So what was supposed to end up as a look back at the first half for all 30 teams has turned into a look back at the first half for 15 Major League Baseball teams. I wrote far too much, and as if any readers out there might not like to read long posts, this one is the longest that I have ever done. Here are my thoughts on the American League during the first half of the baseball season. Thoughts on the National League will be coming soon...
AL East
Yankees (52-33, 1/2 game ahead of Texas for the best record in the American League) - This is pretty much the same story as usual. The Yankees can hit, and they can hit a ton. Robinson Cano is a legitimate star, Derek Jeter is proving that he is far from over-the-hill, Curtis Granderson is mashing, plus Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and the rest of the lineup is still full of power. The question is the pitching here. C.C. Sabathia is a proven ace, and Ivan Nova seems to be a solid starter as well. Kuroda, Hughes, and Pettitte complete a rotation that is still somewhat formidable. With Mariano Rivera done for the year, the bullpen is obviously significantly weakened, but I fully expect the Yankees to be in the playoffs.
Orioles (45-40, leading the race for the final Wild Card spot by 1/2 game) - Baltimore has been a pleasant surprise thus far. Adam Jones was highly touted as a rookie with Seattle, and it may have taken a bit longer than most people thought it would, but he is having a great season and leading Baltimore's offense. Jason Hammel is having a very good year on the mound, and Jim Johnson is leading all of baseball in saves, but the young pitchers who were supposed to be good (Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta) both have ERA's above 5.00, and have combined for only 8 wins (the same amount of games that Hammel has won by himself). They have been better than expected, but with a lot of good teams right behind them in the playoff race, I just don't think they can hang for another three months.
Rays (45-41, 1/2 game behind Baltimore for the final Wild Card spot) - Just like the Yankees, this is pretty much the same as the last few years. Tampa Bay has a very good team and has very good players throughout the roster. One difference this year that looks good for the Rays is the fact that Evan Longoria has only played in 23 games thus far, and they are still in a great position to make the playoffs. According to people who know a heck of a lot more about this team than I do, he won't be back for at least another month. David Price is an established ace, their rotation from top to bottom looks fine, and Fernando Rodney is having a great year as the closer, with an ERA under 1.00. If they continue to play at the pace that they have, they can get their star third baseman back for the final month and a half of the season, and most likely be in prime position to still be playing in October. And as has been proven countless times, as long as you are in the playoffs, you can win the World Series, regardless of your seed.
Red Sox (43-43, 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot) - For a team with a lot of money invested in the front end of their rotation, who would have thought that Felix Doubront would be leading the Red Sox in wins, strikeouts, and ERA? Certainly not me. With Jon Lester and Josh Beckett being only mediocre thus far, I'm not surprised that they are only a .500 team. David Ortiz has been having a spectacular season, and those people who thought he was done last season have been proven wrong. However, much of the rest of their lineup has been a revolving door full of middle-of-the-road players. Boston is always a threat to be a player when the Trade Deadline rolls around, but unless they make some significant changes and get a lot more stability throughout the entire roster, I'm not optimistic about their chances to still be playing when the playoffs roll around.
Blue Jays (43-43, 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot) - Despite the identical records, I'm actually more confident in the Blue Jays than I am the Red Sox. Jose Bautista is the obvious leader of this offense, and his 27 home runs and 65 RBI demonstrate exactly why that is the case. However, Edwin Encarnacion has been having a very good season, and other guys like Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus have been solid as well. The problem is their pitching. Ricky Romero is their #1 starter, and while he leads the team in wins, his 5.22 ERA will simply not cut it. Henderson Alvarez has been respectable, and Brandon Morrow is good when he is healthy (which is not too often). This team can hit, but without significantly better pitching, they just cannot compete within the best division in baseball.
AL Central
White Sox (47-38, 3 games ahead of Cleveland for the division lead) - I'm a bit surprised to see Chicago in first place at this point, but the numbers don't lie. Their offense has been excellent pretty much up and down the lineup. Paul Konerko has had a great year so far, and Adam Dunn has bounced back from a disastrous 2011 to provide the power that Chicago hoped he could. Alex Rios is hitting over .300, A.J. Pierzynski has had a very good year, and even guys like Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza have provided a lot of offense. The addition of Kevin Youkilis will only make this lineup better during the second half of the season. As far as pitching goes, Chris Sale has performed far better than what anyone could have expected, and Jake Peavy has been great as well. Peavy has a history of injuries though, and Sale has never been a starter for a full season, so we will have to wait and see how that goes. As long as their offense keeps up its current pace, and they maybe add another starting pitcher or get some better production from the back end of their rotation, they should be in the fight for a playoff spot.
