2B Brian Doizer
- 3B Miguel Sano
- DH Kenny Vargas
- LF Eddie Rosario
- RF Max Kepler
- C Jason Castro
- SS Jorge Polanco
Pitching Staff:
|
CL-Glen Perkins
|
||||||
|
SU-Brandon Kintzler
|
||||||
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Paul Molitor
|
Hitting Coach-James Rowson
|
|
Bench Coach-Joe Vavra
|
Pitching Coach-Neil Allen
|
|
1B Coach-Jeff Smith
|
Bullpen Coach-Eddie Guardado
|
|
3B Coach-Gene Glynn
|
Bullpen Catcher-Nate Dammann
|
Additions:
|
C-Jason Castro
|
RP-Craig Breslow
|
RP-Matt Belisle
|
INF-Ehire Adrianza
|
|
|
C-Chris Gimenez
|
Subtractions:
|
INF-Trevor Plouffe
|
C-Kurt Suzuki
|
C-Juan Centeno
|
SP-Tommy Milone
|
OF-Logan Schafer
|
|
RP-Neil Ramirez
|
||||
East Division:
Red Sox: Boston fixed one of their biggest holes in getting a frontline starter in Chris Sale but it wasn’t negated with their ace David Price having a Tommy John scare in spring training and starting the year on the disabled list. Even with the retirement of DH David Ortiz they have one of the game’s best offenses with two of the games brightest stars in their outfield. RF Mookie Betts came out of nowhere last year to almost win the AL MVP, and they have the runaway leader for rookie of the year in LF Andrew Benintendi. The rest of the lineup is loaded with veterans you can rely on. When Price comes back they will have one of the best rotations in baseball, the real issue will be the bullpen. Their top three setup men left them in free agency and their top two this year are both starting on the disabled list. Until those two come back with one being an offseason addition it should balance out but until then it will be something to look for. Health is always a concern for any team but this team has the chance to win the World Series it needs to be healthy to dethrone the Cubs.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Dustin Pedroia
- SS Xander Bogarts
- RF Mookie Betts
- DH Hanley Ramirez
- 1B Mitch Moreland
- LF Andrew Benintendi
- 3B Pablo Sandoval
- CF Jackie Bradley JR
- C Sandy Leon
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
OF-Chris Young
UTL-Brock Holt
INF-Josh Rutledge-DL
C-Christian Vazquez
OF-Chris Young
UTL-Brock Holt
INF-Josh Rutledge-DL
C-Christian Vazquez
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-John Farrell
|
Hitting Coach-Chili Davis
|
|
Bench Coach-Gary Disarcina
|
Pitching Coach-Carl Willis
|
|
1B Coach-Ruben Amaro Jr
|
Bullpen Coach-Dana LeVangie
|
|
3B Coach-Brian Butterfield
|
Assistant Hitting Coach-Victor Rodriguez
|
Additions:
|
1B-Mitch Moreland
|
RP-Tyler Thornberg
|
|||
|
SP-Chris Sale
|
Subtractions:
|
DH-David Ortiz
|
SP-Clay Buchholz
|
RP-Koji Uehara
|
RP-Brad Ziegler
|
RP-Junichi Tazawa
|
|
INF-Travis Shaw
|
C-Ryan Hanigan
|
C-Bryan Holiday
|
INF-Aaron Hill
|
Blue Jays: They lost of one of the best offensive players in the league and another important bat for them but they will still be a competitive team and it will squarely fall on the rotation. The emergence of Aaron Sanchez and the revivals of Marco Estrada and JA Happ, have made this rotation great and we haven’t gotten to Marcus Stroman who is good in his own right, and that Francisco Liriano is your fifth starter. They did add two very good veteran relievers to fortify the bullpen with Joe Smith and JP Howell, so it will have to rely on the offense to carry this team. They are hoping on a healthy comeback year from RF Jose Bautista to carry them with the addition of DH Kendrys Morales and former MVP Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin. Their weakness will be the production out of 1B and LF even with backup Steve Pearce being signed to play LF when he is at 1B pushing out Melvin Upton JR, and waiting on 1B Justin Smoak who they extended this off season. They will ultimately be on the outside looking for two wild card spots unless they upgrade at one of those positions.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Devon Travis
- 3B Josh Donaldson
- RF Jose Bautista
- DH Kendrys Morales
- SS Troy Tulowitzki
- C Russell Martin
- 1B Justin Smoak
- LF Ezequiel Carrera
- CF Kevin Pillar
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
INF-Darwin Barney
INF-Ryan Goins
UTL-Steve Pearce
C-Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-John Gibbons
|
Hitting Coach-Brook Jacoby
|
|
Bench Coach-DeMarlo Hale
|
Pitching Coach-Pete Walker
|
|
1B Coach-Tim Leiper
|
Bullpen Coach-Dane Johnson
|
|
3B Coach-Luis Rivera
|
Bullpen Catcher-Jason Phillips
|
Additions:
|
DH-Kendrys Morales
|
C-Jarrod Saltalamacchia
|
1B-Steve Pearce
|
||
|
RP-JP Howelll
|
||||
|
RP-Joe Smith
|
||||
Subtractions:
|
1B-Edwin Encarnacion
|
SP-RA Dickey
|
OF-Michael Saunders
|
RP-Brett Cecil
|
RP-Joaquin Benoit
|
|
|
SP-Scott Feldman
|
C-Josh Thole
|
C-AJ Jimenez
|
1B-Chris Colabello
|
||
|
OF-Junior Lake
|
P-Franklin Morales
|
3B-Matt Dominguez
|
|||
Orioles: They clearly have one of the best offenses top to bottom even some of their bench players are good offense players. When your offense has CF Adam Jones, DH Mark Trumbo, 1B Chris Davis, SS Manny Machado, and every year 2B Jonathan Schoop keeps improving. Baltimore did lose one of the best catchers in Matt Wieters, but hasn’t been the same effective catcher in a few years and missed a lot of time. Their new guy is a solid option on both sides of the ball in Wellington Castillo. They have veterans Seth Smith to play RF where they had a hole last year, and SS JJ Hardy still, but the weak link is in LF Hyun Soo Kim, who will have tough competition from one of their top prospects in Trey Mancini a 1B. The weakness that will keep them out of the playoffs is pitching since they need their whole rotation to have a chance to compete, and a better bullpen to get the ball to all star closer Zach Britton With Chris Tillman starting the year on the disabled list the playoffs don’t look realistic with Ubaldo Jimenez and Wade Miley, the others in the rotation are youngsters who are trying to stay healthy for once in their careers.
