Both Central Divisions improved drastically over the course of the offseason and during Spring Training. My thoughts:
AL Central: The Indians and Royals made intriguing trades, the Twins dealt from an area of strength to help strengthen weaker areas of their roster, the White Sox flamed out in September last year and Detroit still looks like a force to be reckoned with.
1) Detroit Tigers (92-70): Let's make this short and simple. The Tigers scuffled at times during the 2012 season, but let's face it. They have a stellar rotation, offense, along with solid defense and a solid bullpen. The players feature the likes of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Tori Hunter. The Achilles hill for this team may be not having a set established closer, but they'll manage as they did in the 2012 postseason.
2) Chicago White Sox (84-78): The White Sox played solid baseball for the most part in 2012, before flaming out down the stretch. Still this should be a decent team if Chris Sale repeats his 2012 success, Jake Peavy has really regained his Ace form and the bullpen and offense produce like they should. Time will tell, but don't count the White Sox out.
3) Kansas City Royals (80-82): This is a revamped ball club. The Royals have decided to go for it in 2013. They traded top prospect Will Meyers and other notable prospects to the Tampa Bay Rays in order to solidify their rotation with James Shields and Wade Davis. The rotation looks solid, and the bullpen and offense are underrated, so don't take this prediction with a grain of salt, but despite the aforementioned information, I do not see the Royals returning to the postseason for the first time in over two decades.
4) Cleavland Indians (74-88): This prediction seems like a knock on the Indians who spent big on the free agent market, signing Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher and others. However, I just believe that the three teams above are that solid. The Indians' offense should be much improved, even with the trade of Shin Soo Choo. But, the bullpen can be shaky and a question mark, and will need to be improved if the Indians want to taste postseason baseball in 2013.
5) Minnesota Twins (70-92): I believe the Twins will be better than most are giving them credit for, but I don't think they are going to shock the baseball world by clinching the AL Central. The rotation does not feature an Ace, but rather quite a few solid starting pitchers. The Twins should have a decent offense and bullpen, but the defense is questionable. They traded from an area of strenghth when trading Denard Span to the Nationals to acquire young starting pitcher Alex Meyer, and Ben Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley and prospect Trevor May. The Twins improved their roster, however, they sacraficed defense to do so. While I would not just dismiss this team, I don't see them regaining the dominant form they once displayed about four years ago. 2013 is just not it for the Twins.
Overview of Division: Really, the Twins are the only team that would shock me if they won the division, or even made the playoffs, and it still would not surprise me all that much. That said, this should be a fun division to watch in 2013.
NL Central: This division is just as competitive if not more so than the AL Central. The Reds and Cardinals are the dominant forces, but the Cubs, Pirates and Brewers could easily give the top two a run for their money.
1) Cincinnati Reds (93-69): This is a very sound team with very few holes. The offense, starting rotation, bullpen and defense are all stellar. The rotation seems to get better every year, there are a few gold glovers on the team, and the offense is stacked with All-Star potential.
2) St. Louis Cardinals (89-73): If their is a franchise that seems to consistently be in the postseason or close to being in the post season, this is the team. They have won more Championships than any other National League Franchise, and they are solid much like the Reds are. The rotation is solid even without Kyle Lohse, the offense was just fine without Albert Pujols last year, and the bullpen can dominate from time to time. The Cardinals know how to play baseball, and they'll prove it again in 2013.
3) Pittsburgh Pirates (83-79): Look at the record I predicted, that's right, I believe that the Pirates will finish above .500 in 2013. But in order for that to happen, Andrew Mccutchen needs to continue to evolve and players like Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez need to step up. The defense will most likely be solid, but the starting rotation and bullpen are both seemingly huge question marks.
4) Milwaukee Brewers (81-81): This team is a little bit down to begin 2013. They are missing Corey Hart and Matt Gamel for at least the first few months, and the offense will take a hit because of it. However, they still have Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez and as long as they hit, the offense will tread water. The rotation looks better than it did two weeks ago, as the Brewers have added Kyle Lohse to coplement Shaun Marcum, a nice 1-2 punch. However the rest of the rotation is largely unestablished. The defense should at least be average, but the bullpen needs to outperform expectations if the Brewers want to go to the postseason or anything better.
5) Chicago Cubs (79-83): This club has improved a good bit, I still believe they'll be a losing ball team in 2013, but they are at least headed in the right direction. They added Edwin Jackson to stabilize their rotation, which is better than most realize, but it does not help that Matt Garza is on the DL. The defense is probably below average, especially with gold glover Darwin Barney on the DL. The bullpen has some potential, but the Cubs need Carlos Marmol to be the good Marmol, not the Marmol who has no command. This is a team with some young players who have huge upside, and I think within two years this team will make a run at the division crown, but that's in 2015 and this is 2013. However, that is not to say that the Cubs can't/won't be a winning ball team this year.
Overview of Division: It is a long season and this is a competitive division. If things pan out right for a few of these teams and the others struggle, any one of these teams could take the NL Central.
