by Scott Rickenbach
Wednesday, Apr 06, 2022AL Central Division Preview for MLB 2022
Chicago White Sox – The White Sox projected to win about 90 games this season and once again this season that is hard to argue with. Playing in a division with a bunch of other teams unlikely to have anything better than a .500 season certainly helps their chances too. This team is stacked with a loaded lineup, solid pitching rotation, and strong bullpen. The team to beat for sure and so you can try and perhaps look for value in taking them when they are priced reasonably.
Cleveland Guardians – Projected to reach a win total in the mid-70s this season and this is a team that had 8 consecutive winning seasons before falling two games below .500 last year. Lineup is decent but not spectacular. The starting pitching still strong but they lost their pitching coach and that can hurt teams quite often so keep an eye on that.
Detroit Tigers – This team is improving and should play .500 ball this season. Solid lineup and good arms in the rotation and this team continues to make progress. The Tigers went 8-19 in April but then 69-66 the rest of the way so just keep in mind; this is not the Tigers team of old. That said, there could be some value on this team early as many bettors have a fresh memory of all the bad Detroit teams in recent seasons. Take advantage as they Tigers likely to offer some early season value in spots.
Kansas City Royals – This team will battle with the Guardians to stay out of the cellar in the division as they are also likely to reach a win total in the mid-70s this season. Young arms in rotation just have not quite delivered as KC would have liked so far. But they have a respectable bullpen and the Royals also have a respectable lineup. The problem is that nothing really jumps off the page at you with any one area of this team. They will battle and have some hot streaks during the season but ultimately finish close to 90 losses again most likely.
Minnesota Twins – This team should play .500 ball this season but they really disappointed last year. This could be an “over” team in terms of daily wagering as their starting rotation has a lot of question marks and their bullpen – beyond their closer – just is not very well put together. Minnesota has a respectable lineup and they will need it because they are going to have to outscore teams to win most games.
Chicago White Sox – The White Sox projected to win about 90 games this season and once again this season that is hard to argue with. Playing in a division with a bunch of other teams unlikely to have anything better than a .500 season certainly helps their chances too. This team is stacked with a loaded lineup, solid pitching rotation, and strong bullpen. The team to beat for sure and so you can try and perhaps look for value in taking them when they are priced reasonably.
Cleveland Guardians – Projected to reach a win total in the mid-70s this season and this is a team that had 8 consecutive winning seasons before falling two games below .500 last year. Lineup is decent but not spectacular. The starting pitching still strong but they lost their pitching coach and that can hurt teams quite often so keep an eye on that.
Detroit Tigers – This team is improving and should play .500 ball this season. Solid lineup and good arms in the rotation and this team continues to make progress. The Tigers went 8-19 in April but then 69-66 the rest of the way so just keep in mind; this is not the Tigers team of old. That said, there could be some value on this team early as many bettors have a fresh memory of all the bad Detroit teams in recent seasons. Take advantage as they Tigers likely to offer some early season value in spots.
Kansas City Royals – This team will battle with the Guardians to stay out of the cellar in the division as they are also likely to reach a win total in the mid-70s this season. Young arms in rotation just have not quite delivered as KC would have liked so far. But they have a respectable bullpen and the Royals also have a respectable lineup. The problem is that nothing really jumps off the page at you with any one area of this team. They will battle and have some hot streaks during the season but ultimately finish close to 90 losses again most likely.
Minnesota Twins – This team should play .500 ball this season but they really disappointed last year. This could be an “over” team in terms of daily wagering as their starting rotation has a lot of question marks and their bullpen – beyond their closer – just is not very well put together. Minnesota has a respectable lineup and they will need it because they are going to have to outscore teams to win most games.
