MLB Rankings: Very Early 2017 American League Rankings

15. Oakland Athletics

Looking at the Athletics’ depth chart is not for the faint of heart. Their pitching staff is truly bad. Not “they don’t have an ace or depth” bad. Legitimately horrible. That could change if Sonny Gray has another season similar to 2015, but even then the depth behind him is sparse. They could, however, see some help in the rotation from young pitchers Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas. Cotton is a legitimate prospect that some have picked as a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award this coming season. Montas likely isn’t ready for work in the rotation, but if you’re the Athletics why not give it a try?

Not only is the rotation horrendously bad, their bullpen is sorely lacking as well. Ryan Madson and his 3.62 ERA, 18.2% strikeout rate, 10.7% K-BB%, and 1.28 is the best asset in the bullpen. Liam Hendriks is projected to have as good of a season, if not better, than Madson but he isn’t ultra impressive either. According to Fangraphs depth charts, not a single Athletics reliever is going to get past even 0.6 fWAR in the coming season. Only three relievers project to get above the 0.4 mark. For comparison’s sake, the Indians have five players projected to rise above that mark.

On offense, the Athletics do have some fine pieces. Khris Davis absolutely mashed the ball last season for 42 home runs, a .277 ISO, and .831 OPS. Marcus Semien had yet another impressive season, slashing .238/.300/.435 with a precisely average wRC+ of 100. His power surge was the most shocking–hitting 27 home runs with a .197 ISO. Ryon Healy is surprisingly good, but has yet to prove himself for a full season in the majors. Rounding out the group of position players that are good is Stephen Vogt, who can hit and handle himself behind the plate.

Aside from those four players that are above average, the A’s have practically nothing. Their pitching is going to put them in tough situations to win, and the offense to provide that type of run support simply isn’t there. They have poor depth and poor pitching, and unlike the Angels, they don’t have a star player they can rely on. It’s going to be a long season for the Oakland Athletics, but there is some hope in the fact that they may get the top pick in the coming draft. If not, they’ll certainly be up high enough to possibly draft a future star.

14. Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are an incredibly weird team as presently constructed. They’ve clearly gone into rebuild mode with the trades of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton during the Winter Meetings. However, they’re taking their time trading off the rest of their assets. While it makes sense to hold out for the best offers from desperate teams, the White Sox are left with a strange roster mixed between solid veterans and below replacement level players.

The rotation currently isn’t all that horrible at the top, but the bottom is really bad. With Jose Quintana still on the team, they have an ace-type pitcher at the top. Behind him is young Carlos Rodon, who has a high ceiling future, and Miguel Gonzalez, who saw much success after leaving Baltimore. Then there is James Shields, who in an effort to eat up innings, may just give up 100 home runs. In the fifth spot they’ve got Derek Holland. If Holland can remain healthy, he’s fine enough in that role for a rebuilding team. That is, however, a big if. Beyond the original five, they’ve got little to no depth that’s ready for the big leagues. Carson Fulmer, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez could all get a shot in the rotation, but it may not be in the White Sox best interest to rush any of those three into the big leagues.

In the bullpen, Nate Jones and David Robertson remain a good pairing in the back end. However, there is much to be desired from the rest of the bullpen. Taking into consideration that Robertson and Jones may both be out the door relatively soon, the bullpen is set up to be really really bad.

The good news for the White Sox is that they do have some good position players, especially in the infield. Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie, acquired just a year ago will likely be trade bait. Jose Abreu has been an above average hitter in all three seasons of his MLB career. Tim Anderson is exciting at shortstop, and Yoan Moncada may see some time in the big leagues as well.

The bad news for the White Sox is that they have nobody to play center field, they’ll play Avisail Garcia for nearly every game, and they probably have no idea who to put at DH. That alone will make their offense even more dismal than it was a season ago.

This is all okay for the White Sox, because they’re clearly rebuilding. It will mean a better draft position, especially if they trade away quite a few players during the season. It also means that young players will be able to rise to the big leagues without the pressure of requiring immediate success. With that said, the White Sox are not good.

13. Los Angeles Angels

Give the Angels credit, because they have made themselves better this offseason. They added Cameron Maybin to the outfield, which gives them an outfield with three legitimate major league starters in Maybin, Trout, and Calhoun. They also added Danny Espinosa, who can handle himself quite well in the infield. Albert Pujols is aging, but still a Hall of Famer at the core of it.

