2023 MLB Season Preview: American League Central Division Preview
Image credit: Jose Ramirez (Photo by Patrick Mulligan/Getty Images)
Team to Beat
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians posted a winning record against all four AL Central opponents last season, including taking 13 of 19 from the Twins. That helped push Cleveland to 92-70 and 11 games up on the second-place White Sox. The Guardians won’t get the same quantity of matchups versus divisional opponents with the new schedule, but the quality of the club’s roster is improved after signing 30-year-old slugger Josh Bell to DH. The rest of the core of baseball’s youngest team returns intact, with more help on the way. Most of the organization’s top prospects either finished 2022 at Triple-A or will get there this season, including righthanders Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, lefthander Logan T. Allen, catcher Bo Naylor, outfielder George Valera and shortstop Brayan Rocchio.
Top Player
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Guardians
Ramirez is baseball’s quietest superstar. He has played at a high level from the moment he became a regular in 2016, and in that time just three players—Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Nolan Arenado—have accumulated more WAR than Ramirez. He hasn’t broken through for an MVP but has five top-five finishes, including a fourth-place showing last year, when he hit .280/.355/.514 with 29 home runs, an American League-leading 44 doubles and a career-high 126 RBIs. Ramirez played through a wrist injury in the second half, which could be bad news for opposing pitchers this season.
Top Pitcher
Dylan Cease, RHP, White Sox
Few starting pitchers have raw stuff to rival Cease and his 96-98 mph four-seam fastball and devastating slider. He finished runner-up for the American League Cy Young Award last season by striking out 227 in 184 innings to go with a 2.20 ERA. The live-armed Cease also led the AL with 78 walks and has walked an MLB-high 10% of batters the past two seasons. Even if this represents the peak of his abilities, the 27-year-old has reached near-ace status.
Top Rookie
Oscar Colas, RF, White Sox
Signed by the White Sox out of Cuba in January 2022, Colas adapted quickly to the minor leagues, batting .314/.371/.524 with 23 home runs in 117 games. He spent the second half in the upper minors, which puts the 24-year-old on track for Chicago this season. Colas will get that chance on Opening Day based on how well he hit in spring training and a lack of internal options. Colas’ main competition to play right field in Chicago—namely Gavin Sheets—are inferior defenders.
Notable storylines
—The Twins were the division’s busiest team in the offseason, and with better luck and better health in 2023, they should be in the mix for first place. Minnesota’s headlining move was re-signing shortstop Carlos Correa for six years and $200 million. Minnesota also signed catcher Christian Vazquez and outfielder Joey Gallo and traded AL batting champ Luis Arraez to the Marlins for righthander Pablo Lopez and two prospects. Lopez joins a deep stable of average or better starting pitchers in Minnesota that also includes Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda and pushes quality depth options such as Bailey Ober to Triple-A. The Twins’ X-factor is top prospect Royce Lewis, who is recovering from his second knee reconstruction but has impact upside. The 24-year-old could slot in at third base after the all-star break.
—The White Sox appeared to be poised for big things heading into 2020, but they have underachieved relative to expectations. Chicago played well for manager Rick Renteria in the 60-game 2020 season but bowed out in the first round. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf then installed his friend Tony La Russa as manager. While Chicago won 93 games in 2021, the season again ended in the first round of the playoffs. The White Sox regressed to .500 last season, and La Russa stepped down. New manager Pedro Grifol inherits a talented team with room to rebound. The White Sox signed left fielder Andrew Benintendi to add an on-base anchor while also betting that Guaranteed Rate Field’s cozier dimensions will unlock latent power. Other improvements will have to come in the form of rebounds from Lucas Giolito and Yoan Moncada, healthy seasons from Luis Robert Jr. and Eloy Jimenez and steps forward from Andrew Vaughn and rookie Oscar Colas.
—The Royals’ farm system is in a bad spot right now, but there’s a good reason for that: Kansas City graduated several key prospects last season. No team received more at-bats from rookies in 2022 than the Royals. Led by Bobby Witt Jr., the Royals graduated the outline of a future lineup core that also included catcher MJ Melendez, first basemen Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto, second baseman Michael Massey and outfielder Kyle Isbel. How this group develops will help determine when or if Kansas City becomes contenders. The Royals’ challenge will be getting young pitchers such as Daniel Lynch and Asa Lacy to realize their potential.
Top 10 Prospects
By Top 100 Prospects ranking
19. Daniel Espino, RHP, Guardians
20. Gavin Williams, RHP, Guardians
39. Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox
43. Royce Lewis, 3B, Twins
45. Brooks Lee, SS, Twins
46. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Twins
68. Bo Naylor, C, Guardians
72. George Valera, OF, Guardians
77. Brayan Rocchio, SS, Guardians
83. Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers
GUARDIANS
Overall BA Grade: 55
LINEUP
Pos Player BA Grade
LF Steven Kwan 55
SS Amed Rosario 50
3B Jose Ramirez 75
DH Josh Bell 50
1B Josh Naylor 50
2B Andres Gimenez 60
RF Oscar Gonzalez 45
C Mike Zunino 40
CF Myles Straw 40
ON DECK: Will Brennan led the minors with 166 hits last season and earned MLB postseason starts. He will earn a prominent outfield share.
