1. New York Yankees.
-Last year the Yankees were once again the AL East Champions with that 95-67 record. This year its going to be an uphill climb for the Yanks as some of their regulars are missing time with injuries to start the season off. Alex Rodriguez had offseason hip surgery and will be out until after the all star break. Mark Texiara is out with a strained wrist till early may and Curtis Granderson is out till early may with a broken forearm. Derek Jeter will also miss the start of the year while still recovering from the ankle injury he suffered in the playoffs last year. Throw those factors in along with the loss of Russel Martin and Raul Ibanez to free agency and it looks like it could be a tough year by Yankees Standards. So now with all the injuries the Yanks opening day rooster looks different then what people are used to seeing. Chris Stewart and Francisco Cervelli will handle the catching duties this season, while with Tex out Juan Rivera will hold down first, Cano is back at 2nd and is the best 2nd baseman in the game right now. With A-rod out the Yanks signed Kevin Youkilis and he will be holding down 3rd, with Eduardo Nunez playing for the injured Derek Jeter. Brennan Boesch, Brett Gardner, and Ichiro Suzuki make up the outfield, while Travis Hafner is the DH. New York's starting rotation is the same from last year, and the greatest closer of all time Mariano Rivera is back for his final big league season. Yes the Yankees aren't as much of a power hitting team from last year, but they are still the beasts of the East and will take the division.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
-Last year the Jays finished 73-89 and in 4th place in the East. This year might just be a different story. The birds from North of the Border have undergone a few changes since last season. J. P. Arencibia will hold down the everyday catching duties while Henry Blanco is his backup. Edwin Encarnacion, Emilio Bonifacio, Brett Lawrie, and Jose Reyes make up the rest of the Jays infield. Adam Lind is serving now as the DH but can switch back and fourth with Edwin Encarnacion at first base and DH. Melky Cabrera, Colby Rasmus, and Jose Bautista make up the Jays outfield and they have Rajai Davis as the utility outfielder. Last year the Toronto pitching staff was decent at best. This year their rotation has gone a step up with the Addition of R.A. Dickey. So now the Jays starting rotation looks like this: R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow, and J.A. Happ. It may not be the most effective rotation but it may be the most balanced. On paper, the only downside is the Jays don't have much of a bench, if any. Yes the offense and pitching staff has been retooled, but there isn't much worth anything else if any of their regulars get hurt.
3. Baltimore Orioles
-Last year Baltimore surprised everybody by finishing 2nd in the East at 93-69. This year Baltimore looks like they just might do it again. The Orioles did lose some pop in the lineup when Mark Reynolds left for the west coast, but the O's still have a pretty good lineup in tact from a season ago. Baltimore still boasts a pretty good infield of Matt Wieters, Chris Davis, Brian Roberts, Manny Machado , and J.J. Hardy. The outfield right now in Baltimore consists of Nate McLouth, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis, which was great for the O's a season ago. Baltimore boasts a starting rotation that consists of Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, and Jake Arrieta. Chen was the only O's starter who hit double digits in wins a year ago. Jim Johnson will be closing games in Baltimore this year. The problem with the O's is going to be their pitching staff. They have a good offensive ball club that is fairly obvious, but their starting rotation and bullpen are nothing really to write home about. Its ultimately that pitching staff that is going to keep them out of the playoffs. No doubt they will finish above 500 but it won't be a playoff birth this year.
4. Tampa Bay Rays
-Last season the Rays finished 90-72 and placed 3rd in the East. Nothing really changed between last season's club and this years. Jose Molina once again holds down the catching duties for the Rays, while the rest of the infield is made up of James Loney, Kelly Johnson, Evan Longoria, and Yunel Escobar. Ben Zobrist is set to be the utility man for the Rays, while Luke Scott is the DH. Matt Joyce, Desmond Jennings, and Ben Zobrist will be patroling the outfield down in Florida. David Price and Matt Moore head up the pitching staff. Tmapa doesn't seem to have the pitching as the rest of the division. Every body else in the division has gotten better, but the Rays kept the same lineup they had last year. Tampa is still a good club but its going to be an uphill club against an imporved Eastern division. They will be over 500 but slip just out of the playoff reach.
5. Boston Red Sox
-Last year Boston finished almost 30 games under 500 and it doesn't look much better in Red Sox Nation this year. Now to be fair to the Red Sox, this year won't be as horrible as last year, they have gotten a little better then last year's club. Boston isn't as great as it was a few years ago and are trying to rebuild. Stephen Drew and Shane Victorino have been added to bolster that lineup. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, and Will Middlebrooks comprise the rest of the Boston infield, the same infield that was thrown out there everyday last year. Jonny Gomes and Jacoby Ellsbury join Victorino in the Boston outfield. David Ortiz will once again be the DH. Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Ryan Dempster are the studs of the Boston Pitching staff. the Red Sox still have a decent team on the field don't get me wrong, but there isn't enough that I can see here that will be really competitive in as tough a division as this. Boston will be near the bottom again this year.
So that takes care of the AL East. Now lets look at the National League East.
