Our 2012 MLB preview places the eyeball on the best players by position in each division. Find out how the AL Central shakes out and don’t forget to check out our MLB Preview Center.
Infield
Justin Verlander & Alex Avila
C – Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers – Carlos Santana is on the come up but Avila was the All-Star in 2011 and there is no reason to believe it was a fluke. The 25-year old with the short, powerful stroke from the left side hit .295 with 19 homers and 82 RBI’s a year ago.
1B – Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers – Last year, this honor went to Miguel Cabrera, now it goes to his newest teammate. Switching from the NL to the AL should pose little problem for one of the game’s great power hitters. Hitting behind Cabrera could lead to a 130-RBI season.
2B – Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians – The talent at 2nd base in the AL Central is downright laughable. Kipnis wins out over Gordon Beckham, Alexi Casilla, Johnny Giavotella, and the trio of Ramon Santiago, Ryan Raburn, and Brandon Inge. Kipnis has potential, and here, that’s enough.
SS – Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians – Alexei Ramirez and Jhonny Peralta are hot on his heels but the big season turned in by Cabrera in ’11 puts him on top of this list. Will he ever repeat his 25-homer, 92-RBI season? It’s doubtful, but at just 26-years old, why not?
3B – Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers – Cabrera is the best right-handed hitter in the American League not named Albert Pujols. And he might be better than Albert. He’s trimmed down and is going to give 3rd base a shot. One thing that isn’t in question is that he will mash on AL Central pitchers all summer long and threaten his 2nd straight batting crown.
Outfield
Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals – Gordon’s breakout season (.303 avg., 23 homers, 87 RBI’s, 17 steals) coincided nicely with the youth movement in KC. As important as his numbers are, his leadership will be relied on just as much. The Royals need another big season from Gordon.
Jeff Francouer, Kansas City Royals – Frenchy has found his place with the Royals. Like Gordon, and even more so, he is a veteran presence that keeps the young guys loose. Hitting .285 with 20 bombs, 22 steals, and 87 RBI’s doesn’t hurt either.
Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers – Boesch gets the nod over teammate Austin Jackson simply because of his offensive prowess. Boesch, hitting 2nd for the Tigers in 2012, is in line for a huge season.
Pitchers
Starters
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers – MVP, Cy Young, bla bla bla. Verlander is the safest bet in the American League to rack up 230 innings, 240 K’s, and 20 wins. He is the face of the Tigers, and at 29-years old, is still in his prime.
Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers – Scherzer fought his mechanics a little bit last year and it cost him some bad outings, which tainted his year-end stats. When he is right, he is as lethal as anybody. Entering his 4th full season as a starter in the big leagues, and at just 27-years old, he has unlimited potential.
Doug Fister, Detroit Tigers – Starting to catch the Detroit Tigers theme here? That’s because the rest of the AL Central is weak. Fister went from good with Seattle to ridiculous with Detroit. He’s only 28 and with a huge offense backing him up, could rack up 17 wins with ease.
Justin Masterson, Cleveland Indians – Masterson is special against righties and if he can find an out pitch against lefties, he will be an All-Star. Only now entering his prime, he has the makeup and repertoire to take the next step.
Bruce Chen, Kansas City Royals – Chen has won 12 games for the scuffling Royals each of the past 2 seasons. His patience and willingness to re-sign has been rewarded with one of the most exciting young offenses in baseball. He’ll need to provide stability to a shaky starting rotation, and he will.
Closer
Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers – And one more Tiger makes the list. Going 49 for 49 in save opportunities is difficult to ignore. The dynamic presence of Valverde on the diamond and in the locker room brings just the right mix to Jim Leyland’s team.
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About Joe White
I really agree with these rankings! Tigers have the best team on paper by far, and even non-Tigers fans should be able to admit that. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Raburn ends as the best second baseman at the end of the year, but Scherzer scares me!
No DH?
Joe Mauer not the catcher? Guy was hurt 1 year. How many batting titles does Alex Aliva have again? Who ever made this list really is just looking at a 1 year snap shot. Must be an intern:)
Who is the writer of this bias. Any moron could see he is a tigers fan. There is no way the Aliva is best catcher in the Central He isn’t even the 2nd best. The Best is Mauer followed by Santana. And he needs to include the player’s defense aswell as their offense. That would knock his Fielder and Cabrera off their spots. And for the outfield. Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, Josh Willingham and Denard Span are all better the Boesch
The tigers have to do better at leadoff and 8 and 9 hitters and middle relief.
Gimme Konerko at 1B coming off maybe his best two seasons in a remarkably consistent superstar-level career, especially if ANYONE else in his lineup bothers to step up this year (I’m expecting Dunn & Rios to be much closer to normal). And swap in any of your other final candidates over Masterson and Scherzer. I’m not really sold on either one yet. Love the Bruce Chen choice though.
Where the hell are all the Twins?
Funny
only one who belongs on the list is Mauer
I hear ya Matt. I can’t stand Chen but winning 12 games 2 years in a row as bad as KC has been the past 2 years is very impressive.
Bruce Chen? Rididulous.
Speak the truth Tice! I love the Royals roster too. Fielder’s track record wins out over Hosmer at this point, and we generally weren’t mentioning the guys who didn’t make the list. I can’t wait to see what they do as an offense. Good times in KC.
For you to not even mention Hosmer at first base is a shame. Time will tell that Hosmer will have a bigger impact in the division than Fielder. Fielder is not as good defensively as Hosmer. Hosmer is a five tool player and Fielder isn’t. I don’t see Fielder stealing too many bases. Hosmer has than in his tool belt as well. I’d rather have Hosmer over Fielder any day of the week. The Royals lineup will be more potent than Detroits as well with Gordon, Butler, Frenchy, Hosmer, Moustakas and when he heals up, Perez. All of them can hit for average and power. The rest of the lineup won’t hit for power necessarily, but they can get some timely hits. This includes Gio/Betancourt, Escobar and now Cain. This lineup will be nightmarish for pitchers to face.
you honestly think the royals lineup will be more potent than the Tigers? The Tigers won the division by how many games last year? And only got better this year!
Good to know on Giavotella. Hopefully he figures it out.
Johnny Giovatella’s defense lags the rest of the field. The talk around KC, He may end up in Omaha to start the season.
I respect your opinion. Best way to tell will be checking back in 6 months from now. Boesch has a cannon too and will hit for higher average. Should be a fun development to watch between the two.
I have to disagree willingham has the arm and offensive edge over boesch. the only edge I see for boesch is his age.
The Twins always surprise me. Last year was the first time it went the other way though. Willingham was considered but Boesch is a more complete player and should have a monster season.
Also considered Baker for the 5th rotation spot. Mauer was obviously considered too but Avila was the head of the class last year. Mauer could quickly change that though.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
perhaps Josh Willingham outfield???????? Boesch has never proved he can be a factor for a whole season.. Not impressed
twins might surprise ya
TIGERS TIGERS TIGERS…World Series here we come!!!!
Giavotella was in the running, it was between the two. Kipnis is generally rated higher so I went that route. Tough call.
The last pitchers in consideration were Floyd, Danks, and Baker.
Johnny Giovatella belongs at the top of the 2b list- the kid can play
other than that i tend to agree with you. At first when i saw all the tigers pitchers in there, i thought u were getting a bit homer on me, but then i tried to think of other good pitchers in the AL central…… pretty bad