The team is certainly improved from a season ago where they had a  74-88 record. It’s hard to put them this low on the list, but the two teams similar to them in the Twins and Rays have also made improvements. The Angels look ready to improve upon the disappointing 2016 season, but it’s unclear whether they’ll truly be able to take the next step and compete in a very tough division.

Their pitching staff was ripped to shreds last season by injuries. While Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano are both still recovering from Tommy John, Garrett Richards is likely to make a healthy return this season. Richards, unlike his rotation mates Heaney and Tropeano, decided to forego Tommy John surgery to repair his torn UCL. Instead he rehabbed the elbow and built up strength in the elbow. If he can remain healthy, he’s a very good top of the rotation starter. Matt Shoemaker is also capable at the top of the rotation. Outside of those two, though, there is much to be desired from the starting staff.

The bullpen also leaves a lot to be desired. Huston Street, currently slotted at closer, is projected to have a negative fWAR season. One pitcher, Cam Bedrosian, is projected to have a fWAR over 1.0. The rest of the bullpen isn’t expected to even get to 0.3 over the course of the season.

Improvements have been made on the offensive side by the Angels. They have the best player in baseball. And yet, their pitching will likely keep them from being competitive in a division that contains two or three of the top teams in the league. It remains a shame that Mike Trout may never see a postseason game again, unless he reaches free agency.

12. Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins shocked a lot of people in 2015 when they were the only team in the AL Central to give the Royals a run for their money. In the end, they were left on the outside looking in. However, it meant that there were heightened expectations for the 2016 season. The Twins quickly proved that they were not a team that was good enough to compete for the central crown when they got off to a truly horrible start to the 2016 season.

The outlook for 2017 isn’t all that much better, but it is somewhat improved. The Twins shook up their front office with some huge changes. Those changes led to the signing of Jason Castro and release of Trevor Plouffe. The Twins have certainly gotten better this offseason, but there’s a lot of room to grow. They’re not going to be the very worst in the league, but they’re still not close to reach the postseason.

Their group of hitters is actually quite good if things break right. Buxton’s newfound approach led him to have a great September that, if he continues, could make him an All-Star. Miguel Sano and Brian Dozier on the infield are more than capable at their respective positions. Joe Mauer is well beyond his prime, but is still projected to produce 1.2 fWAR during the coming season. They don’t have a single hitter that’s going to blow people away (unless Buxton gets there), but they have a balanced attack. That alone can be valuable.

Where they truly struggle is in their pitching staff. It appears that they believe that some of the struggles during the past season were due to Kurt Suzuki’s poor framing ability. They’ve attempted to fix that by signing a very good framer in Jason Castro. But even Jason Castro can’t fully fix this Twins staff.

There is truly not a single pitcher on the Twins staff to be excited about. Ervin Santana is expected to have a good season, but nothing spectacular. Hector Santiago was woefully disappointing after the Twins traded for him at the deadline last season. A year ago Trevor May was expected to breakout, but now there’s injury concerns and he simply hasn’t produced what has been expected.

Even if the Twins get increased production from hitters like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, and Brian Dozier it wouldn’t move the needle much for their 2017 chances. They simply don’t have the pitching to compete with other teams. While they don’t appear to be tanking, losing quite a few games in a weak division can have its draft benefits. The Twins do still have some talent left in the farm system, but the cupboards are basically empty.

11. Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a thoroughly confusing team. At first glance they seem very bad. After another look, it seems as though maybe they have an outside shot at competing for a playoff spot. Then a third look is taken and they’re back to being bad. They’re a perplexing team, and if they make any moves to sell away players it could get even more confusing.

There have been a multitude of Chris Archer rumors this offseason, but it appears as though the Rays want a greater return than the White Sox received for Chris Sale. If that is the case, it’s very unlikely that Archer is moved anytime soon. The good news for the Rays is that he’s a very capable starting pitcher and bonafide ace. His 2016 season was disappointing in some ways, but his DRA of 2.92 indicates that he’s due for a much better season in 2017.

Outside of Archer, the Rays don’t have a whole lot starting pitching wise. Jake Odorizzi and Blake Snell are somewhat useful, but in the current rotation they would be relied on to carry a lot of weight. They simply aren’t capable of doing that. Odorizzi and Snell, two pitchers that serve better as 4th or 5th starters, being at the top of the rotation means that the guys behind them are even worse. The rotation isn’t going to be completely lost, but there’s some concern there.

