For Cleveland, the southside of Chicago and perhaps Minnesota in 2022, it was about meeting goals that have been established since around the COVID epidemic. For Detroit and Kansas City, it was about creating goals and building foundations. Cleveland would win the Central by 11 games in the end, but Chicago made it interesting halfway through.
2023 will be completely new chapter in the book of the AL Central. All five of these clubs have just hit a different era in their history, or are about to. A great prelude into what will be one of the most competitive divisions of the 2020’s.
Chicago White Sox
When ex-Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol became Chicago’s 42nd manager in its long history, he also became the 3rd manager for Chicago within the last calendar year. After the La Russa experiment went awry in the midst of quite a bit of expectations, the club went in a different approach going with a rival’s coaching staff member.
One thing for certain is he will not be without a lack of talent to work with in the southside. Despite losing former MVP Jose Abreu, there’s plenty of talent and still a TON of pop.
Eloy Jimenez, the team’s leader in OPS in 2022, got a whole year older and a whole lot better. Now being the primary engine for run production, he will have to play more games in 2023 than the 84 he played in 2022 in order to maximize the lineup’s potential. His bat, however, has enough for the flirt with 100+ RBIs by seasons end if he plays north of 130.
The same case can be made for the other two big names in the lineup, Tim Anderson and Luis Robert. Both of them playing under 100 games in 2022, it can be very frustrating for fans and club alike to have your top talent being unable to be in the lineup everyday.
Chicago’s young ace Dylan Cease will try to replicate his unreal 11.1 K per 9 innings in 2022 into the upcoming season. A superb 2.20 ERA to go with that earned Dylan a 2nd place Cy Young finish and will head into 2023 as the front runner for the award. Backed also by one of the strongest bullpens in the entire league, led by closer Liam Hendricks.
It’s a team that can possibly lose their best hitter, and still improve on their 81-81 record, proving the top young talent shows durability, the solid supporting cast doing its part, and a reliable pitching staff, Chicago has it all to be in the division race from start to finish.
2023 Projected Finish: 3rd Place
Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland’s 2nd half of 2022 had people questioning if Houston was really the best team in the American League. Going 46-26 after the break, the Guardians would break apart from the rest of the division, and by September 1st, already had the AL Central title locked up. Sweeping the rays in the Wild Card Series and taking the Yankees to 5 games in the ALDS didn’t earn them a title, but certainly earned the respect from the league that this team made a serious leap forward.
Terry Francona’s going to have an abundance of talent on this squad get even better in 2023.
J-Ram will rake and torment pitchers all year, but it’s this growing talent underneath him that might set this team apart from the rest. 23-year-old Andres Gimenez can make a claim for most underrated player in baseball after his 2022 campaign. Unravel his .837 OPS and you’ll find 17 bombs, 69 RBIs, 146 hits in as many games played, and flirted with a .300 average all year. Top of the order catalyst stuff is expected from the young 2nd baseman.
Josh Naylor and Franmil Reyes have enough light tower power to provide plenty of RBI production, Naylor coming off his first 20 HR performance of his young career.
Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario were borderline hitting machines in 2022 and can only improve from their 2022 performances, both in the top 20 in hits in the AL.
Righty Shane Bieber dropped a hefty 200 innings worth of ace stuff last year, and can very well one up the innings, and produce a lower era than the 2.28 he posted. He might have the best run support he’ll ever have in 2023 as well.
The young arms under him in the rotation have their own unique ways of pitching at a top level. From the pitch to contact styles of Plesac and Civale, to the filthy swing and miss stuff from Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill, each of them able to give a quality start every time they toe the slab. add Emmanuel Clase’s 100 MPH cutter and you have yourself a doozie of a pitching staff.
Things are brewing in Cleveland. Young, talented, already proven they can win. The hard part of building this squad is done. The rest is sitting back and watching it unfold. The AL Central Title is theirs to lose at this point.
2023 Projected Finish: 1st Place
Detroit Tigers
It’s been a Dark Ages of sorts for the Tigers. A frustrating 2022 season saw Detroit sit near the bottom of the division for yet another year. A lineup that struggled immensely, with only one player with 100+ games played while putting up an OPS over .700 in platoon catcher Eric Haase. One player.
The focus was on struggling shortstop Javier Baez. After signing his big six-year deal with the club, it was soon met with a dreadful start out of the 2022 gate for the former World Series champ. Along with his performance, the team suffered as well. Amassing a whole one day of being over.500 the entire season.
Awful lot of negatives here, but are there positives heading into 2023 for these Tigers?
There absolutely is, and they come in the form of top young talents that should see regular everyday playing time. Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene will be the forefront of the next era for this club. How AJ Hinch will utilize them in the lineup is yet to be seen, but projections have them being the main sources of run support for this team for the decade.
Akil Baddoo will be another prospect that AJ Hinch will have to figure out where he works best. Plenty of speed, pop and plate discipline. WIth more experience under his belt already than the other prospects, there’s a good chance he could have a major workload this year.
Mid-season acquisition Austin Meadows has gone on stretches of seeing it like a beach ball in his career, and soon to be entering his “prime” at 27, Austin could prove to be an X-factor for this lineup, again, depending on how AJ Hinch constructs this lineup.