Batting Lineup:
- RF Seth Smith
- SS JJ Hardy
- CF Adam Jones
- 1B Chris Davis
- 3B Manny Machado
- DH Mark Trumbo
- 2B Jonathan Schoop
- C Welington Castillo
- LF Hyun Soo Kim
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
OF-Joey Rickard
OF-Craig Gentry
INF-Ryan Flaherty
C-Caleb Joseph
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Buck Showalter
|
Hitting Coach-Scott Coolbaugh
|
|
Bench Coach-John Russell
|
Pitching Coach-Roger McDowell
|
|
1B Coach-Wayne Kirby
|
Bullpen Coach-Alan Mills
|
|
3B Coach-Bobby Dickerson
|
Assistant Hitting Coach-Howie Clark
|
Additions:
|
C-Wellington Castillo
|
OF-Seth Smith
|
P-Vidal Nuno
|
|||
|
OF-Craig Gentry
|
|||||
Subtractions:
|
C-Matt Wieters
|
1B-Steve Pearce
|
SP-Yovanni Gallardo
|
P-Vance Worley
|
||
|
RP-TJ McFarland
|
RP-Tommy Hunter
|
P-Omar Despaigne
|
|||
Yankees: New York started the youth movement with having A-Rod retire and with some trades of the veterans last year and this offseason. Catcher Brian McCann was traded to open the door for runner up in the AL rookie of year award Gary Sanchez to have the full reins. It will be a full youth movement despite having SP CC Sabathia, CF Jacoby Ellsbury, 3B Chase Headley and LF Brett Gardner. RF Aaron Judge and Sanchez will lead the new wave of young talent from all the trades they made as this team will be competitive, but will not be a playoff team as they should look to unload some of the veterans not name CL Aroldis Chapman, who was brought back. That bullpen will be their strength even without Andrew Miller when you have Chapman, Dellin Betances and Tyler Clippard. The usual suspect for their weakness is the rotation because the main four have a history of not staying healthy and they don’t know who is actually is their fifth starter. They will always score plenty of runs but as always it will not be enough in a transition year, but no last place for them.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Jacoby Ellsbury
- LF Brett Gardner
- DH Matt Holiday
- 1B Chris Carter
- C Gary Sanchez
- 2B Starling Castro
- RF Aaron Judge
- 3B Chase Headley
- SS Didi Gregorius-DL
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
INF-Ronald Torreyes–Opening Day SS
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Joe Giradi
|
Hitting Coach-Alan Crockrell
|
|
Bench Coach-Rob Thomson
|
Pitching Coach-Larry Rothschild
|
|
1B Coach-Tony Pena
|
Bullpen Coach-Mike Harkey
|
|
3B Coach-Joe Espada
|
Bullpen Catcher-Roman Rodriguez
|
Additions:
|
DH-Matt Holliday
|
1B-Chris Carter
|
|||
Subtractions:
|
DH-Alex Rodriguez
|
1B-Mark Teixeira
|
C-Brian McCann
|
INF-Dustin Ackley
|
|
|
1B-Ike Davis
|
1B-Chris Parmelee
|
UTL-Eric Young JR
|
RP-Kirby Yates
|
RP-Anthony Swarzak
|
Rays: Let me save you some time. This team will finish in last place for awhile till they get better ownership and a better stadium, yes a stadium doesn’t make you a winner but it would help. Ownership should be focused on trying to improve their team in all aspects with a stadium being one, so more fans will come so they make more money to keep their top players or sign top free agents. They did sign LF Colby Rasmus but he will start the year on the disabled list with the best acquisitions being bargain bin trades for the often injured 1B Logan Morrison or the Rockies have too many outfielders so they traded Corey Dickerson. If it wasn’t for Evan Longoria and a few career years from rejects or bargain bin players, they would have never been a playoff team or made the World Series since their strength is and always will be their starting rotation. Most years they will trade one or two of their starters during the season or offseason as they just did with Matt Moore and Drew Symly. They will trade of the two of Alex Cobb or Chris Archer maybe Jake Odorizzi or Erasmo Ramirez but they may surprise and trade of one their relievers who provide strength for them no matter who’s in their bullpen. Even if all of their players were healthy or played at their peak they still wouldn’t be competitive since they only have a few good offensive players.
Batting Lineup:
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
OF-Mallex Smith–Opening Day LF
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Kevin Cash
|
Hitting Coach-Chad Mottola
|
|
Bench Coach-Tom Foley
|
Pitching Coach-Jim Hickey
|
|
1B Coach-Rocco Baldelli
|
Bullpen Coach-Stan Boroski
|
|
3B Coach-Charlie Montoyo
|
Bullpen Catcher-Scott Cursi
|
Additions:
|
OF-Mallex Smith
|
OF-Colby Rasmus
|
C-Derrick Norris
|
UTL-Rickie Weeks JR
|
||
|
RP-Shawn Tolleson
|
Subtractions:
|
C-Hank Conger
|
C-Bobby Wilson
|
INF-Logan Forythe
|
|||
|
UTL-Tyler Motter
|
OF-Jaff Decker
|
SP-Drew Smyly
|
RP-Steve Geltz
|
INF-Richie Schffer
|
West Division:
Rangers: Texas like Boston or Cleveland will be favored in the AL to win the pennant based on overall talent. They always have a talented offense with their strength from top to bottom especially with a full season of RF Nomar Mazara, CF Carlos Gomez and them bringing back 1B Mike Napoli to help 3B Adrian Beltre anchor this potent lineup. They are banking on the health of two former Padre teammates in Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner to both help take the stress off the co-aces in Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish since all six of their starters have an injury history. The biggest weakness will be the bullpen and who is actually the closer and once you figure that out who is bridging the game to him. It is either because of the talent or injuries that is hampering them. That would be the position I would trade for if I were them, a closer or a good setup man for incumbent closer Sam Dyson. Even if they don’t win the division they will grab one of the two wild card spots.
