2 key questions for each AL Central team entering 2022
Will Leitch
@williamfleitchWith the season, goodness, only three weeks away now, it’s time to start previewing some divisions. While allotting for the fact that there are still surely plenty of moves to be made, we have a pretty good idea, at this point, what teams will generally look like. Today, we address the American League Central.
Previously: The NL Central
Let’s face it: Up until the lockout was lifted, it looked like the White Sox were going to run away with this division, didn’t it? They won it easily last year despite battling injuries all season, and they look just as strong this year. You wondered if the rest of the division would just watch the White Sox soar above them, waiting for them to get older, biding their time.
The Twins, safe to say, weren’t having it. Minnesota was wildly active, almost hyperactive, when the lockout lifted, culminating in the shocking signing of Carlos Correa. Suddenly this looks like a race again. The rest of the division may still have a ways to go, but this isn’t one of those divisions, like the NL Central, where two, maybe three teams are already looking forward toward 2023. All five of these teams, to some degree, want to win now. It should make for a fascinating race … one for which the White Sox will need to keep their head on a swivel.
Chicago White Sox
1. Can they have a little more health this year?
Eloy Jiménez played 55 games last year. Luis Robert played 68. Yasmani Grandal played 93. It’s fair to say the White Sox expected those three to get on the field a lot more often than that. They’ll expect it this year, and just by having those three in the lineup regularly projects them to be considerably better than they were last year … and they won 93 games last year. Robert, in particular, is a stealth MVP candidate. The guy slugged .567 last year. Do that over a full season -- and remember, Robert is still only 24 -- you’ve got yourself a superstar.
2. Can they finally break through in the postseason?
The White Sox looked well-positioned in their ALDS against Houston last year -- they had Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Carlos Rodón all lined up -- but they went down in four games, and never looked particularly competitive. The White Sox still haven’t won a postseason series since the 2005 World Series (Robert was 8 years old when that Series happened), and you don’t bring in Tony La Russa for first-round exits. The White Sox have all the pieces for October success. Now it needs to happen.
Minnesota Twins
1. Whoa, is that … Carlos Correa?
I don’t remember a bigger Whoa! free-agent signing than Correa going to the Twins. Maybe Albert Pujols to the Angels? It does make total sense for the Twins, who obviously needed a shortstop and so just went out and got the best one. Correa clearly believes enough in the Twins -- a team that lost 89 games last year -- to sign with them, so it’s on the Twins to make sure he’s right. Otherwise … wow, are you ready for Trade Deadline Correa discourse? I for one am not.
2. Is there even close to enough pitching yet?
The lineup looks much deeper today with Correa, Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela, and it could be electric if Byron Buxton can stay healthy (a big if, sure). But even with the additions of Sonny Gray and Dylan Bundy, this rotation sure looks like it has a long way to go. Maybe they trade for Frankie Montas or Sean Manaea, if they even have any prospects left with which to do so. But if they don’t, there isn’t much to choose from on the free-agent market anymore. No offense to Bailey Ober, but the Twins look like they have two starting pitchers and then a whole bunch of crossed fingers.
Cleveland Guardians
1. Can the rotation stay healthy?
The Guardians begin their first year under a new name with a lot of similar questions. They have a ton of pitching, as always, but keeping the stars healthy is a perpetual problem (as it is for lots of teams). A fivesome of Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie (all of them 27 years or younger) is fearsome, impressive and good enough to win the division on their own … but are you really counting on each of them to make all their starts? Or even half of them? There are always young arms in this system, but considering Cleveland’s offense, there is no margin for error here.
2. José Ramírez is staying … right?
There were some more of those pesky José Ramírez trade rumors last week, and while it looks like he’s not going anywhere, the fact that it’s constantly coming up speaks to the general instability here right now. Because if Cleveland trades Ramírez, those starters are going to have to win all sorts of 1-0 games. Franmil Reyes and Amed Rosario have had their moments, but Ramírez is the only proven hitter in this lineup, and lineups, well, they have nine spots. Ramírez and those starting pitchers are almost enough to keep you afloat. As long as nothing goes wrong. And as long as no one leaves.
Detroit Tigers
1. Can they keep the momentum going?
Doesn’t it feel like the temperature has been turned down on the Tigers a little bit? They were the hot up-and-comers in the second half last year, a team on the rise, a proud signature MLB franchise ready to compete after years in the wilderness. They have added some guys this offseason -- most notably Javier Báez and Eduardo Rodríguez -- but when you take a step back and look at this roster … it sure doesn’t look like it’s ready to start competing with the Twins right now, let alone the White Sox. The goal of contention might be a wee bit early: Maybe the Tigers should just start by focusing on their first .500 season since 2016?
2. When do we see Torkelson and Greene?
What a world, right? After all the years of building up young pitchers -- and we have some questions about those, too, while we’re here -- the Tigers have two position prospects in the top five at MLB Pipeline. We are likely to see both Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene this year, probably sooner rather than later, especially in Torkelson’s case. The two aren’t just key to improving the Tigers’ otherwise average lineup, they represent a brighter future for the Tigers after years in the wilderness. That’s a lot of pressure on each of them … but hey, 1984 was a loooong time ago.
Kansas City Royals
1. Can Zack Greinke throw 229 innings again?
That’s how many he threw in 2009, his Cy Young-winning season for the Royals, his career high. OK, so fine, he’s not coming anything close to that 13 years later -- though, for what it’s worth, he threw 208 2/3 in 2019, and 171 last year -- but it speaks to how desperate the Royals remain, and always seem to remain, in need of starting pitching. The Royals outside of Greinke are rolling out essentially their same rotation as last year, and while none of those pitchers were necessarily terrible, they’re hardly inspiring.
2. Maybe Bobby Witt Jr. is the spark?
If you are looking to shake things up a bit, there aren’t that many better ways to do it than bringing in the top prospect in baseball. Witt feels like the real deal in just about every possible way, potentially becoming the best player on this team the minute he arrives -- even if the Royals still don’t seem entirely sure where he’ll play. Is he going to be ready to take over this sport the minute he arrives? That’s a lot to ask, obviously, but the Royals have a long way to go for a true breakthrough. Witt’s arrival will have to keep everybody entertained for a while. It sure looks like it will.
Predictions:
White Sox: 97-65
Twins: 85-77
Guardians: 82-80
Tigers: 76-86
Royals: 75-87
Even with Correa, the Twins don’t look that close to the White Sox, unless they make a big move for some pitching. Everybody else looks either in the middle -- and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the bottom fall out in Cleveland -- or still a few years away. One thing’s clear, though: This division’s a lot more interesting than it was a week ago.