In the field, the Rays have some of the most exciting and lovable players in Evan Longoria, Logan Forsythe, and Kevin Kiermaier. The Rays sorely missed Kiermaier during his extended absence last season, but even in the games he played they were below .500. One of, if not both, Longoria and Forsythe may be out the door in the near future in a trade for prospects.

The Rays have a need for prospects because they’ve been one of the worst drafting teams in the past 5 years. They have a legitimate pitching prospect in Brett Honeywell, but aside from him there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about. Perhaps it would be wise to flip some of their aging players for young talent while their value is still high.

As the team currently stands, it’s certainly not a playoff team. It seems highly unlikely that they’ll even reach the .500 mark on the season. With a ton of tough opponents within the division, it is seeming very likely that the Rays will be on the outside looking in once again. It’s hard to blame the Rays for struggling as a small-market team in a division full of big spenders. However, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, and they haven’t found a way to counter the payrolls that exist within their division. Drafting well would certainly help, and they’ll be in that top group of picks once again this season.

10. Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals have been a nearly unsolvable puzzle since they made a run to the postseason in 2014. Things got more complicated when they then reached Game 7 of the World Series that same season. Then they continued to win in 2015 on their way to a World Series Championship, and it was all very confusing. In 2016, it seemed as though people were finally on the Kansas City hype train. Then they absolutely crumbled and missed the postseason.

Their fall down to earth was mostly brought about by failure to have good pitching. They signed Ian Kennedy to shore up the rotation, but he was no better than any of the others in the group. Edinson Volquez and Yordano Ventura didn’t particularly impress. One big name that appeared in 2016 was Danny Duffy. He had a great season, posting a 3.51 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

If Duffy can stay on the same level in the coming season, he’s a very good pitcher at the top of that rotation. Volquez has been lost to free agency. Ventura and Kennedy very well may improve, but even a slight improvement would leave much to be desired from the Royals staff.

Another conundrum is what exactly the Royals are doing with their bullpen. Wade Davis was lost for a portion of the season with an injury, but was still one of the best relievers in the game. The Royals recently traded him to the Cubs. Just one of the dominant HDH group is left on the team in Kelvin Herrera. Herrera is still an elite reliever, but losing the depth of Davis is painful and confusing.

The Royals did gain Jorge Soler in that trade, who they will likely use to complete an outfield that already had Alex Gordon in left and Lorenzo Cain in center. That’s an upgrade over Paulo Orlando no doubt. Their infield remains familiar with Mike Moustakas coming back from injury, Eric Hosmer at first, and Alcides Escobar at shortstop. The movement from everyday starter to utility role for Whit Merrifield should make him much more valuable in short spurts as well. In reality, the Royals group of hitters can compete with even some of the best teams in the American League.

The true problem for the Royals lies in, as mentioned before, the starting pitching. In years past the Royals were able to rely on a bullpen that shutdown opposing teams starting in the 7th inning. They won’t have quite the same luxury this coming season. That means more pressure on the rotation, which is already lacking in talent. With that said, the Royals are in the top 10 of American League teams. It’s not a great chance, but they do have an outside shot at surprising people once again and making the postseason. If not, they may look to trade away some of their stars on expiring contracts at the deadline.

9. Detroit Tigers

Another American League Central team residing near the bottom. This makes them the highest ranking non-Indians team coming in at just number nine. What that means is that the division is incredibly weak this coming season. While that’s certainly good news for the Indians, it may also be good news for a team like the Tigers that could bank wins in hopes of securing a Wild Card spot.

The Tigers, unlike the teams already listed, have a rotation with two top of the rotation guys at the top. Justin Verlander had a rejuvenation in 2016 that almost won him his second Cy Young award. Michael Fulmer had a fantastic start to the season and performed well enough the rest of the way to win the AL Rookie of the Year. Those two are a bona fide 1-2 punch.

The problem the Tigers have is filling in the rotation after Verlander and Fulmer. Zimmerman and Norris can handle themselves in general, but they aren’t incredibly reliable. However, the weaknesses of Zimmerman and Norris can be compensated for by the dominance that exists at the top of the rotation. The fifth starter role is a bit up in the air for the Tigers. It seems as though Anibal Sanchez should be there at the start of the season. However, they used him to some success in the bullpen last season and may opt to continue that strategy.