Batting Lineup:
- LF Delino DeShields JR
- DH Shin-Soo Choo
- 3B Adrian Beltre-DL
- 1B Mike Napoli
- CF Carlos Gomez
- 2B Rougned Odor
- RF Normar Mazara
- C Jonathan Lucroy
- SS Elvis Andrus
Pitching Staff:
|
Andrew Cashner(DL)
|
||||||
Bench:
UTL-Jurickson Profar–Opening Day 3B
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Jeff Bannister
|
Hitting Coach-Anthony Iapoce
|
|
Bench Coach-Steve Buechele
|
Pitching Coach-Doug Brocail
|
|
1B Coach-Hector Ortiz
|
Bullpen Coach-Brad Holman
|
|
3B Coach-Tony Beasley
|
Bullpen Catcher-Josh Frasier
|
Additions:
|
1B-Mike Napoli
|
SP-Andrew Cashner
|
|||
Subtractions:
|
1B-Mitch Moreland
|
RP-Shawn Tolleson
|
|||
|
SP-Derek Holland
|
SP-Lucas Harrell
|
|||
Mariners: This team can be the surprise team based on the additions they made to the team to get quicker and athletic in the outfield. By adding Jarrod Dyson and Mitch Haniger it will help the top of the lineup and the outfield defense along with SS Jean Segura who came in the trade with Haniger to leadoff for them. But even with them adding Drew Symly and Yovani Gallardo they are still thin if anyone of them go down, but at full strength they can pitch with the rest of the good rotations out there. The strength will be the offense anchored by DH Nelson Cruz who will not have to play as much OF, 3B Kyle Seager and 2B Robinson Cano to go with the speedy guys they got in the offseason. The bullpen is very thin which will be their weakness which means the whole pitching staff has to stay healthy but their closer has promise, the young fireballer Edwin Diaz. They will have a chance for a wild card spot this year.
Batting Lineup:
- LF Jarrod Dyson
- SS Jean Segura
- 2B Robinson Cano
- DH Nelson Cruz
- 3B Kyle Seager
- 1B Danny Valencia
- RF Mitch Haniger
- C Mike Zunino
- CF Leonys Martin
Pitching Staff:
|
Drew Smyly(DL)
|
||||||
Bench:
UTL-Shawn O’Malley-DL
UTL-Taylor Motter
OF-Ben Gamel-DL
OF-Guillermo Heredia
C-Carlos Ruiz
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Scott Servais
|
Hitting Coach-Edgar Martinez
|
|
Bench Coach-Tim Bogar
|
Pitching Coach-Mel Stollemyre
|
|
1B Coach-Casey Canaele
|
Bullpen Coach-Mike Hampton
|
|
3B Coach-Manny Acta
|
Bullpen Catcher-Fleming Baez
|
Additions:
|
SP-Drew Smyly
|
SP-Yovani Gallardo
|
RP-Mark Rzepczynski
|
OF-Jarrod Dyson
|
SS-Jean Segura
|
||
|
C-Carlos Ruiz
|
INF-Danny Valencia
|
UTL-Taylor Motter
|
||||
|
RP-Casey Fein
|
||||||
Subtractions:
|
SS-Ketel Marte
|
SP- Tajian Walker
|
SP-Nate Karns
|
C-Chris Iannetta
|
||||
|
OF-Norichika Aoki
|
OF-Franklin Gutierrez
|
OF-Seth Smith
|
|||||
|
RP-Drew Storen
|
RP-David Rollins
|
C-Jesus Sucre
|
|||||
|
1B-Adam Lind
|
|||||||
|
RP-Tome Wilhelmsen
|
|||||||
Astros: They went and added multiple veterans to this offense in DH Carlos Beltran, OF Nori Aoki, OF Josh Reddick and C Brian McCann. But they made a mistake in trying to improve the offense they hurt themselves defensively by making RF George Springer their CF. He is just starting to be consistent and healthy now they are asking him to play CF which isn’t his natural position and to leadoff which ultimately will get him hurt again trying to do too much. Their biggest weakness will be their starting rotation in terms of health and depth. Already their #2 starter is starting the year on the disabled list and their offseason signing Charlie Morton missed all of last year. Outside of the ace Dallas Keuchel they are thin even without injuries. Their strength as I stated before will be because of their long lineup with 2B José Altuve and SS Carlos Correa anchoring the lineup with those veteran additions. If the pitching staff holds up and pitches well enough to be supported by the great offense they will secure a wild card spot.
Batting Lineup:
- LF Norichika Aoki
- 2B Jose Altuve
- SS Carlos Correa
- DH Carlos Beltran
- C Brian McCann
- 1B Evan Gattis
- RF Josh Reddick
- CF George Springer
- 3B Alex Bregman
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manger-AJ Hinch
|
Hitting Coach-Dave Hudgens
|
|
Bench Coach-Alex Cora
|
Pitching Coach-Brent Storm
|
|
1B Coach-Rich Dauer
|
Bullpen Coach-Craig Bjornson
|
|
3B Coach-Gary Pettis
|
Bullpen Catcher-Carlos Munoz
|
Additions:
|
DH-Carlos Beltran
|
OF-Josh Reddick
|
OF-Norichika Aoki
|
C-Brian McCann
|
SP-Charlie Morton
|
|
C-Juan Centeno
|
||||
Subtractions:
|
RP-Pat Neshek
|
C-Jason Castro
|
SP-Doug Fister
|
OF-Colby Rasmus
|
INF-Luis Valbuena
|
Athletics: They did fix the outfield by signing Rajai Davis to play CF, Matt Joyce to play RF and bringing in Trevor Plouffe to play all over/DH. One of the strengths for them will be their lineup anchored by LF Kris Davis, C Stephen Vogt and 2B Jed Lowrie if he can stay healthy. They are counting on Ryon Healy to pick up where he left off last year in his rookie year. When Sonny Gray comes back their rotation will be ok but not good enough to compete with the inexperience of some of the starters since they are counting on two rookies despite how good Kendall Graveman can be. Their bullpen will be their biggest strength when you have Sean Doolittle, John Axford, Ryan Madson and they signed Santiago Casilla as well to close out games for you. But last place is what they will have unless the Angels stink it up again like last year and they will probably trade some of their veteran assets as well.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Rajai Davis
- 2B Jed Lowrie
- C Stephen Vogt
- LF Khris Davis
- RF Matt Joyce
- DH Trevor Plouffe
- 3B Ryon Healy
- 1B Yonder Alonzo
- SS Marcus Seimen
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Bob Melvin
|
Hitting Coach-Darren Bush
|
|
Bench Coach-Mark Kotsay
|
Pitching Coach-Curt Young
|
|
1B Coach-Mike Aldrete
|
Bullpen Coach-Scott Emerson
|
|
3B Coach-Chip Hale
|
Bullpen Catcher-Philip Pohl
|
Additions:
|
OF-Rajai Davis
|
OF-Matt Joyce
|
INF-Trevor Plouffe
|
INF-Adam Rosales
|
RP-Santiago Casilla
|
|
OF-Jaff Decker
|
||||
Subtractions:
|
INF-Danny Valencia
|
RP-Fernando Rodriguez
|
OF-Brett Eibner
|
UTL-Arismendy Alcantara
|
|
Angels: Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and crew will again be a non factor this year. They did improve two of their weaknesses they had in the field by getting 2B Danny Espinosa and both Camron Maybin and Ben Revere to cover LF which were black holes last year for them. They did get a veteran behind the plate in Martin Maldoado in a trade as well and added Luis Valbuena to carry as insurance for the infield/Albert, but it will not be enough. At full strength their rotation isn’t that great outside of Garret Richard and Tyler Skaggs but they both have had major procedures to their respective arms which means they are more prone to going down again. The other good pitcher Andrew Heaney had Tommy John surgery last year and will not be back till the second half. Meaning, if the top two starters go down they are going to be in trouble since they are already thin at pitching they would have to turn to Jesse Chavez and JC Ramirez. Their strength will be having two great players and an improved overall lineup and defensively being better, but their pitching staff will let them down this year even if it’s not their fault. They will fight with the A’s for last place.
