On Friday, we took a very early look at some National League postseason predictions, so it’s only fitting that we take a look at some early American League postseason predictions.

American League East

1. Z – Tampa Bay Rays: A full year of Matt Moore and Desmond Jennings and Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, and David Price will have better years in 2012 than they did in 2011. I also like the Carlos Pena signing.

2. X – New York Yankees: Yes, the Yankees are getting older than the Wah Woo’s container of Chinese food in Frank Drebin’s refrigerator, but the trade for Michael Pineda and the signing of Hiroki Kuroda will get the Yankees into the postseason yet again.

3. Boston Red Sox: See Atlanta Braves from Friday’s post.

4. Toronto Blue Jays: Only if this team played in another division. There’s a lot of potential on this team, but they are still an ace away from being a 90+ win team instead of the 84-85 win team they will be in 2012.

5. Baltimore Orioles: I would like to say the Orioles are moving in the right direction, but I don’t even know if that’s the case. They will struggle to win 70 games.

American League Central

1. Z – Detroit Tigers: Having Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, and Delmon Young playing defense on a daily basis will make Jim Leyland‘s eyes bleed. The Tigers will have enough offense to offset their terrible defense and win this division by default.

2. Cleveland Indians: A lot is going to depend on the status of Fausto Carmona and if Ubaldo Jimenez can regain his 2010 form. They’ll finish second in the division, but won’t be good enough to win the Wild Card.

3. Minnesota Twins: The Twins lost 99 games last year because everything that could go wrong did. Look for Joe Mauer to have a bounce-back season and I like the signings of Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham.

4. Kansas City Royals: The Royals will begin to show improvement this year and 2014 will be the year they arrive. The Royals have a good bullpen and I really liked their trade for Jonathan Sanchez. Look for Eric Hosmer to have a nice year.

5. Chicago White Sox: Robin Ventura will have his work cut out for him this year. The worst state a franchise can be in is one of not knowing if they are coming or going and that’s where the White Sox are.

American League West

1. Z – Texas Rangers: I thought they really dropped the ball when it came to signing Prince Fielder, but Yu Darvish should be able to replace C.J. Wilson and they still have the best roster in the division top to bottom.

2. Y – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The Angels were the big winners of this offseason signing by Wilson and Albert Pujols. I am still not sure if they have the offense to get past the Rangers.

3. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners will be bad once again in 2012, but not as bad as the Oakland A’s. Jesus Montero better be good.

4. Oakland A’s. The A’s are once again in the rebuilding phase and they will be the worst team in the AL this year. Here’s to Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour having good seasons so Billy Beane can trade them come July 31.

Z = Division Winner

Y = Wild Card Winner

X = Wild Card Winner If Baseball Adds A Second Wild Card For 2012

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By The Baseball Index 5 Comments »

With spring training right around the corner and all of the major free agents signed and ready to go with their respective teams, I thought it would be interesting to see which teams have positioned themselves for a playoff run in 2012.

Obviously things are going to change from now to Opening Day, but it’s never too early to look how things might shape up in the National League this season.

National League East

1. Z – Philadelphia Phillies : Despite the loss of Howard and this team getting up there in age, they still have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels and that will be enough to get them another NL East title.

2. X – Washington Nationals: I like what they have done this winter. They will need to add another bat during the season.

3. Atlanta Braves: It usually takes a team a year or two to recover from an epic collapse.

4. Miami Marlins: They aren’t too far behind the Nationals and Braves, but 89-90 wins will be needed to get the Wild Card spot and I don’t think the Marlins improved by 17 wins this offseason despite their spending spree.

5. New York Mets: This franchise is a mess. It’s going to be long year, but not a long line for Shake Shack at Citi Field in 2012.

National League Central

1. Z – St. Louis Cardinals*: Despite the loss of Albert Pujols, the Cardinals will be the class of this division. Getting back Adam Wainwright back will be a huge plus.

