AL East Winner
Yankees
Pineda’s 95+ mph fastball will look good in pinstripes, Sabathia will again contend for Cy Young. Nova will slip a bit, but Burnett will improve. Bullpen is solid and who knows, maybe will feature Pettite in long relief (that’s a long shot). I worry about the age of the starting line-up, but I think Jeter and A-Rod will hold up; Garner and Granderson will be strong; and Swisher will, well, be Swisher. They’ll hold off Tampa for one more year. But the Rays could make a charge behind a rotation that includes Price, Moore, Shields and Hellickson.
AL Central /Winner
Tigers
Detroit just has too much for the weak Central in Fielder and Cabrera in the middle of the line-up and Verlander heading up the rotation. Still, if the bullpen falters, and if the Twin’s MVPs Mauer and Monrneau are back to form (and that’s a big if), it could be interesting. Ultimately, Tigers from start to finish, chased by Cleveland.
AL West Winner
Angels
Angels acquisition of Pujols and Wilson pays off with a division title, flying in on the wings of Wilson, Weaver and Haren. Texas will make a run, and has plenty of offense (provided Hamilton stays healthy), but Yu Darvish may not be ready yet.
Wild Cards
Tampa and Texas.
Rookie of the Year
Matt Moore. This Rays’ hurler looks like the real deal – 14 / 15 wins as a rookie. Other contenders: Jesus Montero of the Mariners (Yankees regret losing backstop of the future); Yu Darvish (if he’s for real.)
Cy Young
Jered Weaver wins it, as Pujols’ bat puts this quality hurler over the 20-victory mark. Contenders: Justin Verlander, his usual combination of wins (in the weak Central) and Ks; C.C. Sabathia, another solid year for the Yankees; David Price, Tampa ace shines again.
MVP
Robinson Cano. Yankee second sacker leads the way to division title. Contenders: Albert Pujols and Evan Longoria, both keys to the offense of teams that will be in the eace.
Coming soon … NL Predictions