Batting Lineup:
- LF Cameron Maybin
- 3B Yunel Escobar
- CF Mike Trout
- DH Albert Pujols
- RF Cole Calhoun
- 1B CJ Cron
- 2B Danny Espinosa
- SS Andrelton Simmons
- C Martin Maldonado
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Mike Scioscia
|
Hitting Coach-Dave Hansen
|
|
Bench Coach-Dino Ebel
|
Pitching Coach-Charles Nagy
|
|
1B Coach-Alfredo Griffin
|
Bullpen Coach-Scott Radinsky
|
|
3B Coach-Ron Roenicke
|
Bullpen Catcher-Tom Gregorio
|
Additions:
|
INF-Danny Espinosa
|
C-Martin Maldonado
|
OF-Ben Revere
|
OF-Cameron Maybin
|
P-Jesse Chavez
|
|
|
INF-Luis Valbuena
|
SP-Bud Norris
|
P-Yusmeiro Petit
|
Subtractions:
|
C-Jett Bandy
|
C-Geovany Soto
|
1B-Ji Man Choi
|
INF-Johnny Giavotella
|
INF-Gregorio Petit
|
|
|
INF-Brendan Ryan
|
OF-Nick Buss
|
OF-Rafael Ortega
|
SP-Jered Weaver
|
SP-Jhoulys Chacin
|
SP-Brett Oberholtzer
|
Central Division:
Cubs: They are the clear favorites to be repeat winners and run away with it but it shouldn’t be that easy as at least four other NL teams have improved during the offseason. Chicago did lose their rental closer Arlodis Chapman, often injured RF Jorge Soler, cult hero C David Ross and a few backups and pitchers they will not miss like Travis Wood, Jason Hammel, Trevor Cahill and Chris Coglhan. They did fix the closer and setup man issue with the trade of closer Wade Davis and signing Koji Uehara. The thing going for them is most of the team returned and the core is under 30, plus a full season of Wilson Contreras and Kyle Scwharber. Their strength will be their offense, but it comes with the weakness of defense with Schwarber in LF and games with Ben Zobrist in RF pushing Jason Heyward to CF. This team will most likely be in the World Series as long the pitching staff as a whole gets them there since the hitting is stacked.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Jon Jay
- 2B Ben Zobrist
- 3B Kris Byrant
- 1B Anthony Rizzo
- LF Kyle Schwarber
- SS Addison Russell
- RF Jason Heyward
- C Willson Contreras
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Joe Maddon
|
Hitting Coach-John Mallee
|
|
Bench Coach-Dave Martinez
|
Pitching Coach-Chris Bosio
|
|
1B Coach-Brandon Hyde
|
Bench Coach-Lester Strode
|
|
3B Coach-Gary Jones
|
Bullpen Coach-Chad Noble
|
Additions:
|
SP-Brett Anderson
|
CL-Wade Davis
|
RP-Koji Uehara
|
OF-Jon Jay
|
|
Subtractions:
|
SP-Jason Hammell
|
P-Travis Wood
|
CF-Dexter Fowler
|
CL-Aroldis Chapman
|
|||
|
RF-Jorge Soler
|
P-Trevor Cahill
|
UTL-Chris Coghlan
|
RP-Joe Smith
|
P-Clayton Richard
|
||
Cardinals: It is Wild Card or bust since the Cubs will win the division easily since these aren’t the Cardinals of even recent memory. Yes they always have someone to call up/something up their sleeve but their pitching staff is a huge concern with the health and effectiveness of the current rotation and setup crew. Their long time ace, Adam Wainwright is getting up in age, Micheal Wacha hasn’t been as effective as he was a few years ago and has to fight to stay healthy, ditto for ace Carlos Martinez. You still have Lance Lynn coming off Tommy John Surgery as someone they have to rely on and career backend starter Mike Leake. Their top pitching prospect Alex Reyes is out for the year with TJ surgery. Two of their key relievers had TJ surgery last year while releasing Seth Maness who was a mainstay. They lost Matt Holiday’s bat in the offseason but gained a CF and leadoff hitter away from the rival Cubs in Dexter Fowler, which pushes Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty to the corners and lets Matt Carpenter bat in the middle of the lineup. They also get a full season of Aledmys Diaz at SS, which means Johnny Peralta can play 3B where he belongs defensively. So the offense will have to carry them to wild card contention if they want to make the playoffs, but their pitching will have to be the difference to secure the spot and be competitive, or they will have to make a trade for another SP or a top setup man.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Dexter Fowler
- 2B Kolton Wong
- 1B Matt Carpenter
- RF Stephen Piscotty
- LF Randal Grichuk
- C Yadier Molina
- 3B Jhonny Peralta
- SS Aledmys Diaz
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Mike Matheny
|
Hitting Coach-John Mabry
|
|
Bench Coach-David Bell
|
Pitching Coach-Derek Lilliquist
|
|
1B Coach-Oliver Marmol
|
Bullpen Coach-Blaise Ilsley
|
|
3B Coach-Chris Maloney
|
Bullpen Catcher-Jaime Pogue
|
Additions:
|
CF-Dexter Fowler
|
RP-Brett Cecil
|
RP-John Gant
|
C-Eric Fryer
|
|
Subtractions:
|
OF-Brandon Moss
|
OF-Jeremy Hazelbaker
|
SP-Jaime Garcia
|
OF-Matt Holiday
|
|
|
RP-Seth Maness
|
C-Bryan Pena
|
|||
Pirates: It will be back to back years with the Pirates being home for the playoffs. Their whole pitching staff is either thin or full of unproven pitchers as in case for the rotation after Garret Cole and Ivan Nova, the other three starters this year no matter which one they will be inexperienced. By letting go of Jared Hughes out of nowhere the bullpen is thin since they traded closer Mark Melancon at last year’s deadline, and that two of the relievers are starters as well. Like the other Central teams their offense is strength and it will have to carry this young rotation if they have any playoff hopes. That is without INF Jung-Ho Kang who is on the restricted list and having some players playing out of position. John Jaso has no real position without a DH and youngster Josh Bell getting most of the at bats at 1B since he is an outfielder but those spots are covered. The team will be anchored by the starting outfield no matter the defensive alignment as Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco will have to step it up after Andrew McCutchen’s down year, and David Freese is always getting hurt at some point. Unless they make a trade for a starter or reliever it will be the start of another playoff drought.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Josh Harrison
