2012 Detroit Tigers Preview

Posted on March 21, 2012 by yortko

Well after a few days off, a few spring training games, and a little rest on my brain, I am very excited to preview the 2012 American League Central Champion Detroit Tigers….I know I may be jumping the gun a little early, but hey….who we kidding here? The Tigers are the elite team in the Central division and will run away with the title! Manager Jim Leyland was quoted as saying “It should be a fun year”, well no kidding….the fact that they have one of the most feared lineups in the Majors, an arsenal in their pitching and one hell of a closer! Lets take a look at the off season moves the Tigers did this past winter. (more…)

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis, Fantasy | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

2012 Cleveland Indians Preview

Posted on March 16, 2012 by yortko

Well after a few days of watching some Spring Training baseball, I’m back to preview the 2nd place finishers in the American League Central…the Cleveland Indians. Like I’ve said all along in my Central division previews, it’s going to be a crap shoot for the final four spots in the division behind the Detroit Tigers.

The Indians seem like they are the most suited to finish higher than Kansas City, Minnesota and Chicago. They had a busy off season, only loosing a couple guys but adding quite a few. Cleveland has a pretty decent lineup with the likes of Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo and a few others. Their pitching rotation isn’t great but its not bad which includes Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson and Roberto Hernandez (Fausto Carmona). Cleveland is a low budget team who is trying to be competitive, like the Twins or White Sox, and if things work out they should be competitive for years to come. I believe the Cleveland Indians will finish the 2012 MLB season with a record of 82W-80L.

PLAYERS ADDED:

(more…)

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis, Fantasy | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

2012 Kansas City Royals Preview

Posted on March 13, 2012 by yortko

I’m back with another preview for the 2012 American League Central division and I believe the Kansas City Royals will finish 3rd in the division. They will finish, in my opinion, no more than 5 wins ahead of the Minnesota Twins. Kansas City will finish in 2012 with a record of 73W-89L to finish slightly ahead of the Twinkies.

Like I’ve said all along while previewing this division….it’s going to be very close between four teams and the Detroit Tigers are going to run away with the division! The Royals have been, and are, really starting to look like an exciting ball club. The youth that the Royals have been grooming in the minors is starting to pay off at the big level. They have an exciting lineup for the most part with the likes of Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas and a guy who seems he’s been there forever in 25 year old Billy Butler.

If Kansas City can keep all of this young talent in their lineup for years to come we could see a Championship arriving in Kansas City at some point in the near future. The only thing that Kansas City lacks, and hurts, is the fact they don’t have any starting pitchers. We all know in double-A and triple-A that they have guys coming, but as of today…not much for pitching, so if they can manage to put a lot of runs on the board they will win. If they get held to two or fewer runs/per game…they’re screwed. Let’s have a look at what the Royals did this off season. (more…)

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis, Fantasy | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

2012 Minnesota Twins Preview

Posted on March 9, 2012 by yortko

Hi there baseball fans, my name is Troy Kocur, I believe I am the only Canadian writer for mlbdirt.com, I will be previewing different teams during Spring Training and giving you the readers where I think certain teams will finish in the standings, and how certain players will perform. I hope that you enjoy the articles that I put on here. The reason I started with the Twins is that they are a team that is due to do better but with so much uncertainty around the ball club it makes for an interesting topic to talk about! So here we go.

I believe that the Minnesota Twins will finish 4th in the American League Central. My reasoning for me saying that is……Which Joe Mauer will show up for the Twins this year? Will Justin Morneau get over the 2 year concussion problems? Is Matt Capps the right answer for the closer role? Will Alexi Casilla be the primary SS all year for the Twinkies? The answer to all of these questions will be answered over the season, but like I said there is a lot of uncertainty in the ball club. I believe the race between 3rd and 4th place in the division will be within 2 games. I project that the Minnesota Twins have a record of 71W-91L. Let’s have a look at what the Twins did this off-season.

(more…)

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis, Fantasy | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,694 other followers