Following up on the NL Central Review...It would help if some of you guys listed your depth charts
Yankees
Starting Line Up
C - Mike Napoli
CI - Prince Fielder
CI - Miguel Cabrera
MI - Rickie Weeks
MI - Howard Kendrik
OF - Matt Holliday
OF - Josh Reddick
OF - Michael Cuddyer
UT - Dayan Viciedo
Rotation
SP - King Felix
SP - CC
SP - Anibal Sanchez
SP - Phil Hughes
SP - Jeff Niemann
Analysis - What's parity? Coming in with a thunderous 220 million dollar payroll, the Yankees roll deep with a sick line up, and two Aces.
What Could Happen: This team could go undefeated, although it is not likely, it is still a possibility. They have an absurdly deep line up built on 2 of the premiere power hitters in the league, and have 2 top 5 aces.
What Needs To Happen: Nothing really. They aren't the deepest of teams meaning they will need production from Viciedo, Cuddyer, and Reddick. Napoli needs to maintain his 2011 self and both MIs, as well as Holliday, need to stay on the field.
What Will Happen: The Yanks should win the AL East, which is a rather difficult division, but they are not without faults. They have some very expensive injury concerns in their line-up, and a top heavy roster.
Blue Jays
C - VMart
CI - Travis Hafner/Jesus Guzman
CI - Larry Jones/ Brett Wallace
MI - Ruben Tejada
MI - Brian Roberts
OF - Abreu
OF - Mike Morse
OF - John Jay
UT - Reimold/ Extra CIs
Rotation
SP - Tim Hudson
SP - Erik Bedard
SP - Jeff Francis
SP - Chen Ming Wang
SP - Aaron Harang
SP - Javiar Vazquez/Josh Tomlin/Chris Narveson
Analysis - GM Daniel took the Jays to the series last year, surprising many fellow FGM members. Daniel always manages to find value in places that most of us miss.
What Could Happen: The Jays are the Cardinals of the AL. A very solid, very deep team, that just gets it done. Daniel could compete for another title again, or age and regression could finally catch up to his team.
What Team Needs To Happen: Chipper, Pronk, VMart, Abreu, and Brian Roberts need to fight off father time for yet another season. John Jay, Jesus Guzman, and Mike Morse need to prove that 2011 wasn't a fluke because no one saw that kind of production coming from those guys.
What Will Happen: The Jays will be a solid team once again but for how long is the question. The minors are a little thin, and the regulars are getting a bit long in the tooth.
Red Sox
Starting Line Up
C - Miguel Montero
CI - Daniel Murphy
CI - Aubrey Huff
MI - Dustin Ackley
MI - Yunel Escobar
OF - David DeJesus
OF - Dexter Fowler
OF -
UT - Mark Ellis
Rotation
SP - Gavin Floyd
SP - Luke Hochevar
SP - Brandon Beachy
SP - Cory Luebke
SP - Edwin Jackson
SP - Vance Worley
Analysis - The Sawx had a mildly successful season that petered out towards the end due to a lack of bats. They currently have a nice crop of young affordable pitchers but could really use a bell cow(looking at you Mike B) in the line up, like they had with MCab who is now playing for their division rival.
What Could Happen: With the proper money spent in free agency the Sox could be very successful. As the roster currently stands they cannot compete in their division.
What Needs To Happen: Without the addition of a big bat or two through free agency, Jeff will need to get creative. 2010 Aubrey Huff needs to play, Daniel Murphy needs to start in real life, David DeJesus needs to get his swing back. Ackley and Fowler will need to repeat their back half of 2011 stats.
What Will Happen: The Sawx will be a moderately successful team, finishing somewhere 3rd or 4th in the division with about a .500 record. However Jeff has shown in the past to never count him out.
Devil Rays
Starting Line Up
C - Buster Posey
CI - Brett Lawrie
CI - Evan Longoria
MI - Johnny G
MI - S.Rod
OF - Ichiro
OF - Matt Joyce
OF - Trayvon Robinson/ Ryan Ludwick
UT - Lavarnway
Rotation
SP - Matt Moore
SP - Bud Norris
SP - Joe Saunders
SP - Wade Davis
SP - Jacob Turner/Jarrod Parker (sometime in 2012)
Analysis: The Rays had a disappointing season in 2010. The roster received almost a complete overhaul.
What Could Happen: With the Longo/Lawrie/Posey trifecta anything can happen. Add to that the corpse of Ichiro, and the man with Jesus's left arm, Matt Moore, you cannot count Tampa Bay out.
What Need To Happen: A lot. The above mentioned trifecta is enough to get most GMs jealous, but outside of that this is a team in waiting. Come 2013 it will be a different story once the pitching arrives, and Lavarnway, Trayvon, Lawrie, and Johnny G. work out the kinks of being new to the league.
What Will Happen: The Rays will finish either just ahead or just behind the Red Sox, but the future is mighty bright.
Orioles
I would like to preface this next team with a bit of explanation. Shooter took over a crap team and loaded it with prospects with high ceilings, and pretty much had no one garnering points in 2011. He now has two very good pieces in Ells and AsCab, but lacks a lot after that. So I give you the 2014 Baltimore Orioles.
C - Austin Romine
CI - Mike Olt
CI - Miguel Sano
MI - AsCab
MI - ?
OF - Ellsbury
OF - Myers
OF - ?
UT - Rendon
SP - Chris Sale
SP - Shelby Miller
SP - Allan Webster
SP - Manny Banuelos
SP -
2012 is not going to pretty in Baltimore, but Shooter has done an excellent job assembling a team that will be competitive in the very near future if scouting reports are to be believed. I commend Shooter for staying the course, and I am very interested to see what he does in free agency with his available money.
Halloween