2012 Season Preview - American League

Instead of doing power rankings I decided to rank the league based off each division.
It's slightly hard to read but I have edited this preview a number of times to clear this up. On most teams, the project C, 1B and 2B are on line 1, 2B, SS, LF, on line 2, CF, RF,DH on line 3, and the rotation and closer get the last lines.

Key: New for 2012, Best Player (based on 2011 production), Rookie of the Year candidate


AL East
1. C Geovany Soto, 1B Kevin Youkilis, 2B Dustin Pedroia, 3B Yamaico Navarro, SS Hanley Ramirez, LF Miguel Cabrera,
CF Austin Jackson, RF Josh Reddick, DH Jeremy Hermida.
SP1 Justin Verlander, SP2 Aaron Miller, SP3 Mike Leake, SP4 Ben Sheets, SP5 Brandon Marrow, CL Jose Valverde.
The Red Sox spent the offseason completely retooling their rotation. Everyone in the rotation played for a different team in 2011 except for Ben Sheets. There bullpen will be a major concern, and will most likely make some trades to pick up some bullpen arms. But after a few early season adjustments, their new rotation should be very solid and should help lead the Red Sox to another division championship.

2. C Adam Moore, 1B Lance Berkman, 2B Robinson Cano,
3B Alex Rodriguez, SS Allen Lehman, LF Ichiro Suzuki, CF Brett Gardner,
RF Michael Saunders, DH Adam Dunn.
SP1 C.C. Sabathia, SP2 Johan Santana,
SP3 Pat Venditte, SP4 D.J. Mitchell, SP5
Wilins de la Rosa, CL Mariano Rivera.
There are a lot of new faces on the Yankees this year and a lot of question marks. How will the team do without their captain Derek Jeter? Can Rookie Lehman fill Jeter's shoes? How will Ichiro perform now that he's away from the west coast and towards the end of his career? The one thing we do know for certain, is that the top half of their rotation is one of the best in baseball, should be lights out this season and will be the reason why they win the wild card.
3. C Daniel Lehmann, 1B Adrian Gonzalez,
2B Gordon Beckham, 3B Brett Wallace, SS Jose Reyes, LF Nick Swisher,
CF Drew Stubbs, RF Nick Markakis, DH Josh Bell.
SP1 Matt Cain, SP2 Kyle Drabek, SP3 Zach McAllister,
SP4 Tim Melville, SP5 Mike Montgomery,
CL Kenley Jansen.
The Blue Jays, one of the teams that was fighting for a playoff spot all season long a year go are not projected to contend in 2012. They just don't have as much depth as the Red Sox and Yankees. Though if Brett Wallace turns into the monster hitter scouts think he will be, and Tim Melville has a strong rookie season, with a couple trade deadline pick ups they might be right back in the thick of it.

4. C Mike McCormick, 1B Kila Ka'aihue, 2B Ben Zobrist, 3B Evan Longoria, SS B.J. Upton, LF Carl Crawford, CF Desmond Jennings, RF Carlos Quentin, DH Koby Clemens.
SP1 David Price, SP2 Jeff Niemann, SP3 Kyle Lobstein,
SP4 Alex Cobb, SP5 Alex Colome, CL Rafael Soriano
The Rays have three prospects who are expected to be starting this season, and have the potential to have the best rotation in the majors as their rotation is filled with a lot of young guys with great upside. There one weakness is that their lineup lacks a good 1B. Excpet to see some musical chairs take place season between Ka'aihue, Koby Clemens and Mike McCormick.

5. C Austin Romine, 1B Brandon Snyder, 2B Justin Turner,
3B Pedro Baez, SS Everth Cabrera, LF Adam Jones, CF Kyle Hudson,
RF Alfredo Amezaga, DH Caleb Joseph.
SP1 Brian Matusz, SP2 Carlos Zambrano, SP3 Brandon Erbe,
SP4 Derrik Lutz, SP5 Graham Hicks, CL Brett Jacobson.
This team has a lot of catchers in Romine, Joseph, Wieters & Tatum, while they lack outfielders. Don't be suprised if they make an early season deal sending one of these catchers away, most likely Romine, for an outfielder. While mentioning their outfield, they have an interesting player in Alfredo Amezaga in RF who can pretty much play any position which can become helpful for any team when it comes to filling in holes caused by injuries.


AL Central
1. C Josh Donaldson, 1B Lars Anderson, 2B Scott Sizemore, 3B Chris Johnson, SS Ju-Hak Lee, LF Gorkys Hernandez,
CF Vernon Wells, RF Ryan Church, DH Derrick Lee.
SP1 Casey Crosby, SP2 Max Scherzer, SP3 Luis Marte,
SP4 Andrew Oliver, SP5 Chris Huseby,
CL Cody Satterwhite.
The Tigers solid rotation plus the addition of Derrick Lee and rookie Ju-Hak Lee should send this team back to the playoffs. But there is a lot of competition in the AL central that the Tigers cannot afford any injuries like from Donaldson or Marte. Expect last seasons AL rookie of the year, Lars Anderson, to lead the offense and possibly make a run for the MVP, with newly acquired Derrick Lee to back him up in the lineup.