2. Y – Cincinnati Reds: Acquiring Mat Latos and signing Ryan Madson was huge for the Reds and big improvements over what they had in 2011. They had a dropoff in 2011, but look for them to bounce back strong 2012.

3. Milwaukee Brewers: I could have seen them surviving the loss of Prince Fielder, but to lose Fielder and then  Ryan Braun for 50 games is too much for any team to handle. Look for Zack Greinke to make another run at the Cy Young in 2012.

4. Chicago Cubs: Theo Epstein and Co. have a lot of work to do in the Windy City and I believe will eventually turn things around in Chicago. However, the Cubs will be hard to watch in 2012 and will be lucky to win 75 games.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates: 2012 will be another losing season in Pittsburgh. They just don’t have much going on and Pedro Alvarez better step up this season. I like Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker a lot, but unfortunately for them, they don’t have much talent around them.

6. Houston Astros: The Astros lost 106 games in 2011 and it might be worse in 2012. This team is really, really bad. I was looking through their depth cart in our new fancy Depth Charts section (shameless plug) and I have no clue who half of the guys on their roster are.

National League West

1. Z – San Francisco Giants: The Giants got fleeced in the Jonathan Sanchez – Melky Cabrera swap, but I liked the Angel Pagan move. I don’t think they have more talent than the Arizona Diamondbacks, but I think they will get big years from Buster Posey and Brandon Belt and find a way to win.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks will be the Cincinnati Reds of 2011; Young team that made the postseason the year before, everyone thinks they are on the rise, but takes a step back the next year.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers: Despite the mess off the field last year, the Dodgers will managed to win 82 games in 2011. I think they could be a little bit better, but not by much. Their bullpen should be interesting. If Javy Guerra and Kenley Jansen can stabilize the back-end of the bullpen, the Dodgers will be a tough out in 2012.

4. Colorado Rockies: I have no idea which direction this team is going in. They get rid of Huston Street, but then bring in Casey Blake. They trade a younger Chris Iannetta for an aging Ramon Hernandez? Very confusing. This team will finish with 79 – 80 wins in 2012.

5. San Diego Padres: The Padres will once again have a hard time scoring runs and talent they got back for Adrian Gonzalez and Mat Latos will still take a couple of years to develop. Once that crop of young talent develops, they will be very good.

On Monday, we will look at the early American League predictions.

Z = Division Winner

Y = Wild Card Winner

X = Wild Card Winner If Baseball Adds A Second Wild Card For 2012

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By The Baseball Index 2 Comments »

The Cleveland Indians were looking to upgrade their first base situation all winter and on Thursday afternoon, the Indians finally found their man.

The Indians signed 1B Casey Kotchman to a one-year, $3 million contract according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Kotchman spent last season with the Tampa Bay Rays and had a career season.

This deal tells me two things:

1. The ship has sailed on Matt LaPorta. What a disappointment. LaPorta was the crown jewel of the C.C. Sabathia trade and has been a complete flop with the Indians. He hit .247/.299/.412 with 11 HR’s in 385 PA’s with the Indians last season and Kotchman, even if he won’t have a .351 wOBA in 2012, will be an upgrade over LaPorta.

Not only will Kotchman be an upgrade with the bat, but with the glove as well. Kotchman has always been known as one of the better defending first basemen in baseball throughout the years.

2. Carlos Santana is going to be behind the plate full time in 2012. Santana appeared in 65 games as a first baseman in 2011 and that is most likely not to happen again in 2012. Lou Marson resumes his role as backup catcher.

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By The Baseball Index 2 Comments »

Slowly but surely, the Washington Nationals are having themselves quite the offseason, especially when it comes to improving their pitching staff. Earlier this offseason, the Nationals traded for LHP Gio Gonzalez and now they have added another quality starting pitcher to the mix.

Jackson is the latest National pitching acquisition

The Nationals have signed RHP Edwin Jackson to a one-year contract according to FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. The deal is believed to be somewhere between $8 – $12 million.