1. Washington Nationals.
-Washington won the East last year and are looking to do it again this season,. Washington has managed to keep the lineup almost exactly the same they had from last year. The infield in DC will consist of Kurt Suzuki behind the plate, Adam LaRoche at first base, Danny Espinosa holds down 2nd base, Ryan Zimmerman holds down third, and Ian Desmond clogs up the middle at short stop. Bryce Harper, Denard Span, and Jayson Werth are going to be running down the fly balls in the outfield. As far as the Nats pitching staff is concerned it still looks the same with Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Dan Haren, and Ross Detwiler. Now most people remember that last season Strausburg had a limit on his innings and was shut down by the time the playoffs started. This year he is healthy, has no limit on his innings and will be ready to rock. Atlanta will make it close but the Nationals pull it out and take the division.
2. Atlanta Braves
-Last year Atlanta had a turn around year, finishing 2nd in the East with a 94-68 mark. Atlanta has had a few changes to its lineup since last year. Brian McCann will start off on the IR with an injury so Gerald Laird will be called apon to be the everyday catcher till McCann gets back. The infield this year looks a different without Eric Hinske, Lyle Overbay, and Chipper Jones all who left town. So now Atlanta has an infield that will have Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla, Juan Francisco, and Andrelton Simmons. The infield will look different then what fans are used to seeing in Atlanta, but it is still a very solid infield and will be very competitive this season. As for the outfield, they have lost the likes of Martin Prado, Michael Bourn, and Matt Diaz, however they have made up for it in a big way. The Braves outfield this season will consist of, Justin Upton, B.J. Upton, and Jason Heyward. That outfield may be one of the most lethal in all of baseball., Pitching, which has been well documented in the past, has been a strength of the Braves. Tim Hudson, Kris Medlen, Paul Maholm, Mike Minor, and Julio Teheran don't really scare people like the Braves rotation of the past. They are however very very good. With the team that the Braves have, they are going to really give the Nationals a run for the Division crown and will no doubt be a playoff team again.
3. Philadelphia Phillies
- Last season the Phillies had a drop off year, finishing 3rd at 81-81. Injuries really hampered the Phillies last season that sort of kept them down from the start of the year. Erik Kratz takes over as the everyday catcher replacing Carlos Ruiz and Brian Schneider, who had handled the catching duties the past few seasons in Philly. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Michael Young, and Jimmy Rollins make up the Phillies infield. Rollins will be healthy, and Howard and Utley are starting the year off healthy unlike last year. The Philly infield has taken a bit of a hit with losing talent from last year, but they are still good enough to scare opposing pitchers. Laynce Nix, Ben Revere, and Domonic Brown make up the Phillies outfield, which looks a LOT different from what they have had in the past few years. I'll give the Phillies credit, they do have a pretty good bench, but its the starters that are having me worries as to how good they will actually be. Pitching is still the strength of the Phillies, on paper at least. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, and John Lannan can still scare any opposing team with how lethal they are. Only problem with the Phillies is they have a weak pen and that is going ton hurt them. Philadelphia will be back over 500 this season but it won't be enough to get them into the playoffs.
4. New York Mets
-Last year the Mets finished 74-88, and once again had a tough go of it falling apart after the all-star break. The rotation of catchers the Mets had last season are all gone to different ball clubs. Josh Thole went to Toronto with RA Dickey in that trade with the Jays. So now the Mets have John Buck as the everyday catcher, and its an improvement because Buck is not only more reliable behind the plate but he can also hit better than any of the catchers the Mets used last year. Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, and Ruben Tejada make up the rest of the infield. With guys like Justin Turner, Mike Baxter and Jordany Valdespin, there are a few capable bats coming off the bench for the Mets. As for the outfield, there have been some big changes made as Jason Bay, Andres Torres, and Scott Hairston are all gone. Bay wasn't worth it, and Torres didn't work out so he is back with the Giants. Hairston though was a tough loss to take as he had been a good hitter, especially against left handed pitching. Now with those three guys out of the lineup, the Mets outfield is comprised of Lucas Duda, Collin Cowgill, and Marlon Byrd. That's not a bad outfield, but it isn't all that great either. Just the fact that Byrd and Cowgill are starting over the likes of Mike Baxter and Kirk Nieuwenhuis is a surprise. Both Baxter and Nieuwenhuis can hit compared to the other two, as far as I can tell. Now as far as the pitching staff goes, the Mets have taken a bit of a step backwards. RA Dickey is gone, as he was traded to Toronto over the winter, and Johan Santana is done for the year after having to undergo shoulder surgery. So with those two no longer factors, the Mets starting rotation will be comprised of Jonathon Niese, Matt Harvey, Dillon Gee, and Jeremy Hefner. The fifth starter in the rotation has yet to be named. Bobby Parnell is set as the closer as of now, while LaTroy Hawkins and Brandon Lyon have been added to try and bolster the pen. Yes the Mets have gotten better but I don't see them reaching the 500 mark yet as there are still too many holes on the club that need to be filled. I see yet another 4th place finish for the Mets and about 75 wins.
5. Miami Marlins
-Last year the Marlins finished in dead last with a 69-93 record. From last year to this year, the marlins have totally retooled their ball club. Rob Brantly, Casey Kotchman, Donovan Solano, Placido Polanco, and Adeiny Hechavarria comprise the infield and Juan Pierre, Justin Ruggiano, and Giancarlo Stanton make up the outfield. Stanton is by far the teams best hitter. Ricky Nolasco is the ace of the Miami pitching staff. The Marlins are the worst team in the division and will once again be in last place.
So there you have it. My predictions for the entire 2013 Major League Baseball season!
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