MLB2020: American League Preview

Before the Covid-19 virus came and blew up all of our lives, I had completed four of six MLB Offseason Moves articles. I decided to wait on the AL East and NL West (the two remaining divisions) because I was unsure that the season would even happen. Now just three days away from Opening Night, I'll recap the American League offseasons (providing more detail on the AL East being that I never wrote them an article) and give my predictions for the 2020 playoffs.

P.S. If you have not drafted yet for fantasy baseball, checkout my preview articles:

• Catchers

• First Base/DH

• Second Base

• Third Base

• Shortstop

• Outfielders

• Relief Pitchers

• Starting Pitchers

AL EAST

I never got to my AL East offseason breakdown, so I'll go into a little more detail for this division.

5. Baltimore Orioles (manager: Brandon Hyde)

• Notable Additions: Jose Iglesias (SS), Wade LeBlanc (SP), Tommy Milone (SP)

• Notable Losses: Dylan Bundy (SP), Jonathan Villar (SS/2B/3B)

The ongoing rebuild will continue in Baltimore, with little-to-no effort by general management in free agency. The O's will let their youth play, and sort out which are major leaguers and which aren't. Notable fantasy names are SP John Means, closer hopeful Hunter Harvey, 1B/DH Renato Nunez, 2B Hanser Alberto, OF's Austin Hays and Anthony Santander. Oh and by the way, rising slugger Trey Mancini is out for the season as he recovers from colon cancer.

2020 Predicted Record: 18-42

4. Boston Red Sox (manager: Ron Roenicke)

• Notable Additions: Alex Verdugo (OF), Kevin Pillar (CF), Martin Perez (SP), Jose Peraza (2B/SS), Trevor Hildenberger (RP), Jonathan Lucroy (C)

• Notable Losses: Mookie Betts (OF), David Price (SP), Rick Porcello (SP), Brock Holt (UTIL), Tyler Thornburg (RP), Sandy Leon (C), Sam Travis (1B/OF)

This re-construction period is just beginning, especially with Chris Sale out for the season. Mookie Betts and David Price were the first casualties of a new era in Boston under GM Chaim Bloom. The franchise had to get under the luxury tax, and to do it they had to be extremely frugal this offseason. The Red Sox 2020 roster has suffered in-turn. The lineup still packs a punch, with J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts at the heart of it, but the pitching staff looks worse than ever. Nathan Eovaldi is currently the number one starter with Eduardo Rodriguez delayed in camp due to covid. Martin Perez is next on the depth chart and the bullpen is somehow worse.

2020 Predicted Record: 24-36

3. Toronto Blue Jays (manager: Charlie Montoyo)

• Notable Additions: Hyun-Jin Ryu (SP), Chase Anderson (SP), Tanner Roark (SP), Travis Shaw (1B/3B/2B), Shun Yamaguchi (RP), Justin Miller (RP), Joe Panik (2B)

• Notable Losses: Justin Smoak (1B), Yangervis Solarte (3B), Ryan Tepera (RP), Derek Law (RP)

The Blue Jays had themselves a nice offseason to pair with their young core of hitters (aside from Canada telling the ball club that they will have to play their home games in Buffalo this season). Focused on pitching, Toronto brought in three new starters plus Shun Yamaguchi who should help the bullpen. Ryu is the big signing coming off his Cy Young bid, but questions remain on whether the breaking ball pitcher can repeat his 2019 output. Don't forget prospect Anthony Kay either, the starter was acquired from the Mets in the Marcus Stroman deal last season. This team will only go as far as their "legacy" core however, led by a recognizable group of last names (Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.). If not for an extremely rough schedule in the Eastern region, they would probably finish above .500. EDIT: The new playoff format has the Jays sneaking in the final spot.

2020 Predicted Record: 30-30 - Wildcard 5

2. Tampa Bay Rays (manager: Kevin Cash)

• Notable Additions: Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (DH/OF), Hunter Renfroe (OF), Jose Martinez (DH), Manuel Margot (CF), Dylan Covey (SP/RP), Aaron Loup (RP)

• Notable Losses: Avisail Garcia (OF), Emilio Pagan (RP), Tommy Pham (CF), Matt Duffy (3B), Travis D'Arnaud (C), Eric Sogard (2B), Jesus Aguilar (1B), Austin Pruitt (RP/SP)

The delayed start may have killed the Rays more than any other team, simply because the New York Yankees were vulnerable back in April due to many injuries. Now the Yanks are healthy and close to unstoppable on paper. Still, Tampa is a solidly built team in their own right. They have starting pitching (Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow), young bats (Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz), solid bullpen arms (Nick Anderson, Diego Castillo, Jose Alvarado) and more bench depth than the majority of the league.

2020 Predicted Record: 36-24 - Wildcard 1

The New York Yankees will be back-to-back AL East Champions in 2020. Photo: Bronx Pinstripes

1. New York Yankees (manager: Aaron Boone) - AL EAST CHAMP

• Notable Additions: Gerrit Cole (SP), Dan Otero (RP), Luis Avilan (RP), Chris Ianetta (C)

• Notable Losses: Edwin Encarnacion (DH), Dellin Betances (RP), Didi Gregorius (SS), Austin Romine (C), Cameron Maybin (CF), Nestor Cortes (RP), Greg Bird (1B)

The odds-on favorite for AL Champion before the covid delays is still the favorite to make the World Series, maybe even more so now that Aaron Judge, James Paxton and Giancarlo Stanton are all healthy. The Bronx Bombers actually lost much more than they gained last Winter, but one move out-shined all the others, the signing of Gerrit Cole. The Yanks have a stacked lineup from top to bottom and one of the best all-around bullpens in baseball, all they really needed was a dominant ace to headline their rotation, and (although Luis Severino is out for the year) now they have it.