Having Francisco Rodriguez as the closer isn’t amazing but it could be a whole lot worse. He’s aging, but he still put up a 3.24 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Nobody else in the bullpen is all that exciting. On the other hand, there isn’t a single pitcher that stands out as really bad. The bullpen certainly isn’t going to greatly hurt the Tigers, but it won’t be bailing them out either.

The main issue for the Tigers is that they are aging so quickly. They attempted to slow that aging down by signing a young Justin Upton a year ago, but that signing failed miserably. Upton could comeback with a good 2017 season, of course, but he has disappointed so far. Miguel Cabrera has been working hard this offseason, but even hard work can’t stop the power of age. Ian Kinsler was great last season, but maybe the Dodgers get on the phone and give the Tigers an offer they can’t refuse.

Despite all the negative aspects on the team, this is a team that could very well sneak into the playoffs. They won’t have the same level of competition within their division that teams in both the east and west would have. Their main core of players is aging, but are still good enough to give the postseason one more real shot. With that said, they’re still just barely outside the main group of contenders in the league.

8. Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles shocked a lot of people when they held the lead in the American League West for a good portion of the season. In the end they fell into a Wild Card spot and lost to their divisional rival Blue Jays. However, the same team that was able to reach the postseason a year ago is basically in tact.

The main change to the team is that the Orioles are unlikely to sign either Matt Wieters or Mark Trumbo. Wieters didn’t have a great season (88 wRC+), but losing a player in a position like catcher can be difficult to overcome. The Orioles did, however, replace him with Welington Castillo who was slightly better offensively (92 wRC+) but still not great. Mark Trumbo is essentially a slightly worse version of the guy the Orioles gave big money to a season ago in Chris Davis. Surely they’ll miss the 47 dingers he hit, but they’re making the right move to let him walk with the future in mind.

Manny Machado is a legitimate top tier player, which always helps to have on the squad. Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop qualify as above average players as well. Otherwise the position group is pretty thin, but not overly harmful to team quality. They don’t have a single player that’s going to be sub-replacement or hurt them significantly as a black hole. That’s always a significant factor in being a postseason team.

The Orioles bullpen is quite good. They have Zach Britton as the closer, who had a historically great 0.54 ERA season a year ago. Along with Britton, the Orioles have Brad Brach and Dylan Bundy that have performed well recently. Darren O’Day and Mychal Givens are both projected have nearly 1.0 win seasons according to fangraphs as well. It’s a group that is strong at the top, but well-balanced and good throughout. It’s not on par with the Indians, but it’s good enough to sneak them a few wins.

For as good as the bullpen is, the rotation is truly lacking. Kevin Gausman is the only reliable starter in the bunch. Ubaldo Jimenez had a great second half of the season, but he’s been rocky for the past couple seasons. Wade Miley had a 16.2% HR/FB percentage last season, which meant that he spent a majority of his time looking up at the sky and wondering why.

The sum of the parts is a team that is basically mediocre. They have some excellent players in each of the key areas, but not enough depth to fill in around them. Even while they were atop the AL East, it seemed as though the regression monster would rear his ugly head. It seems as though there’s no way they can compete with the powerhouses in the division once again. It is worth noting, however, that the Orioles have the best record over the past five seasons, going 444-366 during that time. They haven’t had one fully bad season since 2011. Maybe that means that they once again compete for a spot in the postseason. Maybe it just means that they’re due for a bad season.

7. New York Yankees

The most shocking thing about the 2016 Yankees was that they were in the playoff race until the last few weeks of the season. Despite selling away assets at the deadline, the influence of young players on the team kept them in the hunt. Now they’ve re-added Aroldis Chapman to the team and their young talent is a year older.

Gary Sanchez was a huge reason why the Yankees were able to surge so heavily in the second half of the season. He’s likely to continue to hit well, but there’s almost no way that he’ll keep the same pace that he did during the final couple of months in 2016. However, with the McCann trade it’s clear that the reigns have been handed over to him as the starting catcher.

