Cleveland Guardians
Just a season removed from a 76-win 2023, the Guardians rebounded splendidly, winning the AL Central and making a run to the ALCS. This season feels like one that will see them fall in between their 2023 and 2024 results.
To say José Ramírez is one of the best players in baseball is an understatement, consistently finding votes for the AL MVP, coming off a season with 39 home runs, 118 RBIs and his fourth Silver Slugger. After offensive woes in 2023, Steven Kwan returned to his rookie stature, while winning his third Gold Glove in as many seasons. Returning for his third stint in Cleveland is the ageless Carlos Santana, who collected his first Gold Glove at age 38, still producing solid numbers at the plate. Though it was across a small sample size, Johnkensey Noel flashed tons of pop across about 200 plate appearances. Sure handed shortstop Brayan Rocchio is still searching for his bat in the bigs, though he makes up for the misfortunes in the field. Late blooming bat David Fry hopes to expand upon his breakout 2024 season.
The Guardians have become a pitching factory and it continues this season, with third year starter Tanner Bibee heading this rotation after two stellar seasons. After numerous mediocre years in the MLB and a brief stint in the KBO sandwiched in between, Ben Lively found his most successful season in his first in Cleveland. Gavin Williams was set back by an injury from 2023, while Triston McKenzie struggled to the point of demotion. Luis Ortiz will round out the starters, as former Cy Young Shane Bieber recovers from his elbow injury. The deep Guardians, which boasts the names like Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith, added Paul Sewald, making the late innings of ball games much more terrifying for opposing lineups.
Cleveland losing notable bats, like Andrés Giménez and Josh Naylor, will definitely slow down the lineup. There are many question marks around the rotation and budding bats. If they perform how the Guardians hope, there’s not much that could prevent them from another ALCS appearance.
Detroit Tigers
Before last season, the Tigers organization was one that hadn’t been looked at fondly since their early 2010s reign. However, last year showed that Detroit could be on the verge of their next era of dominance.
Despite playing 30 fewer games than 2023, Kerry Carpenter nearly matched all of his counting stats, proving to be the primary bat in the lineup. In his third season, Riley Greene showed that he has all the tools to be a superstar for the long run. Though the sample sizes are smaller, Jace Jung and Parker Meadows are expected to be key producers for a long time to come. Though Gleyber Torres didn’t produce at the same rate he had previously, Detroit has faith in the two time All-Star. Former first overall pick Spencer Torkelson enters his fourth season, with a true “make-or-break” feel to his 2025 campaign.
The rotation showcases everything needed to be considered elite, starting with an ace, as Tarik Skubal became the first Tigers Cy Young since Max Scherzer in 2013. After being dealt to the Dodgers at the deadline, Jack Flaherty returns to the Motor City, to pair with the Cy Young southpaw. Following the dynamic duo is baseball’s fifth ranked prospect, Jackson Jobe, who gets his first chance to crack the rotation. The combination of Casey Mize, Reese Olson, Matt Manning and Alex Cobb will fill up the final rotation roles. The bullpen is stocked with underrated arms, including Jason Foley, Tyler Holton, Will Vest and recent free agent acquisition Tommy Kahnle.
The next great era of Tigers seems to be on the horizon with the current team’s construct and the prospects working their way through the system.
Kansas City Royals
Since the Royals 2015 World Series victory, Kansas City hadn’t finished above .500 before last season. With the young core KC is building around, last season wasn’t a flash in the pan.
Headlining the core is Bobby Witt Jr., after finishing second in AL MVP voting, winning his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger and leading baseball in hits (211) and batting average (.332). Kansas City swung a trade with the Reds to find Witt Jr. a double play partner, landing 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India. Young slugger Vinnie Pasquantino hit his stride at the big league level last year, finishing with 51 extra base hits and just under 100 RBIs. MJ Melendez is still trying to live up to the hype he once had. Longtime backstop Salvador Perez continues to be a mentor to the younger bats, while still producing at a Silver Slugger level.
