The AL East is again between the Yankees and Red Sox. Surprise surprise. Until baseball institutes a salary cap, this may always be the case. It may be the most difficult pick to make, so for now I’ll just say that whoever wins on opening night will take the division.
Enjoy reading part four of six.
AL East
1) New York Yankees – This division could easily go to Boston, but I’m giving the Yankees the edge based on the Javier Vazquez acquisition. Vazquez had the best year of his career last year, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA and 238 strikeouts in 219 innings. His problem has always been the home run ball, as evident when he gave up 33 in 2004, his only other year playing in the Bronx. He joins C.C Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte to form a solid 1-4. Adding Curtis Granderson (.249) is a downgrade from Johnny Damon, and Randy Winn is a suspect left fielder with no power.
2) Boston Red Sox – I could say the Yankees have the best rotation in baseball, but Red Sox fans might have a quibble, and rightfully so. Adding John Lackey insures a solid 1-5 whether number five is Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka. They took a huge chance by picking up Adrian Beltre, who had his worst statistical year in 2009 while playing only 111 games in Seattle. Marco Scutaro is a nice addition at a key position and Mike Cameron comes over from Milwaukee to play center. Can all that make up for the loss of Jason Bay?
3) Tampa Bay Rays – With a year now under his belt, David Price becomes a key part of a rotation that will be expected to keep the Rays competitive in the AL’s best division. Carl Crawford is the league’s best base stealer, but the lineup behind him is questionable. New right fielder Matt Joyce has yet to play 100 games in a season, including just 11 in 2009. They did help the bullpen a bit with the addition of Rafael Soriano, an underrated closer coming down from Atlanta. Randy Choate and J.P. Howell will have to help get them to Soriano.
4) Baltimore Orioles – The young O’s are an up-and-coming bunch that should see more success in 2010. Guys like Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold and Adam Jones are established young players who will contribute along with veterans like Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts and newly acquired Miguel Tejada. They also picked up Garrett Atkins from Colorado to round out a nice lineup. The rotation is extremely young. Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman all enter training camp in just their second years in the majors, but all three will likely be starting games.
5) Toronto Blue Jays – The Jays were able to trade Roy Halladay before his contract year, but that leaves them with absolutely nobody to pitch. Ricky Romero is the ace, if you can call a guy who went 13-9 with a 4.30 ERA an ace. Marc Rzepcynski and Brett Cecil will have to step up to anchor the back end of the rotation. Aaron Hill, Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells are still there, but it will be a long year for them unless guys like Jose Bautista, Travis Snider and Alex Gonzalez actually hit better than .250.
Monday: AL Central predictions
[...] East NL Central NL West AL East AL Central AL [...]