1. Red Sox – Boston’s rotation goes as follows: Rick Porcello (last year’s Cy Young Winner), Chris Sale (the biggest offseason addition), David Price (needs no introduction to Jays fans), Steven Wright (the best knuckleballer in the game, apologies to R.A Dickey) and either Eduardo Rodriguez or Drew Pomeranz to fill out the 5-spot. That is pretty insane…and that is why I have Boston leading the division.
2. Orioles – It’s the same old story with Baltimore; their rotation sucks (on paper at least) but they have the best mashers in the game in Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, etc. and one of the best closers we’ve seen in years in Zach Britton. If their Starters can be even slightly mediocre then they should be good enough to challenge Boston for 1st in the AL East.
3. Blue Jays – The Jays are an interesting team. Their rotation is due for some regression from last year’s surprising numbers, but conversely, their batters should bounce back. Morales should put up a huge year, batting 81 games at the Rogers Centre, and a hopefully healthy Bautista and Tulo should do some damage together. Donaldson should continue to do what he’s done the last couple seasons, despite a calf issue that has plagued him during spring training. But if it’s a season long nagging injury, the Jays may have to look to the Wild Card for any hopes of a postseason run.
4. Yankees – It seems that the Yankees are in fake rebuild mode. With a mix of veterans (Matt Holiday) and young players (Greg Bird), the Bronx Bombers seem like their just biding their time for the epic free agency year of 2018 aka the Bryce Harper sweepstakes. They could surprise a few teams but I’d be shocked if they are several games above .500 if at all. The re-signing of Chapman will likely help them out a bit.
5. Rays – Colby Rasmus is not the answer to this team’s woes. With the exception of Longoria and Chris Archer, there is not much to see here at the Trop. If they finish anywhere other than 5th that would be a big shock to everyone else in this division.