MLB Update: AL/NL East Season Preview

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox

2. Toronto Blue Jays

3. Baltimore Orioles

4. Tampa Bay Rays

5. New York Yankees

Players to watch: Rusney Castillo, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Kevin Kiermaier, Masahiro Tanaka, Alex Rodriguez, Didi Gregorius.

The AL East is always difficult to predict, but the Red Sox look like the favorites. They added Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez to the offense over the offseason and completely revamped their rotation with the additions of Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, and Justin Masterson. What sticks out the most to me is actually Boston’s bench. Allen Craig, Daniel Nava, and Brock Holt look to contribute from the bench, while Jackie Bradley Jr., Rusney Castillo, Devan Marrero, and Garin Cecchini are waiting in the minors for their chance, should any major leaguers go down with injury. The pitching staff does not have an ace, but it is six deep with solid pitchers. The one hole in the Sox’ roster is at catcher, as projected starter Christian Vazquez went down with a torn UCL and will miss the season. Ryan Hanigan will now start behind the plate, with new addition Sandy Leon serving as backup. The Blue Jays’ season will be made or broken by young players. The Opening Day lineup includes three hitters who have yet to crack 100 major league games, and one who has never played above AA. However, if these players do play up to their potential, the Blue Jays will be tough to beat. 22 year old rookie Dalton Pompey is the biggest name of the three, coming off a season where he batted .310 with 44 stolen bases and ten home runs across four levels, including 17 games in the majors. Kevin Pillar, who has the best bat of the three, will start in left field with Michael Saunders on the DL, and Devon Travis, who was acquired in the offseason and has never played above AA, will play second base. Elsewhere around the Toronto roster, power hitters Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and new addition Josh Donaldson will anchor the offense, and Drew Hutchison and R.A. Dickey will lead the rotation. The pitching and rookies will have to step up for the Jays. The Orioles don’t have many wild cards, so they will likely just play their usual baseball and watch the other AL East teams fall in around them. Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and Manny Machado will head the offense, while Chris Tillman and Wei-Yin Chen will start atop an average rotation. It will be interesting to note how Machado comes back from his knee injury, how Davis responds to a down season, and if Steve Pearce and Zach Britton can duplicate their breakout seasons from last year. The Raysare always unpredictable, but with Joe Maddon gone as manager, I’d say that a division crown is unlikely. Much like the Blue Jays, their success hinges on young players, in this case Kevin Kiermaier, Steven Souza, Logan Forsythe, and Nate Karns. What the Rays do have, though is depth. Behind big hitters Evan Longoria, John Jaso, and James Loney, the bench includes the likes of David DeJesus, Nick Franklin, Tim Beckham, and Brandon Guyer. Alex Cobb and Chris Archer head a solid rotation which could be buoyed by breakout years from Karns and Drew Smyly. Grant Balfour can make or break the bullpen with a comeback season. Behind him, though, the Rays have Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee (once he returns in May) as solid set-up men. Lastly, I can definitely see the Yankees taking last place. The team is just too old, and they lack the depth to make up for the inevitable injuries. Carlos Beltran (37), Mark Teixeira (34), Stephen Drew (32), C.C. Sabathia (34), and the wild card Alex Rodriguez (39) are all on their career declines, and Chris Young and Garrett Jones are really the only adequate bench bats they have. If A-Rod falls through, Jones becomes a starter and leaves only Chris Young as a reliable bench bat. It will be interesting to see how Didi Gregorius fares as Derek Jeter’s replacement. The rotation is a massive question mark, with Michael Pineda, C.C. Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, and Ivan Nova all trying to fight back from injuries. The one place the Yankees won’t have to worry about is the back end of the bullpen, as Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller will form a solid closing tandem.

NL East

1. Washington Nationals

2. Miami Marlins-WC

3. New York Mets

4. Atlanta Braves

5. Philadelphia Phillies

Players to watch: Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Travis d’Arnaud, Matt Harvey, Freddie Freeman, Cody Asche, Ken Giles.

From a roster standpoint, the Nationals are arguably the best team in baseball. Their roster has no holes. Denard Span will lead off, backed by such bats as Anthony Rendon, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, and Jayson Werth. Even with Rendon and Span injured, the Nationals have Dan Uggla and Matt den Dekker who can hop into the lineup, respectively. The rotation is not just the best in baseball, but one of the best in history. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, and Gio Gonzalez make up the five aces, while another ace, Tanner Roark, sits in the bullpen. Even with Tyler Clippard gone, Drew Storen and Casey Janssen will hold down the back end, with Aaron Barrett looking to build off his success from last year. The Marlins are looking like they are finally ready to put it all together. Their insane outfield includes Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and even Ichiro Suzuki as a back-up. Michael Morse and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will also provide power, while Dee Gordon can run like crazy. Henderson Alvarez will lead a revamped rotation that now includes Mat Latos and Dan Haren, and JOse Fernandez will bolster it with his return in June. Steve Cishek will close behind set-up men Mike Dunn and A.J. Ramos. Look for the Mets to be one of baseball’s most improved teams this year. David Wright, Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, and Daniel Murphy are back to lead the offense, while Juan Lagares and Travis d’Arnaud will look to build off strong campaigns as they grow towards their prime. New addition Michael Cuddyer will solidify the offense. The rotation is headed by Matt Harvey, who looks primed to return to the top of baseball’s pitching ranks, and Jacob deGrom, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year. Behind them are Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese, and Dillon Gee. Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia form a solid duo at the back end, and Bobby Parnell will be back in May. If the Marlins and Mets are two of the game’s most improved teams, the Braves will be exactly the opposite. Jason Heyward and Justin Upton are gone, replaced by downgrades in Nick Markakis and Jonny Gomes. Markakis and Freddie Freeman will have to step up to lead the weakened offense, and Andrelton Simmons will have to do a better job of getting on base. One place the Braves have improved is in their pitching, as they’ve added Shelby Miller, Trevor Cahill, and Eric Stults, and the young duo of Julio Teheran and Alex Wood at the top of the rotation has matured. As always, superstar closer Craig Kimbrel will rack up the saves. Hang on, Phillies fans; you’re not out of the woods yet. As the farm system is rebuilt, the major league team will continue to struggle until top prospects like Aaron Nola, J.P. Crawford, and Maikel Franco can provide the next influx of talent. For now, Ben Revere will have to set up for a shallow lineup that is centered around Chase Utley, Cody Asche, and Ryan Howard, while Cole Hamels will have to lead a rotation that is a big question mark. One strong spot for the Phillies is the bullpen, with Jonathan Papelbon and Ken Giles at the back end.