MLB Division Preview: Will the Royals’ AL Central Dominance Continue?
April 17, 2016
This is the fifth of six divisional previews from Impact 89FM, stay tuned for the rest of the previews throughout the opening week of the MLB season.
The American League Central, home to the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals. The Royals will try to defend their trophy, but they will have to beat out the likes of the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox, who both made a number of notable moves at the trade deadline and in the offseason.
Zachary Swiecicki, Zach Barnes, and Will Thiede talk about what could be the most competitive division in baseball. Impact 89FM is located in Michigan, so they do go in-depth on the Tigers (7:28) as well.
After winning the Central four years in a row, Detroit fell to last place in one of the weakest years for the division. The entire 2015 division standings are below.
Team | W | L | W-L% | GB |
Kansas City Royals | 95 | 67 | 0.586 | — |
Minnesota Twins | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 12.0 |
Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | 0.503 | 13.5 |
Chicago White Sox | 76 | 86 | 0.469 | 19.0 |
Detroit Tigers | 74 | 87 | 0.460 | 20.5 |
This year’s AL Central is anyone’s for the taking.
Our 2016 AL Central Projected Standings.
*American League lineups will be include the designated hitter*
1. Detroit Tigers
Rotation
1 | Justin Verlander |
2 | Anibal Sanchez |
3 | Jordan Zimmerman |
4 | Mike Pelfrey |
5 | Shane Greene |
Opening Day Lineup
2B | Ian Kinsler |
LF | Justin Upton |
1B | Miguel Cabrera |
DH | Victor Martinez |
RF | J.D. Martinez |
3B | Nick Castellanos |
C | James McCann |
SS | Jose Iglesias |
CF | Anthony Gose |
2. Kansas Royals
Rotation
1 | Edinson Volquez |
2 | Chris Young |
3 | Kris Medlen |
4 | Yordano Ventura |
5 | Ian Kennedy |
Opening Day Lineup
SS | Alcides Escobar |
3B | Mike Moustakas |
CF | Lorenzo Cain |
1B | Eric Hosmer |
DH | Kendrys Morales |
LF | Alex Gordon |
C | Salvador Perez |
2B | Omar Infante |
RF | Reymond Fuentes |
3. Chicago White Sox
Rotation
1 | Chris Sale |
2 | Jose Quintana |
3 | Carlos Rodon |
4 | Matt Latos |
5 | John Danks |
Opening Day Lineup
RF | Adam Eaton |
SS | Jimmy Rollins |
1B | Jose Abreu |
3B | Todd Frazier |
LF | Melky Cabrera |
DH | Avisail Garcia |
2B | Brett Lawrie |
C | Dioner Navarro |
CF | Austin Jackson |
4. Cleveland Indians
Rotation
1 | Corey Kluber |
2 | Carlos Carrasco |
3 | Danny Salazar |
4 | Cody Anderson |
5 | Josh Tomlin |
Opening Day Lineup
CF | Rajai Davis |
2B | Jason Kipnis |
SS | Francisco Lindor |
1B | Mike Napoli |
DH | Carlos Santana |
C | Yan Gomes |
LF | Marlon Byrd |
3B | Juan Uribe |
RF | Collin Cowgill |
5. Minnesota Twins
Rotation
1 | Ervin Santana |
2 | Kyle Gibson |
3 | Phil Hughes |
4 | Tommy Milone |
5 | Ricky Nolasco |
Opening Day Lineup
2B | Brian Dozier |
1B | Joe Mauer |
RF | Miguel Sano |
3B | Trevor Plouffe |
LF | Eddie Rosario |
DH | Byung Ho Park |
SS | Eduardo Escobar |
C | Kurt Suzuki |
CF | Byron Buxton |