Despite being thought of as somewhat of a rebuilding team because of the recent trades they’ve made, they’re sneaky good. They might even be good enough to make the postseason. Their rotation isn’t anything to scoff at, especially if Michael Pineda is somehow ever able to tap into his potential. Masahiro Tanaka had a sneakily great season last year, and if he is able to replicate that he may be a Cy Young contender in the coming season. CC Sabathia looked resurgent last season as well before he got injured. If healthy, the Yankees starting rotation is certainly good enough to bear the load of the season while keeping the team competitive.

The bullpen is going to be very good once again. With Chapman rejoining the team, Dellin Betances moves back to a more comfortable setup role. Those two alone will make the bullpen great because they can lock down the final two innings with little to no problem. After them, there is a lot of mediocrity that won’t move the needle too far one way or the other.

Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, and Didi Gregorius are still young and should only improve on the seasons they had a season ago. Bird was injured last season, but was very good before his injury. An appearance from recently acquired Clint Frazier is also imminent, which could provide a boost similar to the one they got from Gary Sanchez last season. If things break right for the Yankees, they could be a shocking Wild Card team. But because there is so much volatility in the team, they still fall just below the upper tier of teams.

6. Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have made a ton of moves, but there hasn’t been a whole lot of improvement in the roster. With that said, the team was within reach of a postseason spot last season. They could be in a similar frustrating position this coming season where their roster isn’t quite good enough to reach the postseason but there also isn’t much to get excited about in the future. They have, however, made moves that can help them get a few more wins.

The two main additions have been Mitch Haniger, who will be in right field, and Jarrod Dyson, who is slotted in left. That alone has improved their outfield defense greatly. The problem that many have pointed out is that outfield defense isn’t much help at all if balls are flying over their heads. That brings us to the odd pitching conundrum on the Mariners.

Their healthy rotation has five capable starters that could be good enough to push the Mariners into the postseason. The problem that remains is keeping those pitchers healthy. James Paxton is capable of being the ace in the rotation, but he’s never risen above the 120 inning mark. Hisashi Iwakuma was the only pitcher that even qualified as a starter last year, and he posted a 4.12 ERA. As a middle rotation starter, that’s valuable. Instead, the Mariners relied on him to be one of their top pitchers.

Felix Hernandez has been declining for a couple years now, but if he could hold on and have a good season that would be especially beneficial. Yovani Gallardo and Drew Smyly are new additions, and they do provide an upgrade over what the Mariners had there a season ago. They are, however, both starters with many questions about consistency and ability to keep the ball in the park.

As far as position players go, the Mariners have quite a good group. The outfield is much improved, as mentioned above. The infield has two of the best players at their respective positions in Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano. The Danny Valencia and Dan Vogelbach platoon at first base is likely to be very successful, especially if the latter hits some dingers.

The Mariners were on the outside looking in once again last season. They haven’t made the playoffs since their magical 2001 season. This isn’t a perfect team by any means, but it may be their best shot at finally reaching the postseason once again. They would, however, need a lot to go their way. For that reason, they’re lucky to even be ranked above the Yankees.

5. Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have back to back ALCS appearances, but not much to show for it. After their 2015 loss to the Royals in that round, they lost David Price to free agency. Now they have lost Edwin Encarnacion and, most likely, Jose Bautista to free agency. It seems like they would have difficulties competing after losing such meaningful players. In some ways that is true. However, the Blue Jays are in a very similar situation as they were a season ago.

They’re not quite good enough to win the division over the Boston powerhouse, but they’re still looking like a playoff team. Their biggest strength still has some level of uncertainty. That area of strength is their starting rotation. Last year they had both J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez have great seasons.

Marcus Stroman went into the year as the assumed ace, but he struggled. If Sanchez and Happ can hold on to the season they had in 2016, and Stroman goes back to being a potential ace they’ll be in great shape. Marco Estrada also had good stretches during the 2016 season, and he could easily improve in the coming season as well. Liriano is another candidate for improvement in 2017. With that said, there is a ton of uncertainty about these pitchers actually keeping up with the types of seasons they had a year ago.

If the rotation holds tight, the Blue Jays still do have some of the same main position players. The key one is former MVP Josh Donaldson, who is still the best third baseman in the American League. Troy Tulowitzki is aging quickly, but he’s still above average at the position. Losing two power hitting players in both right field and DH hurts, but the Jays did add Kendrys Morales to the roster.

The biggest concern for the Blue Jays may be their bullpen, because it is so dependent on a single player. Roberto Osuna is a great closer, but beyond him they don’t have a single other pitcher that’s reliable. It’s been good enough to keep them in the hunt in recent years, but they will likely have less offensive help this coming season.

