American League Central Midseason Review
July 18th 2009 15:04
While the American League Central lacks a truly great team, they do have three teams above .500 that should be fighting hard for the division title in the second half: the Tigers, White Sox, and Twins. They also have two of the worst teams in the league, the Royals and Indians.
Standings
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox 3.5 GB
Minnesota Twins 4 GB
Kansas City Royals 11.5 GB
Cleveland Indians 13.5 GB
Playoff Contenders
Detroit Tigers
Strength: Starting pitching. The Detroit Tigers got an outstanding performance from their starting rotation in the first half. Edwin Jackson led the way with a 2.52 ERA finally living up to the promise he showed as a 19-year-old in 2003. Justin Verlander was the wins leader at 10-4 with a solid 3.38 ERA and a dominant 10.96 K/9. Rick Porcello provided a serviceable 4.14 ERA over 87 innings. As the top prospect in the organization and a potential future ace, Porcello should only improve over the second half. The bottom two spots in the rotation have provided less than stellar results, as Bonderman and Willis were ineffective before going on the DL, and Armando Galarraga posted a 5.09 ERA. However, Lucas French has come up big with 3 strong July starts.
Weakness: Hitting. The Tigers have had one of the most miserable hitting performances of the year. Miguel Cabrera has been the most valuable at the plate, though not as good as his years in Florida. Brandon Inge's power and improved OBP have been a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, Curtis Granderson has taken a step back this year, and Ramon Santiago, Placido Polanco, Gerald Laird, Magglio Ordonez, Josh Anderson, Carlos Guillen, and Adam Everett have been worthless at the plate. With all those drains on the offense, average at bats by Marcus Thames, Ryan Raburn, and Clete Thomas are a futile attempt to salvage this offense.
Chicago White Sox
Strength: Bullpen depth. The White Sox lack a guy who has been dominant out of the pen, but they have had solid performances from top to bottom. Jenks, Carrasco, Thornton, and Dotel have all thrown over 30 innings with ERAs in the 3.00s. In addition, Scott Linebrink has a 2.41 ERA in over 30 innings. Throw in Aaron Poreda's 11 innings of a 1.64 ERA and this bullpen goes 6 deep with reliable relievers.
Weakness: Hitting. The White Sox have had a comparable offensive performance to that of the Tigers. Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, and Paul Konerko have all provided strong offense at positions that require offensive production, but the rest of the teams at bats have gone to below-average hitters. Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski, and Scott Podsednik have delivered the definition of average in over 900 plate appearances. Beckham, Getz, Nix, and Quentin were unable to make their mark on the lineup. Josh Fields, Brian Anderson, and Dewayne Wise have all done their best to sabotage the offense with the ABs they have been given.
Minnesota Twins
Strength: Standout Performers. Although they are currently at third in the division, they are arguably the best team in the division. They have been pulled along thus far by standout performers on offense, in the rotation, and in the bullpen. As for offense, Joe Mauer has been the best hitter in the AL at a weak-hitting position, Morneau has been crushing the ball and getting on base at a high rate, Jason Kubel has added power to his game, and Michael Cuddyer has been solid as well. In the rotation, Nick Blackburn has been the clear ace, with a 3.06 ERA. His success in the big leagues is somewhat surprising, due to an underwhelming 3.94 K/9. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the second half. The bullpen has been full of standouts, starting with closer Joe Nathan and his 1.27 ERA. He has been supported by Matt Guerrier (2.40 ERA), Jose Mijares (1.84), Bob Keppel (0.63), and R.A. Dickey (3.25).
Weakness: Too many at bats to guys who can't hit. For a team that boasts the best hitter in the league and former MVP Justin Morneau, they have given over 1000 plate appearances to players that may not belong in major league lineups. Among these are Nick Punto (223 PA/.542 OPS), Carlos Gomez (208/.670), Delmon Young (202/.636), Matt Tolbert (153/.497), Alexi Casilla (125/.451), Brian Buscher (123/.660), and Mike Redmond (98/.587). For comparison, teammate Denard Span, who is not exactly an offensive juggernaut, has an OPS of .765. That is about 100 points better than the best of the previous group (By the way, Joe Mauer's OPS is 1.060, which is more than Tolbert's added with Casilla's.).
