American League Predictions and Playoff Predictions

Alright guys, I have had a busy last few days, so I have not gotten a chance to roll out my extended American League previews yet. I will do so, over the next few days, mainly because I spent a good bit of time on them, and because I want my picks to be out there in case I am right!

I wanted to take a second, even though Opening Day is now in the books, to let you know the short version of my picks in each American League division and then my playoff predictions.

Remember, I will give you more detailed predictions over the next few days!

American League East

This division is the best in baseball.  Not one of the best, not possibly the best, but absolutely the best.  The defending division champions, the Yankees, are perhaps the worst team in the division entering the season.  The defending divisional runner-up, Baltimore, could be perhaps the fourth best team in the division.  Boston made the most changes to their roster this off-season, and I think they are talented enough to win the division.  Tampa Bay always finds a way to compete, and Toronto made some major moves, but still has some holes to fill.

I think Toronto has some major question marks, but if they are able to get the production from guys like Bautista and Encarnacion they have been getting, and get productive years from Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie and Melky Cabrera, they will win the American League East.

American League Central

Detroit was rocking along during the end of the 2012 season, and ran through the American League playoffs.  And then the Tigers ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the San Francisco Giants.  But Detroit has every reason to believe they are the class of the American League Central again in 2013.  Verlander is back on the hill for the Tigers and they have the best hitter on the planet, Miguel Cabrera.  Kansas City added James Shields to the top of their rotation, and they are hoping their young position players will take the next step this season.  Cleveland also added more than a handful of players, including Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher.  The addition of Terry Francona as the skipper in Cleveland also adds to their playoff chances.  The White Sox and Twins have a handful of talented players, but neither team has enough to compete.

Kansas City and Cleveland are going to make this an interesting division at least through July and August, but at some point Detroit will pull away, leaving everyone else in the dust.

American League West

Raise your hand if you do not live in the Bay Area and had Oakland winning the American League West prior to last season.... oh wait, none of you? Exactly.  But Oakland found a way to do it, and they did it with an amazing hot streak that concluded with the division title being won on the final day of the regular season.  Oakland stood firm with their approach this off-season, and they hope to ride strong young pitching and hot hands at the plate to a repeat.   Texas led the division for almost the entire year, but let their third straight division championship slip through their hands (or the glove of Josh Hamilton) during the final week of the season.  The Rangers have to replace the bats of Hamilton, Michael Young and Mike Napoli in their lineup and must fill holes in their bullpen.  The Angels signed away Hamilton from the Rangers, and now have an even more intimidating lineup than their underachieving lineup of 2012.  Pitching is the true weakness of the Angels.  Seattle is a team that could sneak up on the top three teams in the division, but consistency will be their biggest enemy.  Seattle added a big bat in Michael Morse, but he is now in one of the least hitter friendly parks in the league.  Houston is in their first American League season, and with a young roster and a bare minimum payroll, the Astros could be an exciting team to watch on some nights, and an embarrassing one on the next.  Houston will be really strong in 2015, but that is still two years away.

Texas has to fend off the Angels for the division title.  Oakland will finish third, or maybe even fourth depending on Seattle.  Texas may have the weaker lineup between them and Los Angeles, but the Rangers are definitely deeper in the rotation and the bullpen.  Texas should edge out the Angels in the final series of the year in Arlington.

Alright, now I have made my American League picks, and in previous posts have made my National League picks.  Just a recap, here are my division picks for each league:

National:
East - Nationals
Central - Reds
West - Giants

American:
East - Blue Jays
Central - Tigers
West - Rangers

Here are my Wild Card picks for each league:

National:
Cardinals, Dodgers

American:
Angels, Red Sox

So here we go with my American League playoff picks:

Wild Card Game - Angels over Red Sox

Divisional Series - (1) Tigers def. (4) Angels, (2) Rangers def. (3) Blue Jays

Championship Series - (1) Tigers def. (2) Rangers

And my National League picks:

Wild Card Game - Dodgers over Cardinals

Divisional Series - (1) Nationals def. (4) Dodgers, (3) Reds def. (2) Giants

Championship Series - (1) Nationals def. (3) Reds

So basically I see a World Series featuring Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers.  And due to the National League winning the 2013 All-Star Game (just a hunch) the Nationals will have home field advantage and use that to win three home games and one on the road to win the 2013 World Series in six games.

2013 World Series Champion - Washington Nationals