- SS Jordy Mercer
- RF Andrew McCutchen
- CF Starling Marte
- LF Gregory Polanco
- 3B David Freese
- 1B Josh Bell
- C Francisco Cervelli
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manger-Clint Hurdle
|
Hitting Coach-Jeff Branson
|
|
Bench Coach-Tom Prince
|
Pitching Coach-Ray Searage
|
|
1B Coach-Kimera Bartee
|
Bullpen Coach-Euclides Rojas
|
|
3B Coach-Joey Cora
|
Bullpen Catcher-Heberto Andrade
|
Additions:
|
UTL-Phil Gosselin
|
RP-Daniel Hudson
|
Subtractions:
|
SP-Jeff Locke
|
UTL-Sean Rodriguez
|
OF-Matt Joyce
|
RP-Neftali Feliz
|
RP-Jared Hughes
|
Brewers: They only solace they can take is they are not as bad the Reds are since they have a better rotation since it’s healthy. They have seven solid options for the rotation and a proven closer in Neftali Feliz. But the theme of the division is the offense carrying the team since this team has LF Ryan Braun, new additions 3B Travis Shaw and Eric Thames with Villar setting the tables. They also have young and improving players in RF Domingo Santana, CF Keon Broxton and Orlando Arcia, who have shown promise. They will try to see if they can trade Ryan Braun, Matt Garza and Feliz as they have the most value to other teams, plus they want to get rid of Braun and Garza’s contracts. Since they are in rebuild mode it should be about playing all of the young players especially the starting pitchers. Which is why newly acquired Jett Bandy and last year’s deadline addition Andrew Susac should both get to catch to see who the better option at both hitting and handling the young rotation. Hopefully being better than the Reds is a good goal for them.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Jonathan Villar
- CF Keon Broxton
- LF Ryan Braun
- 1B Eric Thames
- RF Domingo Santana
- 3B Travis Shaw
- SS Orlando Arcia
- C Andrew Susac-DL
Pitching Staff:
C-Jett Bandy–Opening Day Catcher
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Craig Counsell
|
Hitting Coach-Darnell Coles
|
|
Bench Coach-Pat Murphy
|
Pitching Coach-Derek Johnson
|
|
1B Coach-Carlos Subero
|
Bullpen Coach-Lee Tunnell
|
|
3B Coach-Ed Sedar
|
Bullpen Catcher-Marcus Hanel
|
Additions:
|
C-Jett Bandy
|
1B-Jesus Aguilar
|
RP-Neftali Feliz
|
1B-Eric Thames
|
INF-Travis Shaw
|
|
SP-Tommy Milone
|
INF-Eric Sogard
|
RP-Jared Hughes
|
Subtractions:
|
1B-Chris Carter
|
RP-Tyler Thornburg
|
C-Martin Maldonado
|
|||
|
UTL-Jake Elmore
|
INF-Will Middlebrooks
|
2B-Scooter Gennett
|
|||
Reds: They are going in the right direction for this rebuild with trading away RF Jay Bruce and 2B Brandon Phillip, while trotting out there as many young arms in both the rotation and bullpen. With their three best starters starting on the DL in Homer Bailey, Anthony DeSclafani, and Brandon Finnegan, there is more chance for the four young starters they have, and they traded Dan Straily as well. They did sign Scott Feldman and brought back Bronson Arroyo to eat innings for them, as well Drew Storen to setup Raisel Iglesias or Michael Lorezen, both in last year’s opening day rotation, now being used as high leverage relievers. When healthy which is a big if, the rotation would be their strength but for now they don’t have a good rotation, too much inexperience and backend guys being at the top. The strength will be offense for Cincinnati like the other Central teams. Infielder Jose Peraza gets a full season and so do both corner outfielders Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall who made the all star team last year. Plus, there is hope catcher Devin Mesoraco is healthy as well to join lineup anchors 1B Joey Votto, SS Zach Cosart and CF Billy Hamilton, wreaking havoc at the top. The goal is to improve and maybe finish ahead of the Brewers.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Billy Hamilton
- 2B Jose Peraza
- 1B Joey Votto
- LF Adam Duvall
- RF Scott Schebler
- SS Zack Cosart
- 3B Eugeino Suraez
- C Devin Mesoraco-DL
Pitching Staff:
C-Tucker Barnhart–Opening Day Catcher
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Bryan Price
|
Hitting Coach-Don Long
|
|
Bench Coach-Jim Riggleman
|
Pitching Coach-Mack Jenkins
|
|
1B Coach-Freddie Benavides
|
Bullpen Coach-Ted Power
|
|
3B Coach-Billy Hatcher
|
Bullpen Catcher-Dustin Hughes
|
Additions:
|
RP-Drew Storen
|
SP-Scott Feldman
|
2B-Scooter Gennett
|
||
|
UTL-Arismendy Alcantara
|
Subtractions:
|
2B-Brandon Phillips
|
UTL-Ivan Dejesus JR
|
UTL-Tyler Holt
|
SP-Jon Lamb
|
OF-Steve Selsky
|
|
|
SP-Dan Straily
|
RP-Jumbo Diaz
|
RP-JJ Hoover
|
East Division:
Nationals: This team can dethrone the Cubs and win a World Series if Bryce Harper takes them there after a down year with a nagging injury slowing him down. When you have a top 3 player and a good rotation and a stacked lineup you should at least get to the NL championship every year. The strength is the stacked lineup that has two elite table setters in newly acquired CF Adam Eaton and last year’s runner up in NL Rookie Trea Turner to set up Harper, 1B Ryan Zimmerman, LF Jason Werth, 2B Daniel Murphy, 3B Anthony Rendon and C Matt Wieters who they signed in the offseason. The weakness will be the bullpen with Mark Melancon leaving in the offseason and previous dismissals of Drew Storen and Jonathan Pabelbon. They are going with a committee of three guys and whoever is doing the best is the closer in Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelly or Koda Glover. All either have not much major league experience or late inning experience. Yes, health will be an issue for the lineup and the rotation but unless they make a trade for a closer they will struggle to win the division and might have to settle fighting for the wild card with other teams.
