2019 MLB Season Preview: AL Central
In 2018, the AL Central was the consensus worst division in all of baseball. Nobody came close to challenging the defending champions for the crown, and Cleveland coasted through the majority of their divisional schedule, compiling 49 of their 91 wins against their AL Central foes. The team that finished a distant 2nd in the division (Minnesota) is the only team that seemed to give the Indians much trouble, with Cleveland taking 10 of the 19 contests. While a couple of teams seem to have improved this offseason, the Central is not going to be much better in 2019.
Cleveland Indians
Key Question: Is their pitching enough? Did anybody else in the division do enough to surpass the Indians?
The Indians had one of the best rotations in baseball in 2018, and, despite trade speculation this offseason, they will be returning with the rotation intact for the 2019 campaign.
The biggest problem facing the Indians is whether or not MVP-candidate Francisco Lindor will be able to make it back into the lineup before things get out of hand. Luckily for the Indians, they play in the Central, which is easily the worst division in all of baseball.
They will stay in it, but if their offense hits an extended slump, the Twins will be poised to take the crown.
Minnesota Twins
Key Question: What version of this team will show up — the 2018 team or the 2017 team?
The 2017 Twins surprised a lot of people, coming out of seemingly nowhere to claim one of the Wild Card spots before losing in the first game of the American League playoffs. The 2018 Twins surprised once again… but not in a good way. They fell early and hard.
What is going to matter most for this team is the new look offense with additions Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop and Marwin Gonzalez. They should be more like the 2017 version than the 2018, but, who knows, the Twins have been known to surprise us before.
Detroit Tigers
Key Question: Will the 2019 Tigers be better or worse than the 2018 Tigers?
If it’s possible, I think the Tigers will have a worse season in 2019 than they had in 2018. Given the fact that they lost 98 games a year ago, that’s saying a lot.
Before the season started, the Tigers lost one of their best pitchers in Michael Fulmer. They still have Jordan “he was good in Washington” Zimmerman at the top of the rotation, and new addition Josh Harrison is a quality player, but overall, the Tigers are only going to have an All Star this year because every team has an All Star, which is something that will be said about the remaining two teams in the Central as well.
Chicago White Sox
Key Question: Will the White Sox be the best of the bottom three in the AL Central?
The White Sox lost 100 games last year and still didn’t finish last in their division. I know I keep harping on it, but the Central was not just bad last season, it was historically bad. How can you have three teams combine for 302 losses in one year, in the same division. At some point, they have to win against each other, right?
Now, that being said, again, the White Sox May have improved more than the other three teams. They may win as many as 10 games more than last year. New acquisition Alex Colome will strengthen the bullpen, and former Pirates starter Ivan Nova should improve the rotation, if only a little.
They aren’t going to be good, but they’ll be better than the other two cellar dwellers.
Kansas City Royals
Key Question: How badly are they going to miss Salvador Perez this season?
In short, real bad. Perez is one of the few remaining pieces from their World Series run just a few short years ago. He provided leadership for a young team that is trying to establish itself. He may be a dugout presence, but he’s not playing much in 2019, if at all (it’s highly doubtful).
The Royals did get speedster Billy Hamilton to bolster their pinch running game and late inning defense. So, they have that going for them, I guess. When it’s all said and done, though, the Royals will be flirting with 105 losses.
2019 Predictions
The Central is only a difficult division if you are placing bets on combined losses for the bottom three. Will the hit the 300-mark again? Maybe. That’s definitely the over-under. The biggest question is going to be whether or not the Indians’ rotation can carry the load in 2019. If they can, they win the division. If not, the Twins wins up on top. I don’t think the Indians rotation, as good as it is, will be able to make up for the absence of Lindor for an extended period of time. The Twins take the Central this year, but the Indians pitching is enough for a Wild Card spot.