The Blue Jays are hard to count out at this point. The past two seasons have made them one of the best teams in the league. If they do in fact lose both Encarnacion and Bautista, things are much worse for them. If their rotation continues to impress, they’re likely a playoff team. Like a lot of the teams in the middle ground of the American League, they could very easily go one way or another.

4. Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers had a really great regular season a year ago. The Rangers also had an unreasonably great record in one run games. Many rightfully assume that they are headed for regression. At the heart of it, the Rangers are the same team as they were a season ago. They lost Derek Holland, but he didn’t factor into the 2016 season at all anyway.

Beltran was lost to free agency and their cross-state rivals, but Carlos Gomez was signed back to play centerfield. Other position players like Adrian Beltre, Jonathan Lucroy, and Rougned Odor will carry the play. The Rangers do have some good youth in both Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar, but the former struggled down the stretch and the latter is yet to really give the Rangers what they want from him. Joey Gallo may also see some time at DH, but his strikeout issues continue and his home run rate hasn’t been nearly good enough to compensate. Elvis Andrus also holds his own at shortstop.

The rotation is a bit top heavy with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. If both of them can remain healthy, they provide a solid 1-2 punch. The most recent Rangers addition is Tyson Ross, who like his rotation mates, must first overcome the inability to play a full season. Andrew Cashner and Martin Perez are slotted in the other two rotation spots, and neither of them is going to blow you away with their talent.

The bullpen is relatively the same as a season ago. Which is, to say, very inconsistent but at times very good. Matt Bush is predicted to be the best in the group, but this is only his second full season. The back end of the bullpen contains Diekman, Jeffress, and Dyson but none of those is truly capable of being a reliable closer. This may be the greatest point of weakness on the team. It is probably going to be the area of the team that catches the most blame when their record in close games quickly regresses. It’ll be slightly unfair, but the bullpen remains an issue regardless.

The Rangers won 95 games last season. It doesn’t seem likely at all that they will match that record this coming season. They do, however, still have a very good core in place. That alone should push them into the postseason. However, they’re still in the group of American League teams that’s tough to figure out. They’re at the top of those confusing teams because of their 2016 record, but they might just end up on the outside looking in.

3. Houston Astros

It seemed as though everyone in the baseball world thought the Astros would be a very good team in 2016. Instead, they weren’t even able to reach the postseason. That was mostly due to regression from their top pitchers and a few injuries along the way. They have since added Carlos Beltran, Josh Reddick, and Brian McCann to the team.

The majority of the hype around the Astros is because of their incredible young talent. Players like Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and George Springer were crucial to the team’s success in 2015. Those same players have only gotten better with the more time they’ve seen in the big leagues. Now the Astros have the luxury of adding another top prospect in Alex Bregman to the squad full-time.

For as good as their crew of position players is, their pitching staff is what takes them from top of the league to fringe playoff contender. They’re most likely going to reach the postseason, but if they are unable to do so it would again be due to their lack of pitching. The good news is that Texas and Seattle both have struggling pitching staffs as well.

In the rotation, the Astros have a former Cy Young winner at the top with Dallas Keuchel. However, his 2016 season was extremely disappointing. Both Lance McCullers and Collin McHugh project to be passable mid rotation starters, but they too had disappointing 2016 seasons. The bottom line is that a bounce back season is needed from practically every single starter on the staff. Charlie Morton was dded to the roster, and he should be a passable fifth starter if the Astros choose to make no other moves. The Astros would, however, be greatly helped by trading for Jose Quintana or even signing Jason Hammel.

In the bullpen, the Astros don’t have a lot of recognizable names. This is the case for most bullpens. However, they’ve actually built quite a good group. Ken Giles, Luke Gregerson, and Will Harris will take on the majority of late inning appearances. In Michael Feliz, the Astros have a very interesting and talented young bullpen arm. He had a 35.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% BB% but saw his ERA rise up to a nasty 4.43 mark. The same kind of good peripheral stats/bad results combination is common in the Astros bullpen. Perhaps that means that they’re set up for a good amount of success in the coming season.