Batting Lineup:
Batting Lineup:
- CF Adam Eaton
- SS Trea Turner
- RF Bryce Harper
- 2B Daniel Murphy
- LF Jayson Werth
- 1B Ryan Zimmeran
- 3B Anthony Rendon
- C Matt Wieters
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manger-Dusty Baker
|
Hitting Coach-Rick Schu
|
|
Bench Coach-Chris Speier
|
Pitching Coach-Mike Maddux
|
|
1B Coach-Dave Lopes
|
Bullpen Coach-Dan Firova
|
|
3B Coach-Bob Henley
|
Assistants Hitting Coach-Jacque Jones
|
Additions:
|
1B-Adam Lind
|
CF-Adam Eaton
|
C-Matt Wieters
|
RP-Joe Blanton
|
SP-Vance Worley
|
||||||||
|
RP-Enny Romero
|
||||||||||||
Subtractions:
|
C-Wilson Ramos
|
OF-Ben Revere
|
RP-Marc Rzpeczynski
|
P-Yusmeiro Petit
|
|
|
CL-Mark Melancon
|
SP-Mat Latos
|
RP-Matt Belisle
|
OF-Matt Den Dekker
|
Mets: The health of their pitching staff will be the key question for as far as they can go since one year they went to the World Series and the other they barely limped into the playoffs. The strength of this team is the arsenal of arms they have in both the rotation and the bullpen as they can go 8 deep in the rotation and have one of the best closers. When you have Thor, the Dark Knight, Degrominater, Stephen Matz and Zach Wheeler who’s finally back. This rotation at full strength is one of the two best rotations in baseball. Health creeps up again with their position players as both 3B David Wright, Catcher Travis dArnaud, 1B Lucas Duda, CF Juan Lagares and 2B Neil Walker, missed significant time last year. Which is why these players are important in Jose Reyes, Rene Rivera and a full season of Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto hopefully will support the players who start the year hurt or get hurt this season. They will have heavy competition from the Nationals this year but both of those teams will be making the playoffs.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Curtis Granderson
- SS Asdrubal Cabrera
- LF Yoenis Cespedes
- RF Jay Bruce
- 1B Lucas Duda
- 2B Neil Walker
- 3B David Wright-DL
- C Travis d’Arnaud
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
INF-Jose Reyes–Opening Day 3B/Leadoff Man
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Terry Collins
|
Hitting Coach-Kevin Long
|
|
Bench Coach-Dick Scott
|
Pitching Coach-Dan Warthen
|
|
1B Coach-Tom Goodwin
|
Bullpen Coach-Ricky Bones
|
|
3B Coach-Glenn Sherlock
|
Bullpen Catcher-Dave Racaniello
|
Additions: P Tom Gorzelanny
Subtractions:
|
SP-Bartolo Colon
|
SP-Jon Niese
|
|||
|
OF-Justin Ruggiano
|
P-Logan Verrett
|
Marlins: They are one of the teams that are good enough to not be a bottom feeder but not good enough to make the playoffs, basically stuck in the middle. They can mash it with the best of them with the offense being the strength and having a stacked outfield of Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, and quality infielders and a rising star at catcher in JT Realmtuo. The rotation is thin after the tragic of Jose Fernandez towards end of last year’s season. Despite the signing of Edison Volquez, Jeff Locke and trading for Dan Straily it’s a rotation full of 3’s or 4’s not any front line starting options. They did improve the bullpen so AJ Ramos has good setup men after signing Brad Ziegler, Junichi Tazawa and resigning Dustin McGowan. The outfield lineup will be another weakness like the rotation with Yelich in CF which he is not. They will finish in 3rd place again.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Dee Gordon
- 3B Martin Prado-DL
- LF Christian Yelich
- RF Giancarlo Stanton
- CF Marcell Ozuna
- 1B Justin Bour
- C JT Realmuto
- SS Adieny Hechavarria
Pitching Staff:
|
Jeff Locke(DL)
|
|||||
Bench:
OF-Ichiro Suzuki
UTL-Miguel Rojas
INF-Derek Dietrich–Opening Day 3B
C-AJ Ellis
1B-Tyler Moore
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Don Mattingly
|
Hitting Coach-Mike Pagliarulo
|
|
Bench Coach-Tim Wallach
|
Pitching Coach-Juan Nieves
|
|
1B Coach-Perry Hill
|
Bullpen Coach-Jeff Urgelles
|
|
3B Coach-Fredi Gonzalez
|
Catching Coach-Brian Schneider
|
Additions:
|
SP-Edison Volquez
|
SP-Dan Straily
|
SP-Jeff Locke
|
RP-Brad Ziegler
|
RP-Junichi Tazawa
|
|
|
C-AJ Ellis
|
1B-Tyler Moore
|
Subtractions:
|
C-Jeff Mathis
|
INF-Robert Anidno
|
INF-Chris Johnson
|
OF-Jeff Francoeur
|
|
|
SP-Andrew Cashner
|
RP-Fernando Rodney
|
RP-Mike Dunn
|
RP-Bryan Morris
|
Phillies: They will fight with the Braves for last place as both teams are rebuilding. The biggest weakness will be the pitching staff as a whole with a patch work rotation of veterans and inexperienced starters and a handful of veteran relievers to go with the unproven relievers in the bullpen. They did bring in Pat Neshek and Joaquin Benoit to help the bullpen, while they brought back Jeremy Hellickson and traded for Clay Buchholz to provide innings around Aaron Nola and other youngsters. The strength will be the lineup anchored by 3B Maikel Franco and CF Odubel Herrera, with the veteran additions of Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders. First base will be Tommy Joseph’s job with Ryan Howard, Cody Asche and Darin Ruff gone, which give Philly a long look at one of their former top prospects. The weakness in the lineup will be having two backup catchers with no real starter and with two backups in the middle infield ever since Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley were traded, which is why Howie Kendrick should start at 2B so Aaron Altherr can get a chance to play every day in the outfield. While one of those backups keep it warm till top prospect JP Crawford comes up to play SS, and till the other youngsters come up which the main goal of this year.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Odubel Herrera
- SS Freddy Galvis
- 3B Maikel Franco
- 1B Tommy Joesph
- LF Michael Saunders
- 2B Howie Kendrick
- RF Aaron Altherr
- C Cameron Rupp
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manger-Pete Mackanin
|
Hitting Coach-Matt Stairs
|
|
Bench Coach-Larry Bowa
|
Pitching Coach-Bob McClure
|
|
1B Coach-Mickey Morandini
|
Bullpen Coach-John McLaren
|
|
3B Coach-Juan Samuel
|
Bullpen Catcher-Jesus Tiamo
|
Additions:
|
OF-Michael Saunders
|
2B-Howie Kendrick
|
SP-Clay Bucholz
|
RP-Pat Neshek
|
RP-Joaquin Benoit
|
||||
|
OF-Daniel Nava
|
||||||||
Subtractions:
|
C-AJ Ellis
|
UTL-Emmanuel Burris
|
OF-David Lough
|
||
|
3B-Cody Asche
|
OF-Peter Bourjos
|
RP-David Hernandez
|
SP-Charlie Morton
|
Braves: A rebuilding mode but with a twist is what Atlanta is doing with getting Matt Kemp last year, trading for Brandon Phillips, Jaime Garcia, signing RA Dickey, Bartolo Colon and Kurt Suzuki. Distract the fans with fancy veterans while they rebuild and stink till the young players come up with Dansby Swanson starting it off. Their lineup is their strength with 1B Freddie Freeman anchoring the lineup with Kemp, Phillips and RF Nick Markakis Despite getting three new starters the rotation is the weakness of this rebuilding team as two of them are over 40 years old and Garcia can’t stay healthy, meaning back enders to eat up innings which leaves them one reliable pitcher in Julio Teheran. The goal is to build up the value of the veterans and flip them for more prospects till the players you already have are ready. They will fight with the Phillies for last place this year.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Ender Inciarte