Indians (44-41, 1 game out of the final Wild Card spot) - Last year was similar to this year for Cleveland. They were near the top of the division for the majority of the year, but in the end they just couldn't hang on. Looking at the numbers and the make-up of this roster, I have a hard time convincing myself that this will be any different. Shin-Soo Choo has put together multiple good seasons, and is a proven commodity as far as their lineup goes, and Asdrubal Cabrera is solid as well. Jason Kipnis has been a revelation and is tied for the team lead in home runs, and leads the team in RBI. Carlos Santana is their highly touted young star, and he is only hitting .221, which is certainly not close to the level of star status. As far as pitching goes, Chris Perez has been having a great year as the closer, but it isn't necessarily a good thing when your closer is the star of your pitching staff. Justin Masterson has the best ERA out of all the starters, and it is a below-average 4.40. Between Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Derek Lowe, the Indians don't really have anything exciting at the front of their rotation, and I would be very surprised to see them in the playoff hunt when October rolls around.
Tigers (44-42, 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot) - This is the team that I thought would run away in this divison, but they have not done so thus far. As usual, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera have been excellent, and Prince Fielder and Austin Jackson have been very good as well. The bullpen is still very good with Jose Valverde, Joaquin Benoit, Phil Coke, Duane Below, and Brayan Villarreal as well. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello have been respectable, but Doug Fister has been below-average. This team has a legitimately good bullpen, arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball, and a very good lineup. They haven't met my expectations so far, but I think this will be a team to be reckoned with when October rolls around.
Royals (37-47, 7.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot) - Kansas City is a team that has been labeled as one that is full of young talent for the past few seasons, and we are seeing some of that this year, but we just simply aren't seeing enough for them to compete. Mike Moustakas has been pretty good, Alcides Escobar is having a very good year, and Billy Butler is leading the offense. Salvador Perez has only played in 13 games, but his .383 average speaks for itself. I have, however, been very disappointed in Eric Hosmer. He seemed as if he would be the star of this offense, but he is hitting only .231. He is obviously still very young and has plenty of time to improve, but I think he pretty much represents this offense pretty well; they are still a few years away. As far as the pitching staff goes, the bullpen has been very good, with Jonathan Broxton having a bounce-back year at closer. The rotation, however, is a different story. Only three pitchers have more than 10 starts, and none of them have an ERA under 5.00. That just won't cut it. The offense has a lot of promising young players, but the pitching staff just isn't very good. This team won't be a contender in September.
Twins (36-49, 9 games out of the final Wild Card spot) - Despite the record, this team at least has an offense that has some good players. Joe Mauer is hitting .326, and many of the other regulars are sporting batting averages that are respectable. The problem with Mauer, and their other offensive star, Justin Morneau, has always been health, and you never know when injuries might crop up and knock one of these guys out. Josh Willingham has had a very good season, Ryan Doumit and Denard Span have been solid, and Trevor Plouffe has come out of nowhere to hit 19 home runs. Pitching has been another story though. Scott Diamond is the only member of the staff with more than five starts that has an ERA under 5.00, and that just simply will not allow this team to compete. There isn't much to speak of in terms of young starting pitching either, so last place is probably where Minnesota will end up at the end of the season.
AL West
Rangers (52-34, 1/2 game behind the Yankees for the best record in the American League) - If you told me that this team would win the World Series, I would have a hard time coming up with an argument to dispute that. Josh Hamilton is tied for the Major League lead in home runs, and stands alone atop the RBI leaderboard. Adrian Beltre has been very good, Elvis Andrus is becoming one of the best shortstops in baseball, and Ian Kinsler is also one of the best in the league at his position (second base). When Mike Napoli is your "worst" offensive player, but still makes the All-Star team (granted, it is all because of fan voting, but he is an All-Star nonetheless), you know that you have an offensive juggernaut of a team. I always questioned how good this starting staff really was, with guys like Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison being at the top of Texas' rotation, and I questioned how good Yu Darvish could be coming over from Japan, but my questions have been answered during the first half this year. Thanks to the offense that this team provides, the starters do not have to be brilliant every time out, but they have still definitely fared well enough. Darvish has been very good thus far, and Joe Nathan has returned to his prior form and been able to lock down games in the 9th inning. In my opinion, this team is the favorite to win the World Series at this point.