2020 Predicted Record: 41-19

AL CENTRAL

• My AL Central Offseason Moves Article from March

The 60-game season could change the landscape of this division, which should be a three-team race. Originally, I didn't think any team could withstand the depth of the Minnesota Twins over the course of the full 162. With additions like Josh Donaldson, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Tyler Clippard (paired with few losses outside of C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop), the Twins are still the likely candidate to repeat as division champs. They have a brutish lineup and a revamped pitching staff that I would probably rank second in the Central, behind Cleveland. Speaking of the Indians, they are the team that the sprint could help the most. With a rotation that includes Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and a healthy Mike Clevinger, Cleveland could pitch their way back to the top. The bullpen isn't bad either, with younger arms like James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase falling in behind Brad Hand. The issue for the Indians is depth, on both the pitching and hitting fronts (an important factor with the looming threat of positive tests). Then there's everyone's favorite 2020 dark horse, the Chicago White Sox. Chicago has a fantastic mix of prospects and veterans. Their lineup might actually rival the Twins; Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion and Nomar Mazara join Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez and Tim Anderson, plus rookies Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal (should be called up soon). Their rotation and bullpen are far less spectacular, relying heavily on big years from Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel and Dylan Cease among others. My biggest fear is that this new roster doesn't have enough time to gel. To win in baseball, you need to feed off each other. It's a team sport where success builds on itself, or collapses. Because of that factor and overall depth, I'm going to stick with my initial prediction and take Minnesota to repeat in 2020. Here are my predicted standings:

The Minnesota Twins will also repeat as AL Central Champions again in 2020. Photo: Twins Daily

1. Minnesota Twins (37-23)

2. Cleveland Indians (34-26) - up one from 3rd place prediction in March, Wildcard 2

3. Chicago White Sox (31-29) - down one from 2nd place prediction in March, Wildcard 4

4. Kansas City Royals (24-36)

5. Detroit Tigers (21-39)

AL WEST

• My AL West Offseason Moves Article from March

The AL West has become really interesting now that the season is 60 games. My original pick for 2020 champ was the Oakland Athletics, but that was a risky prediction over the longer schedule. I have to say, I love that pick twice as much now. The A's are built around pitching with more depth on that side of the equation than most teams in baseball. The rotation includes Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, A.J. Puk, Mike Fiers and Jesus Luzardo (once his arm is stretched out). The bullpen is even deeper, with pitchers like Liam Hendriks, Yusmeiro Petit, Lou Trivino, Jake Diekman and Joakim Soria. The core of this lineup has also been together for some time now under experienced manager Bob Melvin. Last season Marcus Semien was an MVP candidate, but third baseman Matt Chapman could easily become one this year. The top competition for Oakland is still the juggernaut of recent seasons in the West, the Houston Astros. While the Astros lineup still tops the A's, unless they all regress without the help of sign-stealing, the pitching scares me. Gerrit Cole's absence will be accounted for with a full season of Zack Greinke, but with Wade Miley also gone and prospect Jose Urquidy out to start the year, there are a lot of questions behind Houston's top two aces. Lance McCullers Jr. (has not pitched since 2018)? Joshua James (more success as a reliever)? Brad Peacock, Framber Valdez, Forrest Whitley (in minors)? This pales in comparison to Oakland. I've heard some fresh takes that this is finally the Los Angeles Angels year. A short schedule could be just what Mike Trout and company need to finally win the division. After all, they did add Anthony Rendon, Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran. Any bullpen headlined by Hansel Robles is a disaster though, and the rotation is not much better. Griffin Canning and Andrew Heaney support Ohtani, Bundy and Teheran, an average five at best, and one that has injury warts. Aged stars like Albert Pujols and Justin Upton don't impress me either. The final team that might have a chance is the Texas Rangers. I got to say the Rangers odds definitely improve over a 60-game stretch. They have the depth and pop to go on a hot streak, plus a veteran rotation that could get the job done over a shorter period. Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles all join Lance Lynn and Mike Minor to make up a refurbished group of starters. I don't like this bullpen, but if manager Chris Woodward can balance the platoons in his lineup card with success, I really think Texas could be a tougher out than people think. Here are my revised 2020 projections:

The Oakland Athletics have not won the AL West since 2013, but this is their year. Photo: Jason O. Watson, Getty Images

1. Oakland Athletics (36-24)

2. Houston Astros (33-27) - Wildcard 3

3. Texas Rangers (29-31) - up one spot from 4th place prediction in March

4. Los Angeles Angels (28-32) - down one spot from 3rd place prediction in March

5. Seattle Mariners (20-40)

PLAYOFFS

Best of 3 Round- (8) Toronto Blue Jays @ (1) New York Yankees, Yankees Win

(7) Chicago White Sox @ (2) Minnesota Twins, Twins Win

(6) Houston Astros @ (3) Oakland Athletics, Athletics Win

(5) Cleveland Indians @ (4) Tampa Bay Rays, Indians Win

Divisional Series- (5) Cleveland Indians @ (1) New York Yankees, Yankees Win

(3) Oakland Athletics @ (2) Minnesota Twins, Athletics Win

Championship Series- Oakland Athletics @ New York Yankees, Athletics Win

The Oakland A's represent the American League in the World Series for the first time since 1990, on the backs of their tremendous pitching staff and role-player fueled lineup. Bob Melvin is a candidate for manager of the year again and Matt Chapman is an MVP finalist. Khris Davis and Matt Olson also have bounce-back seasons and rank high on the home run leaderboard, while Jesus Luzardo takes home the AL Rookie of the Year honors. In the playoffs, the A's pair small-ball with dominant bullpen usage (following their young aces) to beat the Astros, Twins and Yankees, silencing three powerful offenses.