- 2B Brandon Phillips
- 1B Freddie Freeman
- LF Matt Kemp
- RF Nick Markakis
- 3B Adonis Garcia
- C Kurt Suzuki
- SS Dansby Swanson
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Brian Snitker
|
Hitting Coach-Kevin Seitzer
|
|
Bench Coach-Terry Pendleton
|
Pitching Coach-Chuck Hernandez
|
|
1B Coach-Eddie Perez
|
Bullpen Coach-Marty Reed
|
|
3B Coach-Ron Washington
|
Bullpen Catcher-Jose Yepez
|
Additions:
|
C-Kurt Suzuki
|
2B-Brandon Phillips
|
SP-Bartolo Colon
|
SP-RA Dickey
|
SP-Jaime Garcia
|
|
|
RP-Chaz Roe
|
RP-David Hernandez
|
Subtractions:
|
INF-Reid Brignac
|
INF-Brandon Snyder
|
OF-Mallex Smith
|
||
|
P-Williams Perez
|
RP-John Gant
|
West Division:
Dodgers: Like always LA has a huge payroll and one top starter and top closer but not a deep enough rotation or bullpen despite all the money they have. The lineup will be the strength of the team with the reigning NL Rookie Corey Seager, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 3B Justin Turner and RF Yasiel Puig anchoring it. Which doesn’t even give mention to CF Joc Pederson, catcher Yasmani Grandal and trade pickup 2B Logan Forysthe, and with LF Andre Either on the DL Andrew Toles can be the leadoff hitter they need. They certainly have enough bodies in the rotation but the real question who will be the other starters after Clayton Kershaw in the playoffs. Having Kenta Medea, Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood, Brandon McCarthy and Julio Urias is good, but most of these guys can’t stay healthy so it’s really just having a bunch of lottery tickets but no surefire winner. They did get a quality setup man in Sergio Romo so at least the 8th inning is covered, it’s the other innings if needed they still aren’t sure about. They have the talent to push the Cubs and go far in the playoffs but they like the Nationals seem unable to go far in the playoffs despite all of the talent. The division is there for the taking, the pennant is another question.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Logan Forysthe
- SS Corey Seager
- 3B Justin Turner
- 1B Adrian Gonazlez
- C Yasmani Grandal
- LF Andre Either-DL
- RF Yasiel Puig
- CF Joc Pederson
Pitching Staff:
OF-Andrew Toles–Opening Day LF
Coaching Staff:
|
Manager-Dave Roberts
|
Hitting Coach-Turner Ward
|
|
Bench Coach-Bob Geren
|
Pitching Coach-Rick Honeycutt
|
|
1B Coach-George Lombard
|
Bullpen Coach-Josh Bard
|
|
3B Coach-Chris Woodward
|
Bullpen Catcher-Rob Flippo
|
Additions:
|
2B-Logan Forsythe
|
OF-Franklin Gutierrez
|
RP-Sergio Romo
|
|||
Subtractions:
|
2B-Howie Kendrick
|
SP-Brett Anderson
|
RP-Joe Blanton
|
P-Jesse Chavez
|
RP-JP Howell
|
C-Carlos Ruiz
|
|
2B-Micah Johnson
|
RF-Josh Reddick
|
SP-Bud Norris
|
Giants: They did fix the bullpen issue by signing Mark Melancon to close but I don’t get why people are happy with the rest of the bullpen outside Hunter Strickland. Will Smith is out for the year with Tommy John surgery and with both Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo gone it’s really thin in the bullpen. This will be their Achilles heal despite the health of the outfield which is always a question as all three starting outfielders spent time on the DL last year and this year is no different. The two young leftfielders are both on the DL which is the same as last year as Angel Pagan missed most of the year due to injury and is still out there as a free agent. The strength of this team is the starting rotation of Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, and Matt Cain and the catcher Buster Posey. The rotation and Posey will be the key since the rest of the infield is solid and does what it’s supposed to do which means they will certainly claim a wild card spot, but a division title or a pennant will only come if they upgrade the bullpen.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Denard Span
- 2B Joe Panik
- C Buster Posey
- 1B Bradon Belt
- RF Hunter Pence
- LF Jarrett Parker
- 3B Eduardo Nunez
- SS Brandon Crawford
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
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Manager-Bruce Bochy
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Hitting Coach-Hensley Meulens
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Bench Coach-Ron Wotus
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Pitching Coach-Dave Righetti
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1B Coach-Jose Alguacil
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Bullpen Coach-Mark Gardner
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3B Coach-Phil Nevin
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Bullpen Catcher-Eli Whiteside
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Additions:
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C-Nick Hundley
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CL-Mark Melancon
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OF-Chris Marrero
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||
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INF-Aaron Hill
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RP-Neil Ramirez
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Subtractions:
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RP-Sergio Romo
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RP-Santiago Casilla
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INF-Ehire Adrianza
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OF-Gregor Blanco
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INF-Grant Green
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INF-Ruben Tejada
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Rockies: Top to bottom they have one of the best lineups in all of baseball even without a DH even more so with recently added Ian Desmond to play 1B who will start the year on the DL. Even without him they have Mark Reynolds at 1B to fill and be a part of a stacked lineup with 3B Nolan Arendo, RF Carlos Gonazlez, SS Trevor Story after his good rookie season, CF Charlie Blackmon to lead things off, plus the reigning NL batting champ DJ LeMahieu. Despite a weakness at catcher between the three youngsters they have this lineup will be solid, since Desmond and OF David Dahl will be back at some point this year. The weakness will be the rotation since they are relying on three rookies and an injury prone Tyler Chatwood behind sophomore Jon Gray. The bullpen on the other hand is another area of strength with signing former Royals closer Greg Holland who sat out a year, and Mike Dunn to pair with Jake McGee, Chad Qualls, and Adam Ottavino who’s healthy now to form an elite 5 man bullpen. They can be the surprise team to claim a wild card spot if the inexperienced pitchers do well enough to turn it over strong bullpen while this stacked lineup scores a lot.