Similarly to Detroit, the rotation is led by a promising lefty, as Cole Ragans’ season and a half stint in Kansas City has been exceptional. Pairing with Ragans is AL Cy Young runner up Seth Lugo, whose first year with the Royals proved he is one of the most elite arms in the AL. Michael Wacha rounds out the terrific trio atop the Royals rotation, followed by midseason addition Michael Lorenzon. The duo of Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright will fight for the fifth starting spot. The late inning work will be headed by trade deadline acquisition Lucas Erceg and free agent signing Carlos Estévez.
This division is always open for the taking. It’s very much likely Detroit and Kansas City will be the two teams fighting for the top spot.
Minnesota Twins
Including 2024, three of the last four seasons, Minnesota has finished 10-plus games back from the top spot in the AL Central. Minnesota’s roster didn’t have too much turnover from a year ago.
The same story followed Byron Buxton, who produced great numbers once again but missed 60 games. Likewise, Royce Lewis has been plagued with injuries in his professional career, though he has shown to be a solid bat in the lineup. Carlos Correa bounced back after a dreadful offensive year in his second season in the Twin Cities. In his first time earning consistent playing time, Trevor Larnauch found his rhythm at the dish, launching 15 home runs. After a solid rookie year, a sophomore slump ravaged Edouard Julien’s second season, leading to a short demotion to AAA. Ryan Jeffers worked his way into the primary catching role, taking advantage by launching a career high 22 home runs.
In his second season as the ace, Pablo López didn’t dominate to the same extent he did in 2023. Inversely, after a bad 2023 season, Joe Ryan returned to quality form, though his season was cut a bit short due to a shoulder strain. Bailey Ober serves as another quality alongside the top two of the rotation. Simeon Woods Richardson showed promise in his first full season in the Twins rotation. The everlasting story of Chris Paddack’s career is underperformance caused by injuries and with this being a contract year, the 29-year-old righty has to prove he still has something to offer teams. Fortunately, Minnesota possesses a deep bullpen, with Jhoan Durán being the household name amongst the bunch. Griffin Jax, Danny Coulombe and Cole Sands are tasked with bridging the gap between the starters and Durán.
Minnesota has really solid pieces throughout their team. Injuries and inconsistency are the only two factors that could derail the Twins from being in contention for the division.
Chicago White Sox
Just three years removed from winning the AL Central, Chicago lost the most games in modern MLB history, finishing with 121. The outlook for the upcoming season looks more bleak than 2024.
Following a career best 2023, Luis Robert Jr. was sidelined for two months early in the year, with his time on the field being less than impressive. White Sox’s 2021 first round pick Colson Montgomery is set to debut for the big club, as the team’s primary shortstop. Though he still flashed solid power, Andrew Vaughn’s numbers dipped. Catcher prospects Kyle Teel, who was acquired from Boston in the Garrett Crochet trade, and Edgar Quero, both of who sit within baseball’s top 100, are set to debut for the South Siders, though it will be interesting how the two backstops will get the amount of playing time they warrant. Entering the third year of his five season deal with Chicago, Andrew Benintendi is yet to show the skill that earned him that deal, producing a negative fWAR (-0.6) with the White Sox.
The pitching staff doesn’t possess any stellar arms, with Martín Pérez, who has shown moments of excellence. Second year righty Jonathan Cannon was solid at home, as he looks to find rhythm in road starts. Ironically, Drew Thorpe in his limited starts, struggled on his home mound in his first season. Chicago’s 2022 first round pick Noah Schultz is expected to be the next dominating lefty in the White Sox’s staff. The bullpen lacks any big name pieces and will most likely deploy a rag-tag bunch through this season.
Overall, Chicago is in the truest form of a rebuild, with many top prospects being on the cusp of debuting, which could lead to the White Sox’s return to relevance in the coming years.
All stats are from Baseball Reference and FanGraphs as of Feb. 18.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