Angels (48-38, 4 games behind the Rangers, and 2.5 games ahead of the Orioles for the first Wild Card spot) - If the Rangers are not the best bet to reach the World Series in the American League, then the Angels are. They landed the man that was probably the most highly-touted free agent in the history of baseball this past offseason, and he doesn't even lead the team in any significant offensive categories. It is scary to think about how good this team can be for the next decade. That free agent I was talking about, Albert Pujols, got off to a slow start, but has delivered 14 home runs and 51 RBI through the first half of the season, which is still excellent. The real story has been two young players with the initials M.T. Mark Trumbo has hit .306 with a team-leading 22 home runs and 57 RBI. He has made such an impression that he will even be competing in the Home Run Derby that will take place tonight, and I have seen multiple people pick him to win. The second of those players with those M.T. initials has, in my opinion, been the best story in all of baseball. That story stars a man named Mike Trout. He was touted as the best prospect in baseball for the past few years by many, but there is no way that anyone could have predicted the success that he has had thus far. In about two weeks less games than anyone else in the league, Trout is hitting .341 with 12 home runs, 40 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. If it weren't for fan voting, he would be starting in the All-Star Game, and he is far and away the favorite for the Rookie of the Year award. Aside from his offensive excellence, he has made multiple highlight plays in the field. This man is a legitimate star and he is only 20 years old. It has been a joy to watch him play, and he is going to be a superstar for years to come. As if that weren't enough, I haven't even mentioned how good this pitching staff has been. Jered Weaver goes into the All-Star break with a record of 10-1 and an ERA of 1.96, and he has already thrown a no-hitter. He has met and surpassed all expectations during the past few seasons, and he, like Trout, will be a superstar for years to come. The other big free agent signing, C.J. Wilson, has been very good as well, as he has won 9 games and posted an ERA of 2.43 thus far. Dan Haren and Ervin Santana have not been as good as they could be, but they have a history that suggests that they will be better during the second half. Ernesto Frieri has been an absolute revelation in the bullpen, as he has pitched in 26 games, allowed only 8 hits, and has an ERA of 0.00. ZERO! With Scott Downs and LaTroy Hawkins also posting ERA's under 1.40, the bullpen has been tremendous. Overall, this team does not have many flaws, and I fully believe that they are absolutely legitimate contenders to win the World Series.
Athletics (43-43, 2.5 games behind the Orioles for the final Wild Card spot) - For a team that seems to be in a never-ending re-building mode, the Athletics are exactly where they should be. Neither good nor bad; just in the middle. Looking at the numbers for the A's, it is somewhat concerning to see that they are pretty much dominated by two players. Josh Reddick has been their best offensive player, and Tommy Milone has been their best pitcher. Reddick has hit a more than formidable number of 20 home runs, but no other starting position player has a batting average of over .250. There is some young talent here on offense, but nothing spectacular. As far as the pitching staff goes, Milone is really the only guy that somewhat stands out in the rotation, as he leads the team in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Ryan Cook actually leads the team in both holds and saves (which is somewhat weird), and he has been solid out of the bullpen. There is nothing really too special here, and I think holding on to a .500 record for the rest of the season will be a challenge for the Athletics.
Mariners (36-51, 10 games out of the final Wild Card spot, and worst record in the American League) - Worst record in the American League pretty much says all you need to know here, as the Mariners simply are not good enough to compete in this division, let alone compete for a playoff spot. The pitching staff has been pretty much as advertised; Felix Hernandez and everyone else. King Felix has been his usual self, and the team has been its usual self. He pitches very well but just simply does not get much run support, and therefore his numbers do not actually look as good as he really is. Jason Vargas has been pretty good, but the bullpen has been up and down, with Brandon League losing his closer job to Tom Wilhelmsen. As far as offense goes, Ichiro Suzuki is still the star, and he should be in the Hall of Fame whenever he decides to retire. Justin Smoak, Michael Saunders, and Kyle Seager have been good, and Dustin Ackley has been good, but not good enough to meet his top prospect expectations thus far. This team is middle-of-the-road at best, and when Ichiro retires and King Felix leaves (as would be expected since he gets no support), they will be even less than that. It will be a long road back to contention for the Mariners, and the road does not begin in 2012.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: I'll give you all my thoughts on the team soon enough. What I will say though, is that taking three out of four from the first place Dodgers and seeing Trevor Bauer dominate in his third start of the season is a great thing. Going into the second half, I still have confidence that this team can win the division.
No comments:
Post a Comment