Batting Lineup:
- CF Charlie Blackman
- 2B DJ LeMahieu
- 3B Nolan Arenando
- RF Carlos Gonazlez
- 1B Ian Desmond–DL
- LF Gerardo Parra
- SS Trevor Story
- C Tony Wolters
Pitching Staff:
1B-Mark Reynolds–Opening Day 1B
C-Tom Murphy–DL
Coaching Staff:
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Manager-Bud Black
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Hitting Coach-Duane Espy
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Bench Coach-Mike Redmond
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Pitching Coach-Steve Foster
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1B Coach-Tony Diaz
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Bullpen Coach-Darren Holmes
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3B Coach-Stu Cole
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Bullpen Catcher-Aaron Munoz
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Additions:
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UTL-Alexi Amarista
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RP-Mike Dunn
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RP-Greg Holland
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INF-Ian Desmond
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Subtractions:
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C-Nick Hundley
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INF-Daniel Descalso
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OF-Brandon Barnes
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SP-Jorge De La Rosa
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RP-Boone Logan
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P-Christian Bregman
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SP-Eddie Butler
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Padres: Unfortunately for San Diego, the Dbacks will not be the worst team in the division that title will belong to them this year. With a five man rotation of all veterans or journeymen means on paper they have the worst rotation which doesn’t even get to how bad their bullpen, which means their whole pitching staff, will stink. We get they need people to eat innings and Jerad Weaver, Trevor Cahill, Jhoulys Chain and Clayton Richard can do that as veterans since they don’t have pitching prospects ready to pitch but outside of Jarred Cosart it’s a rotation of castoffs who aren’t that good because they are mostly 4’s or 5’s outside of Weaver who is a 3 at this point and he’s the ace. Same goes for the bullpen with their best reliever on the DL in Carter Capps and the other is in AAA for some reason, Kevin Quackenbush. They are using one journeyman and two starters are in a bullpen full of nobodies. At least they are committed to the youth moment for positions players by letting Austin Hedges start at catcher finally, giving Ryan Schimpf a shot at 3B. They have three rule 5 draft picks on the team, two rookie outfielders in Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfoe and youngsters Alex Dickerson, Travis Jankowski and Jabari Blash. They still are anchored by 1B Wil Myers, 2B Yangervis Solarte and now they have Eric Aybar at SS since they had a black hole last year there. Full rebuild here so last place is not a bad thing for them since they will try to flip the few veteran position players and starter they have.
Batting Lineup:
- LF Travis Jankowski
- SS Eric Aybar
- 1B Wil Myers
- 2B Yangervis Solarte
- RF Hunter Renfroe
- 3B Ryan Schimpf
- CF Alex Dickerson-DL
- C Austin Hedges
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
OF-Manuel Margot–Opening Day CF
Coaching Staff:
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Manager-Andy Green
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Hitting Coach-Alan Zinter
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Bench Coach-Mark McGwire
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Pitching Coach-Darren Balsley
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1B Coach-Jonny Washington
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Bullpen Coach-Doug Bochtler
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3B Coach-Glenn Hoffmann
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Bullpen Catcher-Justin Hatcher
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Additions:
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SP-Jered Weaver
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SP-Trevor Cahill
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SP-Jhoulys Chacin
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SS-Eric Aybar
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RP-Craig Stammen
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Subtractions:
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C-Derek Norris
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UTL-Alexi Amarista
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INF-Adam Rosales
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OF-Oswaldo Arica
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OF-Jon Jay
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SP-Tyson Ross
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RP-Brandon Morrow
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Diamondbacks: They will not be as bad as last year since they got some outfield depth in case two thirds of the outfield goes down like AJ Pollack and David Peralta did last year. They signed Gregor Blanco and traded for Jeremy Hazelbaker and still have the outfield experience Brandon Dury and Chris Owings got last year. They also addressed the bullpen by getting Fernando Rodney to close, Tom Wilhelmsen, JJ Hoover, TJ McFarland, Brian Matusz and Jorge De La Rosa to setup. By adding Taijuan Walker it helps the weak rotation which is their biggest weakness and got Ketel Marte to play SS in the trade but they sent him down for some reason and are going with the middle infield combo from two years ago of Owings and Nick Ahmed which failed. The thing that I questioned was why non tender a good two way catcher in Wellington Castillo to sign to backups in Chris Iannetta, Jeff Mathis, Josh Thole and Hank Conger when they also had Chris Herrmann and Oscar Hernandez on the 40 man roster already. They had one good starter but now have a bunch of backups but the strength will be their lineup regardless of the catcher, with a healthy Pollack to anchor the lineup with 1B Paul Goldschmidt 3B Jake Lamb and LF Yasmany Tomas. New manger Torey Lovullo will have his hands full with deciding the best lineup since they have too many good position players and no DH spot and how to use the new revamped bullpen to avoid last year’s bullpen disaster. To be a wild card spot they should settle on one and maybe not finish in last place.
Batting Lineup:
- 2B Chris Owings
- CF AJ Pollack
- 1B Paul Goldschmidt
- 3B Jake Lamb
- LF Yasmany Tomas
- RF David Peralta
- C Chris Iannetta
- SS Nick Ahmed
Pitching Staff:
Bench:
Coaching Staff:
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Manager-Torey Lovullo
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Hitting Coach-Dave Magadan
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Bench Coach-Ron Gardenhire
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Pitching Coach-Mike Butcher
|
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1B Coach-Dave McKay
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Bullpen Coach-Mike Fetters
|
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3B Coach-Tony Perezchica
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Bullpen Catcher-Humberto Quintero
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Additions:
|
C-Jeff Mathis
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C-Chris Iannetta
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INF-Daniel Descalso
|
P-Jorge De La Rosa
|
SP-Taijuan Walker
|
|||
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RP-Fernando Rodney
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RP-Tom Wilhelmsen
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RP-JJ Hoover
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OF-Jeremy Hazelbaker
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Subtractions:
|
C-Wellington Castillo
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UTL-Phil Gosselin
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INF-Jean Segura
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OF-Mitch Haniger
|
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OF-Pete O’Brien
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OF-Rickie Weeks JR
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RP-Adam Loewen
|
RP-Daniel Hudson
|
RP-Dominic Leone
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