Standings
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox 3.5 GB
Minnesota Twins 4 GB
Kansas City Royals 11.5 GB
Cleveland Indians 13.5 GB
Playoff Contenders
Detroit Tigers
Strength: Starting pitching. The Detroit Tigers got an outstanding performance from their starting rotation in the first half. Edwin Jackson led the way with a 2.52 ERA finally living up to the promise he showed as a 19-year-old in 2003. Justin Verlander was the wins leader at 10-4 with a solid 3.38 ERA and a dominant 10.96 K/9. Rick Porcello provided a serviceable 4.14 ERA over 87 innings. As the top prospect in the organization and a potential future ace, Porcello should only improve over the second half. The bottom two spots in the rotation have provided less than stellar results, as Bonderman and Willis were ineffective before going on the DL, and Armando Galarraga posted a 5.09 ERA. However, Lucas French has come up big with 3 strong July starts.
Weakness: Hitting. The Tigers have had one of the most miserable hitting performances of the year. Miguel Cabrera has been the most valuable at the plate, though not as good as his years in Florida. Brandon Inge's power and improved OBP have been a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, Curtis Granderson has taken a step back this year, and Ramon Santiago, Placido Polanco, Gerald Laird, Magglio Ordonez, Josh Anderson, Carlos Guillen, and Adam Everett have been worthless at the plate. With all those drains on the offense, average at bats by Marcus Thames, Ryan Raburn, and Clete Thomas are a futile attempt to salvage this offense.
Chicago White Sox
Strength: Bullpen depth. The White Sox lack a guy who has been dominant out of the pen, but they have had solid performances from top to bottom. Jenks, Carrasco, Thornton, and Dotel have all thrown over 30 innings with ERAs in the 3.00s. In addition, Scott Linebrink has a 2.41 ERA in over 30 innings. Throw in Aaron Poreda's 11 innings of a 1.64 ERA and this bullpen goes 6 deep with reliable relievers.
Weakness: Hitting. The White Sox have had a comparable offensive performance to that of the Tigers. Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, and Paul Konerko have all provided strong offense at positions that require offensive production, but the rest of the teams at bats have gone to below-average hitters. Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski, and Scott Podsednik have delivered the definition of average in over 900 plate appearances. Beckham, Getz, Nix, and Quentin were unable to make their mark on the lineup. Josh Fields, Brian Anderson, and Dewayne Wise have all done their best to sabotage the offense with the ABs they have been given.
Minnesota Twins
Strength: Standout Performers. Although they are currently at third in the division, they are arguably the best team in the division. They have been pulled along thus far by standout performers on offense, in the rotation, and in the bullpen. As for offense, Joe Mauer has been the best hitter in the AL at a weak-hitting position, Morneau has been crushing the ball and getting on base at a high rate, Jason Kubel has added power to his game, and Michael Cuddyer has been solid as well. In the rotation, Nick Blackburn has been the clear ace, with a 3.06 ERA. His success in the big leagues is somewhat surprising, due to an underwhelming 3.94 K/9. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the second half. The bullpen has been full of standouts, starting with closer Joe Nathan and his 1.27 ERA. He has been supported by Matt Guerrier (2.40 ERA), Jose Mijares (1.84), Bob Keppel (0.63), and R.A. Dickey (3.25).
Weakness: Too many at bats to guys who can't hit. For a team that boasts the best hitter in the league and former MVP Justin Morneau, they have given over 1000 plate appearances to players that may not belong in major league lineups. Among these are Nick Punto (223 PA/.542 OPS), Carlos Gomez (208/.670), Delmon Young (202/.636), Matt Tolbert (153/.497), Alexi Casilla (125/.451), Brian Buscher (123/.660), and Mike Redmond (98/.587). For comparison, teammate Denard Span, who is not exactly an offensive juggernaut, has an OPS of .765. That is about 100 points better than the best of the previous group (By the way, Joe Mauer's OPS is 1.060, which is more than Tolbert's added with Casilla's.).
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