If everything comes together for the Astros, they have a shot at being the best team in the league. Things hardly ever break right, though. What makes the Astros so high on this list is that even if things go wrong, they have some solid players to rely on. The chances that Bregman, Correa, Keuchel, and Altuve all stumble at the same time is slim. That’s why they’re the current favorite to win the west. If they were to go out and get a starting pitcher, their World Series chances would greatly increase.

2. Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians were just a few runs away from a World Series Championship last season. They have kept most of the team intact. The one notable player they lost was Mike Napoli, whom they have replaced with Edwin Encarnacion. Their players returning from injury basically act as roster additions as well. That would include Michael Brantley, Danny Salazar, and Carlos Carrasco.

Not many expected the Indians to be very successful last season. The emergence of Jose Ramirez and Tyler Naquin as above average everyday players was key to that success. They must repeat that same type of performance in the coming season. Up the middle the Indians have Lindor and Kipnis, which is one of the best middle infield pairings in the league. The outfield is still up in the air in some ways, but the return of Brantley should clear things up a little. If Naquin, Chisenhall, and Guyer can all play like they did a season ago, they should be in good shape.

The pitching staff is outrageously good. Not just the rotation but the bullpen as well. That is the Indians greatest strength, and that is what will carry them into and through the postseason. For starters they have Corey Kluber at the top of their rotation, who may very well win the Cy Young award in 2017. Then they have Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer in the middle. All three of those pitchers is incredibly reliable, especially after the good season and postseason that Bauer had.

The Indians bullpen was above average at the start of the season, but the addition of Andrew Miller at the deadline pushed them to the top of the American League. With Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen, and Andrew Miller in the back end of the bullpen they have a bullpen as good as any we’ve seen since, well, not that long ago. Their division rival Royals had something similar just a couple years ago, and it brought them a great amount of success.

There’s not a single pitching staff that can compete with the Indians. They have some holes offensively and in the field, but the key factor is that none of those players is going to impact the team very negatively. Their pitching will carry them, but their offense will be good too. This is a team improved from where they were a season ago. That means there’s only success in the future of the Cleveland baseball club. They very well could be the best team in the American League in 2017.

1. Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox seem to be favored by almost everybody to be the best team in the American League, and possibly in all of baseball. They made the move of the offseason by trading away four prospects, including Yoan Moncada, to get Chris Sale from the White Sox. It was a move that immediately shot their rotation to the top of the league rankings. The Red Sox do, however, still have some remaining issues to be resolved.

Let’s start off with that impressive rotation. It’s headlined by two of the best starters in the game right now, David Price and Chris Sale. Neither pitcher had an insanely good ERA last year, but their DRAs of 2.90 and 2.69 respectively seem to indicate that a good season is coming for the pair. Naturally they will see that run average increase slightly because of the ballpark they play in, but their defense might also help to level it out.

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After Sale and Price the Red Sox have the pitcher who just won the American League Cy Young in Rick Porcello. The rotation is finished out by Eduardo Rodriguez, who is still young and improving each season, and Drew Pomeranz, who had an up and down 2016 season. If one of the bottom of the rotation starters fails or gets injured, the Red Sox have knuckleballing Steven Wright and prospect Henry Owens ready to step in at any time. It’s a rotation that has both the strength at the top and the depth needed to last an entire season.

As exciting as the Red Sox rotation is, the position players are even more exciting. Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts are both players that could see an MVP in their future, unless, of course, Mike Trout continues to exist. The outfield next to Betts contains All-Star Jackie Bradley Jr. and possible 2017 Rookie of the Year Andrew Benintendi.

Where the questions arise is at the corners of the infield. Pablo Sandoval appears to be in better shape than he was a year ago, but he remains a mystery. AT first base, the Red Sox still have Hanley Ramirez. However, they have lost David Ortiz, which brings the need for a DH or first base type player. That’s why the Red Sox acquired Mitch Moreland. The obvious issue here is that Mitch Moreland is not half the offensive player that David Ortiz was. Add on that at catcher they have Sandy Leon, who had a shockingly good season in 2016. If that continues, they’re in good shape. The likelihood of him having continued success, however, remains small.

Next: Dodgers Searching for Second Baseman

The issues at a couple key positions may be enough to knock the Red Sox below the Indians. What isn’t in question is that the Red Sox are by far the best team in the east. They will almost certainly make the postseason. From there, their pitching staff will need to step up in a way they didn’t a year ago. The addition of Chris Sale may help a whole lot in that area.