A.L. East Predictions 2013

Posted by Dale Goodwin in Baseball | 1 comment

Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each division in Major League Baseball. Last week we gave you the N.L. West Predictions and This week we will give our A.L. East predictions For 2013

Teams are reporting to spring training during the next few weeks and this should turn out to be an exciting season with ups, down’s, injuries and more that just a few wins squeaked out with amazing catches, defensive plays and All Star pitching performances. So as we share our A.L. East predictions for 2013 keep in mind that these are only opinions, and please leave a comment if you feel differently. we also have the Sports Chatter forum if you would like to discuss this or anything else there. So without further adieu here are some more “bold” predictions for the 2013 Major League Baseball season.

The A.L. East has been the toughest division in all of baseball over the past few years and the only thing different are that the Red Sox and the Yankees are losing ground and the Blue Jays and Devil Rays seem to be gaining ground. As for the Orioles, well they didnt do a whole lot of anything this off season.

1. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays seem to be the only team in the A.L. East that made any key off season changes. They added three new starting pitchers in Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson And R.A. Dickey and If that wasn’t enough they added Melky Cabrera and Jose Reyes. This should help them make a hard push towards the title. The top and middle of the batting order is strong, they have some speed on the bases and their starting pitchers should throw a huge amount of quality innings.

2. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays almost made the post season last year and during the off season took some steps foreword by trading starting pitcher James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals in exchange for Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi. Evan Longoria could also have more of an impact if he can stay healthy for the entire season.

3. Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox have gone from a contender to a pretender in very short order. They have however made some wise off season moves giving some low risk contracts to slightly above average players and have a strong core of veteran players. That is why I placed them third in the division although they could be in rebuilding mode by the All Star Break.

4. New York Yankees: The Yankees have been a perennial power house over the years (100 give or take a few) but due to the aging roster and all of the injuries they had last year and no blockbuster deals this off season I see them finishing fourth in this very tough division. but they are the Yankees and I could be wrong.

5. Baltimore Orioles: After making the the playoff with a wild card spot last year the Orioles seem to think that off season moves were unnecessary. Yes they won 93 games last year but I still see them taking a step backwards. They do however have Buck Showalter, who is very underrated and could easily move the Orioles out of the basement in this tough division.