Jackson finished the 2011 season with a 3.79 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and a 43.8 percent Ground Ball Percentage in 199.2 innings with both the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals will be Jackson’s seventh team in nine seasons.

My take on Jackson is that he is a serviceable third starter and nothing more. He will give you innings, but at the same time, he will give you some quality innings. He’s never been a four-win a year pitcher. That’s a pretty interesting fact considering Jackson was a hot name this offseason.

With the Nationals, Jackson will slot in as their No. 3 starter behind Stephen Strasburg and Gonzalez. Washington also has Jordan Zimmermann as their fourth starter and a trio of John Lannan, Ross Detwiler, and Chien-Ming Wang battling as their fifth starter.

With their moves this offseason, the Nationals are gearing up for a playoff run in 2012. They finished one-game under .500 last season and I think they can make the postseason in 2012 and especially if Major League Baseball agrees to add a second Wild Card team.

Do I think the Nationals can win the National League East? No, I don’t. I think the Phillies are the class of that division. However, between the Nationals, Atlanta Braves, and Miami Marlins, the NL East should be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball in 2012.

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By The Baseball Index 3 Comments »

If the Milwaukee Brewers are going to repeat as National League Central champions in 2012, they are going to need all the hands they have remaining to be on deck and ready to go. They lost Prince Fielder to the Detroit Tigers and there is a very good chance they will lose Ryan Braunto a PED suspension for the first 50 games of the season.

Weeks' ankle still isn't 100%

One of those hands on deck that I was referring to is second baseman Rickie Weeks. Weeks was limited to just 116 games last season because of an ankle injury he suffered in July. The injury looked pretty nasty at the time and it looked like he broke his ankle.

Weeks made a comeback in September, but he looked like a man trying to play on one leg. He had just two extra-base hits in 46 plate appearances in September and hit just .133 in the playoffs.

You would think that an ankle injury that didn’t require surgery would be healed six months after the fact, but that hasn’t been the case with Weeks. According to Tim Haudicourt on Twitter, Weeks said his ankle isn’t 100 percent there yet and he is still rehabbing.

That has to be very concerning to a Brewer team that like I said earlier, needs all the guys they have left to produce at a high level to mask the loss of Fielder and Bruan. If Weeks isn’t 100 percent entering going into the season, then the Brewers might be in even bigger trouble than they already are.

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By The Baseball Index 4 Comments »

Boston Red Sox right fielders were among the worst in baseball in 2012. One of the main reasons why was because they had the Ghost of J.D. Drew manning right field for most of the season. When Drew wasn’t in right because one of his 900 injuries were acting up, the Red Sox had Darnell McDonald and Josh Reddick playing the position.

Reddick had some success, but he was shipped off to Oakland in the Andrew Bailey trade. Boston got Ryan Sweeney, who is a right fielder in that trade, but there was no way he was going to be their full-time starting right fielder in 2012.

Sweeney is a nice little player, but he is not a full-time starting right fielder on a championship ball club. If Sweeney is part of the regular outfield rotation, then he needs to be a platoon player. Sweeney only had a .462 OPS against left-handed pitching in 2011.

Sweeney needs a right-handed compliment against left-handed pitching and Boston found that right-handed compliment in Cody Ross last week. Boston signed Ross to a one-year, $3 million contract and for the role he is going to play in 2012, this is a good signing by the Red Sox.

Ross hit .240/.325/.405 with 14 HR’s in 465 PA’s for the San Francisco Giants in 2011, but it was his career production against left-handed pitching that was attractive to Boston. Ross has a career .912 OPS against left-handed pitching in 759 PA’s.

With Ross’ success against lefties and Sweeney’s success against righties, the Red Sox will have a solid platoon in right in 2012. If Ross and Sweeney are asked to play to their strengths this season and not asked to do too much, then both should help Boston improve on the 0.7 WAR their right fielders produced last season.

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By The Baseball Index 1 Comment »