ROTATION
Pos Player BA Grade
RH Shane Bieber 65
RH Triston McKenzie 55
RH Cal Quantrill 50
RH Aaron Civale 45
RH Zach Plesac 45
TOP RELIEVERS
Pos Player BA Grade
CL Emmanuel Clase 60
RP James Karinchak 50
RP Trevor Stephan 55
WARMING UP: Cody Morris has filthy stuff and could fill a multi-inning weapon role, a la Sam Hentges. He showed as much in the postseason.
CRYSTAL BALL
Steven Kwan will prove last year’s showing—.298 with more walks than strikeouts—was not a fluke and win the American League batting title.
TWINS
Overall BA Grade: 55
LINEUP
Pos Player BA Grade
CF Byron Buxton 60
SS Carlos Correa 70
2B Jorge Polanco 50
RF Max Kepler 45
3B Jose Miranda 45
LF Joey Gallo 45
1B Alex Kirilloff 45
C Christian Vazquez 45
DH Nick Gordon 45
ON DECK: Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien could add significant oomph to the Twins’ second-half lineup, positions to be determined.
ROTATION
Pos Player BA Grade
RH Pablo Lopez 55
RH Sonny Gray 55
RH Joe Ryan 50
RH Tyler Mahle 50
RH Kenta Maeda 50
TOP RELIEVERS
Pos Player BA Grade
CL Jorge Lopez 55
RP Jhoan Duran 55
RP Griffin Jax 45
WARMING UP: The Twins should have a strong Triple-A rotation on standby: Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Simeon Woods Richardson and Louie Varland.
CRYSTAL BALL
Sonny Gray, Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan will form one of the American League’s top rotation trios and lead the Twins back to a winning record.
WHITE SOX
Overall BA Grade: 50
LINEUP
Pos Player BA Grade
SS Tim Anderson 60
CF Luis Robert Jr. 55
LF Andrew Benintendi 55
DH Eloy Jimenez 55
3B Yoan Moncada 45
1B Andrew Vaughn 45
C Yasmani Grandal 45
RF Oscar Colas 45
2B Elvis Andrus 40
ON DECK: Complementary players such as catcher Carlos Perez and utility types Romy Gonzalez and Lenyn Sosa should see MLB reps.
ROTATION
Pos Player BA Grade
RH Dylan Cease 65
RH Lance Lynn 60
RH Lucas Giolito 55
RH Mike Clevinger 50
RH Michael Kopech 50
TOP RELIEVERS
Pos Player BA Grade
CL Kendall Graveman 50
RP Reynaldo Lopez 45
RP Aaron Bummer 45
WARMING UP: Davis Martin and Jimmy Lambert could pick up starts, while prospect righthander Sean Burke is next in line at Triple-A.
CRYSTAL BALL
Oft-injured slugger Eloy Jimenez will stay healthy as a DH and finish the year with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.
ROYALS
Overall BA Grade: 30
LINEUP
Pos Player BA Grade
SS Bobby Witt Jr. 55
DH MJ Melendez 45
C Salvador Perez 55
1B Vinnie Pasquantino 55
3B Hunter Dozier 40
CF Kyle Isbel 45
LF Edward Olivares 40
2B Michael Massey 45
RF Nate Eaton 40
ON DECK: Shortstop Maikel Garcia had a huge Venezuelan League and opened eyes in big league camp. He could emerge as a utility option.
ROTATION
Pos Player BA Grade
RH Zack Greinke 45
RH Jordan Lyles 45
RH Brady Singer 55
LH Ryan Yarbrough 45
RH Brad Keller 45
TOP RELIEVERS
Pos Player BA Grade
CL Scott Barlow 50
RP Dylan Coleman 50
RP Aroldis Chapman 50
WARMING UP: From Daniel Lynch to Asa Lacy to Jackson Kowar to Alec Marsh, the Royals have myriad talented arms with untapped potential.
CRYSTAL BALL
Scott Barlow will continue his quiet ascent and establish himself as one of the best closers in the American League.
TIGERS
Overall BA Grade: 30
LINEUP
Pos Player BA Grade
CF Riley Greene 50
3B Nick Maton 40
SS Javier Baez 50
RF Austin Meadows 50
2B Jonathan Schoop 45
DH Miguel Cabrera 45
1B Spencer Torkelson 45
LF Kerry Carpenter 45
C Jake Rogers 40
ON DECK: Second baseman Wenceel Perez and outfielder Parker Meadows quietly had outstanding seasons at Double-A and could pop in Detroit.
ROTATION
Pos Player BA Grade
LH Eduardo Rodriguez 50
LH Matthew Boyd 50
RH Michael Lorenzen 45
RH Matt Manning 45
RH Spencer Turnbull 45
TOP RELIEVERS
Pos Player BA Grade
CL Alex Lange 45
RP Jason Foley 40
RP Jose Cisnero 40
WARMING UP: Lefthander Joey Wentz made his MLB debut last season and threw harder while missing more bats this spring.
CRYSTAL BALL
Javier Baez will strike out 200 times for a run-starved Tigers lineup and take the mantle of worst contract in the major leagues.
Comments are closed.