1. Los Angeles Angels-The Halos have all the ingredients necessary to win a pennant. The pitching staff is fantastic-five deep with strong arms-and stud Jered Weaver is ready for his first full major league season. The bullpen, with Scot Shields, newcomer Justin Speier and closer Francisco Rodriguez all possessing sub-3.00 ERAs last year, will not give away many games. They added Gary Matthews Jr. and Shea Hillenbrand to a scrappy, productive lineup, and have arguably the best hitter in the AL, Vlad Guerrero. Playing in the worst division in the AL, this team is a legitimate 100-win threat.
2. Boston Red Sox-The Sox have just enough to take the East. The race will probably go down to the last week, but pitching usually wins, and they have the advantage in that department. The bullpen will be solid now that Papelbon is closing again, and Matsuzaka makes the rotation one of the best. If they suffer an injury to a key reliever or starter New York will probably take the divison.
3. Detroit Tigers-On paper, this team is the most complete in the league, with five great arms, a terrific bullpen and a hole-free lineup. If Bonderman, Verlander and Robertson build off of last year's success, and Rogers defies his age for another year, this team will be very difficult to beat. However, they rode their young arms to the World Series last year, and their durability, along with the health of Rogers who is currently on the DL, makes this team potentially vulnerable.
4. New York Yankees-The lineup is unbelievable, and if everyone stays healthy they will score against anyone. The bullpen looks good, but the rotation is still very suspect. They will beat up on the bottom of the AL, and do have the potential to win a few games over 100. If the rotation pans out and stays healthy and people outside of Rivera step up in the bullpen, then watch out.
5. Cleveland Indians-If the pitching staff has some modest success and if the bullpen can hold a lead, this team can win 100 games because of an explosive lineup featuring Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner. But those are big ifs with the bullpen in the hands of veteran Joe Borowski, especially if ace C.C. Sabathia matches last year's 12-11 record. Still, Sabathia has Cy Young stuff, and Jake Westbrook, Cliff Lee and Paul Byrd are formidable starters … and this lineup does not need much help.
6. Chicago White Sox-No team has worked its starters harder than Chicago in the past few years, and now it's starting to show. These guys are not the same as they were in 2005 (see Contreras in opener) and will really need to reach back a few years to take this division. Everyone knows they can hit, the lineup is one of the strongest in the league, and they will have to revert back to more "Ozzie-ball" and not rely so much on the home run to win.
7. Minnesota Twins-With Francisco Liriano out for the season and Brad Radke enjoying retirement, the pitching staff is extremely iffy besides Cy Young winner Johan Santana. Still, if they can solidify the staff, the team could pick up the Central with RBI-machines Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer in the middle of a dangerous lineup, and automatic closer Joe Nathan.
8. Toronto Blue Jays-This is a team that could probably win 90 games in the NL. They have a top closer, ace and slugger, but are still third best in their division. The addition of Frank Thomas makes the lineup very dangerous. However, everything depends on health–Burnett, Halladay and Thomas need to play a full season for them to compete with Boston and New York.
9. Oakland Athletics-Every year it seems that Oakland is counted out, and they still manage to come out of the West. They lose DH Frank Thomas, but in his place is Mike Piazza, whose success is key. If pitcher Rich Harden can stay healthy, this team can make a push at Anaheim, but this pitching staff hardly has the Zito-Mulder-Hudson reliability of several years ago.
10. Baltimore Orioles-A pretty solid lineup, but they just don't have enough to compete in the East. The starting pitching is by far the team's weak point, especially having to face the New York and Boston lineups. Chris Ray is a good closer, and the addition of Baez helps. Look for Nick Markakis to have a big year in his second season.
11. Texas Rangers-The return of Slammin' Sammy Sosa should provide some entertainment, and his addition to a lineup ripe with young talent-like Michael Young, Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock-will pack a punch offensively. But a weak pitching staff, headed by Kevin Millwood, won't be able to send many leads to new closer Eric Gagné.
12. Tampa Bay Devil Rays-The team is young and keeps making improvements. The Devil Rays' outfield is young and exciting, and the rest of the lineup is decent. However, the staff and bullpen are two or three years away from real success.
13. Seattle Mariners-Even if Felix Hernandez lives up to his potential and Jeff Weaver magically turns into his brother Jered, this pitching staff is still in trouble. New addition Jose Guillen adds extra pop to the lineup, but also extra tension in the clubhouse. Ichiro can only do so much, and the M's will wind up in the AL West basement in what will be his Seattle swan song.
14. Kansas City Royals-They will definitely be better than last year, making good additions (at high costs) to the rotation and bullpen. They also have good young hitters and, watch out for soon-to-be rookie of the year Alex Gordon. They will still lose at least 95 games playing in the tough central.