2. C Manuel Pina, 1B Casey Kotchman, 2B Chris Getz,
3B Andy Marte, SS Mike Moustakas, LF Rick Ankiel,
CF Grady Sizemore, RF Franklin Guiterrez, DH Nick Johnson.
SP1 Felix Hernandez, SP2 Aaron Crow, SP3 Zack Greinke,
SP4 Herold Mitchell, SP5 Tyler Sample,
CL Joakim Soria.
The Royals rotation will keep them afloat, but their average/below average lineup blus their lack of depth will hurt them in the long run and prevent them from making the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how newly acquired Felix Hernandez will pitch in Kansas City.
3. C Joe Mauer, 1B Justin Morneau, 2B Orlando Hudson,
3B Reid Brignac, SS Tevor Plouffe, LF Ben Revere, CF Denard Spann,
RF Aaron Hicks, DH Wilson Ramos.
SP1 Kyle Gibson, SP2 Glen Perkins, SP3 Bobby Lanigan,
SP4 Brad Dydalewicz, SP5 Carlos Guitterez,
CL Drew Storen.
The Twins have a good team, they could suprise people and make a return to the playoffs. There one weakspot is there middle infield. They do have Miguel Sano in their farm system but he's not ready for the big leagues yet. If the Twins have a good first month, don't be suprised to see an early season trade with them sending an outfielder like Delmon Young or Ben Revere for an infielder.
4. C Carlos Santana, 1B Sandy Tillotson, 2B Jason Donald,
3B Lonnie Chisenhall, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, LF Nick Weglarz,
CF Tim Fedroff, RF Michael Brantley, DH Toby Anderson.
SP1 Joseph Gradner, SP2 Scott Barnes, SP3 Yohan Pino, SP4 Robert Bryson, SP5 Justin Masterson,
CL Joe Smith.
The Indians roster is filled with a lot of home grown young players, they just aren't mature enough yet to be the front runner of the AL Central, but this should should be hard to beat in the future. Expect to see rookie starting pitchers Kelvin De La Cruz and Brett DeVall to join the rotation some time during the season if they do not break camp in the rotation.

5. C A.J. Pierzynski, 1B Dann Schafer, 2B Dustin Ackley,
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SS Adrian Cardenas, LF Jordan Danks,
CF Alexis Rios, RF Salvador Sanchez, DH Chase Utley.
SP1 Daniel Hudson, SP2 Gavin Floyd, SP3 Noel Arguelles,
SP4 Gregory Infante, SP5 Jeff Marquez, CL Santo Luis.The White Sox roster could very well feature more rookies then any other team. They have some options in their outfield, as they could also place Cameron Maybin at CF with Rios in right, so there will be a lot of decisions to be made in spring training. Chase Utley is expected to lose the starting 2B spot to rookie Dustin Ackley, but Ackley has the versatillity to play almost any position, which gives the white sox even more options. The White Sox poor rotation will keep them out of the playoffs this year.

AL West
1. C. Welington Castillo, 1B Daric Barton, 2B Ian Kinsler,
3B Brandon Wood, SS Cliff Pennington, LF Carlos Lee, CF Rajai Davis,
RF Nate Schierholtz, DH Christopher Carter.
SP1 Josh Johnson, SP2 Cole Hamels, SP3 John Danks,
SP4 Yu Darvish, SP5 Justin Marks, CL Andrew Bailey.
The Athletics lineup isn't too impressive, Chris Carter is expected to have a break out year. They do have some depth in the outfield, the left field position wont be decided until after spring training, it is expected to be a battle between Carlos Lee and Travis Buck. The one thing that will send the A's back to the post season is their pitching. The A's overall have one of the best if not the best pitching staff. They have a solid rotation with depth incase there is an injury, and it's the same story with their bullpen.

2. C Max Ramirez, 1B James Loney, 2B, Elvis Andrus,
3B Michael Young, SS J.J. Hardy, LF Jay Bruce, CF Corey Brown,
RF Cody Ross, DH Chris Davis.
SP1 Chad Billingsley, SP2 Jeremy Jeffress, SP3
Pedro Martinez, SP4 Tommy Hanson,
SP5 Tim Murphy, CL Boone Logan.
Chris Davis, fresh off his insane 63 homeruns, 162 RBI season is looking to power his team into the postseason. The Rangers do not have as much pop as past Rangers teams, and don't have a solid number five man to back up Davis so he should have a lot of walks this year, with that being said, their lineup is still solid, but their pitching isn't as strong as Oakland, which is why Oakland should once again win the AL West.
3. C Bobby Wilson, 1B Mark Teixeria, 2B Erick Aybar,
3B Taylor Green, SS Grant T. Green, LF Felix Pie, CF Peter Bourjos,
RF Brett Carroll, DH Lyle Overbay.
SP1 Stephen Strasburg, SP2 Derrick Saito, SP3 Jordan Walden,
SP4 Jos Perez, SP5 Manaurys Correa,
CL Rich Thompson.
The top of this rotation is young and lights out. Stephen Strasburg and Derrick Saito should put this team in position to win every time they are on the mound. After that the Angels pitcing staff is a big question mark. It should keep them above the Mariners in the West, but the Angels are unlikely to do any better then that.

4. C Yadier Molina, 1B Yordanny Ramirez, 2B Chone Figgins, 3B Jose Lopez, SS Brian Bocock, LF Milton Bradley,
CF Curtis Granderson, RF Elijah Dukes, DH Bryan Peterson.
SP1 Gilbert De La Vara, SP2 Wandy Rodriguez, SP3 Brett Cecil,
SP4 Josh Fields, SP5 Kanekoa Texeria,
CL Brandon League.
The Mariners are a mess, but they have been acquiring some nice prospects lately, though they are not ML ready yet. There rotation is a big question mark because they have about 7-8 starters all around the same level, Wandy had a bad injury last year, but before then he pitched well so he should return to the rotation. It will be interesting to see how newly acquired second year pitcher Gilbert De La Vara does this year. He comes over from Kansas in the Felix Hernandez trade, and looks to have pretty nice upside.