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
|
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-
- 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
|
|||||||
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:
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
|
||||
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:
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:
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
|
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)
|
||||||
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
|
||||
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
|
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.
- 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)
|
|||||
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
|
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:
Manager-Bruce Bochy
|
Hitting
Coach-Hensley Meulens
|
Bench
Coach-Ron Wotus
|
Pitching
Coach-Dave Righetti
|
1B
Coach-Jose Alguacil
|
Bullpen
Coach-Mark Gardner
|
3B Coach-Phil Nevin
|
Bullpen
Catcher-Eli Whiteside
|
Additions:
C-Nick
Hundley
|
CL-Mark
Melancon
|
OF-Chris
Marrero
|
||
INF-Aaron
Hill
|
RP-Neil
Ramirez
|
Subtractions:
RP-Sergio
Romo
|
RP-Santiago
Casilla
|
INF-Ehire
Adrianza
|
OF-Gregor
Blanco
|
|
INF-Grant
Green
|
INF-Ruben
Tejada
|
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:
Manager-Bud Black
|
Hitting
Coach-Duane Espy
|
Bench
Coach-Mike Redmond
|
Pitching
Coach-Steve Foster
|
1B
Coach-Tony Diaz
|
Bullpen
Coach-Darren Holmes
|
3B
Coach-Stu Cole
|
Bullpen
Catcher-Aaron Munoz
|
Additions:
UTL-Alexi
Amarista
|
RP-Mike
Dunn
|
RP-Greg
Holland
|
INF-Ian
Desmond
|
Subtractions:
C-Nick
Hundley
|
INF-Daniel
Descalso
|
OF-Brandon
Barnes
|
|||
SP-Jorge
De La Rosa
|
RP-Boone
Logan
|
P-Christian
Bregman
|
SP-Eddie
Butler
|
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:
Manager-Andy Green
|
Hitting
Coach-Alan Zinter
|
Bench
Coach-Mark McGwire
|
Pitching
Coach-Darren Balsley
|
1B
Coach-Jonny Washington
|
Bullpen
Coach-Doug Bochtler
|
3B
Coach-Glenn Hoffmann
|
Bullpen
Catcher-Justin Hatcher
|
Additions:
SP-Jered
Weaver
|
SP-Trevor
Cahill
|
SP-Jhoulys
Chacin
|
SS-Eric
Aybar
|
|
RP-Craig
Stammen
|
Subtractions:
C-Derek
Norris
|
UTL-Alexi
Amarista
|
INF-Adam
Rosales
|
OF-Oswaldo
Arica
|
OF-Jon
Jay
|
SP-Tyson
Ross
|
RP-Brandon
Morrow
|
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:
Manager-Torey Lovullo
|
Hitting
Coach-Dave Magadan
|
Bench
Coach-Ron Gardenhire
|
Pitching
Coach-Mike Butcher
|
1B
Coach-Dave McKay
|
Bullpen
Coach-Mike Fetters
|
3B
Coach-Tony Perezchica
|
Bullpen
Catcher-Humberto Quintero
|
Additions:
C-Jeff
Mathis
|
C-Chris
Iannetta
|
INF-Daniel
Descalso
|
P-Jorge
De La Rosa
|
SP-Taijuan
Walker
|
|||
RP-Fernando
Rodney
|
RP-Tom
Wilhelmsen
|
RP-JJ
Hoover
|
OF-Jeremy
Hazelbaker
|
Subtractions:
C-Wellington
Castillo
|
UTL-Phil
Gosselin
|
INF-Jean
Segura
|
OF-Mitch
Haniger
|
|
OF-Pete
O’Brien
|
OF-Rickie
Weeks JR
|
RP-Adam
Loewen
|
RP-Daniel
Hudson
|
RP-Dominic
Leone
|