While the pitching wasn’t immaculate last year, it was far from the worst. Plenty of potential in young sinkerballer Tarik Skubal. The lefty led the team in innings pitched and ERA among starters (177.2, 3.52) as well as strikeouts (117).
The big money ace Eduardo Rodriguez had a spat with injuries for a chunk of 2022. Lots of pressure on him to live up to the numbers on that contract and churn out his first quality season in Detroit.
Miguel Cabrera’s farewell tour might be the spotlight over the course of the season, but the real attention will be on the Greenes, Torkelsons and Baddoos to make a jump forward. As well as where the sturdiness in the pitching staff will originate from. Expectations aren’t high, but they’re about to be built.
2023 Projected Finish: 4th Place
Kansas City Royals
Manager Mike Matheny’s first year in charge in Kansas City in 2020 was a difficult one handling COVID and a struggling club at the same time. Alright, he gets a pass there. 2021, aside from Salvador Perez’s monster year, was an 88-loss 4th place finish. Granted it was a rebuilding year for them as it was for half the league after the worst part of COVID, but there was little to be excited about the progress.
2022 was a step in the wrong direction though. Losing 97 games, dead last in the Central, and their only hitter that came anywhere close to hitting .300 in Andrew Benintendi (.320) has departed the club after the season.
2023 can either like be Mike Matheny’s last season managing in Kansas City, or they flirt with .500 baseball and show this team has identity.
It’s no surprise Bobby Witt Jr. will be the kid looked on to carry Kansas City on through the decade as the main piece. 5-tool potential. No one doubts he can do it. The doubts are in the rest of the lineup. How will they use Bobby? who’s going to be on base for him to drive in? or who’s going to be the bat to drive him in? A situation that likely makes or breaks Matheny’s year right there.
Second baseman Nicky Lopez has shown flashes of reliability for base hits but will have to make that more of a frequency to give this lineup a pure slap hitter to lean on.
Veteran catcher and “de facto leader” of The Royals, Salvador Perez, will be asked again as the primary source of power for the lineup. He absolutely can rake still, but at what point do you give him another big bat behind him to take a bit off of him? It seems after Soler left, those big ol’ shoes have yet to be filled.
Brady Singer has been a lone bright spot on an otherwise dismal starting rotation. Being the only starter with a winning record in 2022, Singer went 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. A miniscule 35 walks in 153.1 innings with an 8.8 K per 9 is a lot to build on and look forward to.
Every other pitcher with 100+ innings not named Grienke in 2022 posted an ERA over 5.00. That simply must improve before this team is to make any progress, no matter who’s in the lineup.
Matheny has his hands full. A team without a star in his 3rd tenure. The Royals must at least aim to avoid a back-to-back last place finish. They have a great young kid to build around. Resources are needed to build however, and where Matheny’s going to get those, will be the main story of the season.
2023 Projected Finish: 5th Place
Minnesota Twins
There might not be a team more bitter at the COVID epidemic than the Minnesota Twins. Rocco Baldelli’s first year in charge in Minnesota churned out 101 wins and even in the shorted 2020 season, they would go 36-24 and a second straight AL Central title. Despite how those postseasons went, the spark was back in Target Field.
2021 saw the Twins make a serious step back, failing to manage a winning record among all the expectation. Following up with a 2022 season playing sub .500 baseball, the hype is gone, as well as Carlos Correa, and new goals need to be set.
It’s not without a lack of talent here. Home of the best pure hitter in the league and has the hardware to prove it. Luis Arraez hit a solid .316 in 2022 and took home the years batting title. That bat of his will be absolutely immense heading into this season. With no Correa and Gio Urshela this year, him along with second baseman and veteran Twin Jorge Polanco will be asked to take on a bigger workload at the top of the lineup.
Outfielder Byron Buxton is a thrill to watch. The problem is, we don’t usually see him for 162 games. His durability is another huge factor for this club this year. A supreme fielder with light tower power and wonderful speed. The only thing stopping him is his health.
First Baseman Jose Miranda seemed to appear out of nowhere and give the lineup a source of pop. The 24-year-old hit 15 bombs and 66 RBIs and will most likely improve upon that.
The pitching staffs a little more complex. Joe Ryan emerged as the rotation’s best pitcher. Was that in the plans? We may never know. 13-8 with a 3.55 and 151 Ks wasn’t too shabby however, and will be top of the rotation 2023
Sonny Gray went 8-5 with a decent 3.08. A bigger workload may be asked of him as well though.
This is also a team that quite unusually did not have one pitcher with more than 10 saves in 2022. While the bullpen wasn’t lights out, it wasn’t horrible either. A shutdown closer doesn’t ever hurt, but this unorthodox system will be spotlighted by the Minnesota fans as the year unfolds.
This team can explode. positively or negatively. They have plenty of hitting to contend with anyone, it’s more a question of durability. They’re pitching can maintain, but is that enough? Lots of questions, a little bit of pressure, and a division that they had in their hands 2 years ago waiting to be retaken.
