The AL East is a two-horse race between the Red Sox and Yankees, with the power-hitting and bullpen-bloated Bronx Bombers holding an edge entering the season. The Blue Jays were a borderline contender before selling heavily in order to build the game's best farm system, while the Orioles and Rays were already fully in rebuild mode. Boston made enough moves that finishing behind the Yankees should still mean a wild card, while New York's super-sized lineup makes them not just the division favorite, but a definite World Series frontrunner. Whether either team will keep enough stars to be playoff contenders next season is up in the year, but for this season -- it's good to be the Yankees and Red Sox.
Team Previews:
Baltimore Orioles
Projected Record: 10-20
Hitting:
The Orioles, in typical Baltimore fashion, are starved for high OB hitters. Manny Machado and Chris Davis are off bigtime down years, while Adam Jones has rarely produced a non-OB 6 card. However, if they ever get their charts.... look out! In particular, Machado has a deadly chart, while Jonathan Schoop appears to be their best current player. Trey Mancini is another impressive OB 7, while Chance Sisco will hopefully develop more after the season as one of their top prospects. Seeing the Davis-Trumbo combination relegated to the 8-9 spots is a truly sad sight, but really all Baltimore can do right now.
Pitching:
Like Tampa Bay below, the Orioles do have a surprisingly stout rotation. Cobb and Cashner represent building blocks for the future, and could be 3-4 pieces on a resurgent Baltimore team in year 2. Dylan Bundy is always a favorite on this site, and we're all hoping his 2018 card continues to improve on an already decent Showdown addition. Zach Britton continues to be *the* closer, but Baltimore's GM dealt for his all-time favorite pitcher Jim Johnson for a reason and it'll be interesting to see if he can sneak a save or two out this year, despite his truly subpar metrics.
Boston Red Sox
Projected Record: 21-9
Hitting:
The Red Sox have a solid and deep lineup, and one with lots of firepower thanks to FA signee JD Martinez and a trade for 1B Jose Abreu. Outside of the 3-4 spots on the lineup, there's not a lot of hitting that scares pitchers, but there are also no super easy outs to be had. Thanks to the division they play in, it's expected that the Red Sox will win a lot of 5-3, 4-2 kind of games; however, performance in the postseason is a question mark. This lineup will occasionally put up big number, but I'm expected the Red Sox to be plagued by frustrating stretches of ineptitude offensively, ultimately costing them a chance to make a deep playoff run.
Pitching:
The bullpen features one of the best closers around in Craig Kimbrel, who's got a ridiculous K range after a monster 2017. He's supported by the very stellar Joe Kelly and the useful enough Matt Barnes. Heath Hembree's self-HR possibility means he'll probably be replaced at the trade deadline.
New York Yankees
Projected Record: 23-7
Hitting:
Simply put, this is the best lineup in baseball. Originally hampered by a couple of OB 4s, the Yankees GM has been extremely aggressive in assembling a World Series juggernaut. While still managing to hold onto their top 5 overall prospect SS Torres, the Yankees added 1B Justin Bohr from the Marlins and 3B David Freese from the Pirates, giving them an incredibly deep linup. With an OB 9 hitting eighth, there are no easy breathers in the Yankees lineup. Moreover, slugging superstars Judge and Stanton should have plenty of guys on base to clear out with their monstrous HR ranges. With only a 30 game season, there's talk that (with their schedule), the Yankees lineup could produce an incredible 200 run season. At the moment, I certainly won't be the one to bet against it.
Pitching:
When Aroldis Chapman is the worst reliever in your bullpen, you're clearly doing something right! The heat-throwing closer is a mere tier 3, but still does not give up doubles and has a great K range. He'll be supported by maybe the best RP in the game: Chad Green. With an IP 2 to go along with a peak Pedro chart, Green will be used frequently and presumably whenever the starting staff falters. He's supported by another tier1 RP in David Robertson. The 'pen is rounded out by the ridiculous 3-15 k range of Delin Betances, who has low control but such a great chart.
The rotation is not arguably best in baseball like the bullpen, but good enough to get the game to the 5th inning in good shape. Severino is a legit ace, while Sonny Gray provides good innings as the #2. Sabathia and Kuhl are the weakest links in the team, and if there's one way opposing teams can hurt the Yankees in the post-season, it's by pummeling their 3-4 starters early and often.
Tampa Bay Rays
Projected Record: 11-19
Hitting:
The Rays suffer even worse than the Orioles in the On-Base department, batting a pair of OB 5 hitters in the 4 and 5 holes. However, at least the top 3 hitters provide a little potential for run creation. Keirmaier continues to be a Gold Glove candidate in CF and perhaps that can garner trade consideration at the trade window. This is truly a team on the rebuild and fans have little reason to be excited about their year 1 in showdown, although we think their schedule gives them the best shot at finishing third in the AL East. However, they do have a loaded farm system and are a few lucky rolls away from being playoff contenders (and more) in year 2!
Pitching:
The Rays have some strong arms coming up, but maintain one of the best rotations among "tanking" teams this season. Archer is as good as any other Tier 4 and should have some strong performances against weak lineups. Faria brings a Tier 3 arm that will undoubtedly be a hot commodity at the trade deadline, while Snell and Eovaldi bring unspectacular by fine arms to the 3-4 spots in the rotation. Meanwhile, the bullpen features a true stud in Sergio Romo. Alex Colome has the decency of not giving up extra base hits in the closer spot. Both players could be targets of teams like the Twins or Red Sox at the trade deadline.
Toronto Blue Jays
Projected Record: 10-20
Hitting:
The Blue Jays made great use of their assets to build the best farm system in baseball, although it cost them big time this season. Shohei Ohtani enters the lineup in his weakest form, but could be an OB 8 who homers at 13 with speed A at the start of Year 2. Meanwhile, players like Martin Prado, Matt Weiters, Troy Tulowitski, Steve Pearce, Kevin Pillar and Yangervis Solarte are all just keeping spots warm until the next wave of stars arrive. In particular, fans are excited for 1B/3B Vlad Guerrero Jr, 2B/SS Bo Bichette, and OF Victor Robles to be as dynamic a 2-3-4 as exists in the game! During this year though, expect a lot of strikeouts and cold stretches, although Curtis Granderson could be a surprising leadoff man.
Pitching:
The Blue Jays dealt most of their rotation to LA in the Ohtani trade, who's already in the lineup as a young Tier 3 pitcher. However, Ohtani is the *only* SP prospect in the game who's a potential Tier 1 starter and could be a dominant ace this time next year. The Blue Jays dealt a couple of their own prospects to acquire Mike Minor after making loads of sales to guarantee their rotation would have a stellar #2 starter to pair with Ohtani. Ramirez and Estrada will hopefully be temporary though. The bullpen is surprisingly decent and could be the team's most valuable part this year. Overall, Toronto is going to struggle, but hopes to see bright spots from Minor and Ohtani in preparation for a World Series run next season!
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