* – indicates new to team
AVG – Batting Average
ERA – Earned Run Average
HR – Home Runs
RBI – Runs Batted In
SV – Saves
1. New York Yankees
A deeper rotation makes them even better than last year
2. Tampa Bay Rays
It won’t come down to the last game this year
3. Boston Red Sox
Whole sale changes won’t mean instant success
4. Toronto Blue Jays
A scary lineup, but not enough quality starters
5. Baltimore Orioles
Hard to be optimistic in the AL East
Player to Watch: OF Jose Bautista Toronto Blue Jays
Best Acquisition: P Hiroki Kuroda New York Yankees
New Kid on the Block: 3B Brett Lawrie Toronto Blue Jays
Yankees Lineup
1. SS Derek Jeter
.297 AVG 6 HR 61 RBI
2. CF Curtis Granderson
.262 AVG 41 HR 119 RBI
3. 2B Robinson Cano
.302 AVG 28 HR 118 RBI
4. 3B Alex Rodriguez
.276 AVG 16 HR 62 RBI
5. 1B Mark Teixeira
.248 AVG 39 HR 111 RBI
6. RF Nick Swisher
.260 AVG 23 HR 85 RBI
7. DH Raul Ibanez*
.245 AVG 20 HR 84 RBI
8. C Russell Martin
.237 AVG 18 RH 65 RBI
9. LF Brett Gardner
.259 AVG 7 HR 36 RBI
Bench
OF/DH Andruw Jones
.247 AVG 13 HR 33 RBI
INF Eduardo Nunez
.265 AVG 5 HR 30 RBI
INF Eric Chavez
.263 AVG 2 HR 26 RBI
Rotation
1. C.C. Sabathia
19-8 3.00 ERA
2. Michael Pineda*
9-10 3.74 ERA
3. Ivan Nova
16-4 3.70 ERA
4. Hiroki Kuroda*
13-16 3.07 ERA
5. Freddy Garcia
12-8 3.62 ERA
Setup
David Robertson
4-0 1.08 ERA
Closer
Mariano Rivera
44 SV 1.91 ERA
Joe Girardi’s Job: Ignore the media as best you can
Most Important Player: 3B Alex Rodriguez
Rays Lineup
1. LF Desmond Jennings
.259 AVG 10 HR 25 RBI
2. RF Ben Zobrist
.269 AVG 20 HR 91 RBI
3. 3B Evan Longoria
.244 AVG 31 HR 99 RBI
4. 1B Carlos Pena*
.225 AVG 28 HR 80 RBI
5. CF B.J. Upton
.243 AVG 23 HR 81 RBI
6. DH Luke Scott*
.220 AVG 9 HR 22 RBI
7. 2B Jeff Keppinger*
.277 AVG 6 HR 35 RBI
8. SS Reid Brignac
.193 AVG 1 HR 15 RBI
9. C Jose Molina*
.281 AVG 3 HR 15 RBI
Bench
INF Sean Rodriguez
.223 AVG 8 HR 36 RBI
OF Matt Joyce
.277 AVG 19 HR 75 RBI
OF Sam Fuld
.240 AVG 3 HR 27 RBI
Rotation
1. James Shields
16-12 2.82 ERA
2. David Price
12-13 3.49 ERA
3. Jeremy Hellickson
13-10 2.95 ERA
4. Matt Moore
12-3 1.92 ERA (AA and AAA stats)
5. Jeff Niemann
11-7 4.06 ERA
Setup
Fernando Rodney*
3-5 4.50 ERA
Closer
Kyle Farnsworth
25 SV 2.18 ERA
Joe Maddon’s Job: ‘No one thinks you can win.’ Use that
Most Important Player: 3B Evan Longoria
Red Sox Lineup
1. CF Jacoby Ellsbury
.321 AVG 32 HR 105 RBI
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia
.307 AVG 21 HR 91 RBI
3. 1B Adrian Gonzalez
.338 AVG 27 HR 117 RBI
4. DH David Ortiz
.309 AVG 29 HR 96 RBI
5. 3B Kevin Youkilis
.258 AVG 17 HR 80 RBI
6. LF Cody Ross*
.240 AVG 14 HR 52 RBI
7. RF Ryan Sweeney*
.265 AVG 1 HR 25 RBI
8. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
.235 AVG 16 HR 56 RBI
9. SS Mike Aviles
.255 AVG 7 HR 39 RBI
Bench
INF Nick Punto*
.278 AVG 1 HR 20 RBI
OF Darnell McDonald
.236 AVG 6 HR 24 RBI
C Kelly Shoppach*
.176 AVG 11 HR 22 RBI
Rotation
1. Jon Lester
15-9 3.47 ERA
2. Josh Beckett
13-7 2.89 ERA
3. Clay Buchholz
6-3 3.48 ERA
4. Daniel Bard
2-9 3.33 ERA
5. Vicente Padilla*
0-0 4.15 ERA
Setup
Mark Melancon*
20 SV 2.78 ERA
Closer
Alfredo Aceves
10-2 2.61 ERA
Bobby Valentine’s Job: Avoid confrontation
Most Important Player: P Daniel Bard
Blue Jays Lineup
1. SS Yunel Escobar
.290 AVG 11 HR 48 RBI
2. 2B Kelly Johnson
.222 AVG 21 HR 58 RBI
3. RF Jose Bautista
.302 AVG 43 HR 103 RBI
4. 1B Adam Lind
.251 AVG 26 HR 87 RBI
5. DH Edwin Encarnacion
.272 AVG 17 HR 55 RBI
6. 3B Brett Lawrie
.293 AVG 9 HR 25 RBI
7. LF Eric Thames
.262 AVG 12 HR 37 RBI
8. C J.P. Arencibia
.219 AVG 23 HR 78 RBI
9. CF Colby Rasmus
.225 AVG 14 HR 53 RBI
Bench
OF Rajai Davis
.238 AVG 1 HR 29 RBI
OF Ben Francisco*
.244 AVG 6 HR 34 RBI
C Jeff Mathis*
.174 AVG 3 HR 22 RBI
Rotation
1. Ricky Romero
15-11 2.92 ERA
2. Brandon Morrow
11-11 4.72 ERA
3. Brett Cecil
4-11 4.73 ERA
4. Henderson Alvarez
1-3 3.53 ERA
5. Kyle Drabek
4-5 6.06 ERA
Setup
Francisco Cordero*
37 SV 2.45 ERA
Closer
Sergio Santos*
30 SV 3.55 ERA
John Farrell’s Job: Build up the pitching staff
Most Important Player: P Brandon Morrow
Orioles Lineup
1. LF Nolan Reimold
.247 AVG 13 HR 45 RBI
2. SS J. J. Hardy
.269 AVG 30 HR 80 RBI
3. RF Nick Markakis
.284 AVG 15 HR 73 RBI
4. CF Adam Jones
.280 AVG 25 HR 83 RBI
5. C Matt Wieters
.262 AVG 22 HR 68 RBI
6. 3B Mark Reynolds
.221 AVG 37 HR 86 RBI
7. 1B Chris Davis
.266 AVG 5 HR 19 RBI
8. DH Wilson Betemit*
.285 AVG 8 HR 46 RBI
9. 2B Robert Andino
.263 AVG 5 HR 36 RBI
Bench
OF Endy Chavez*
.301 AVG 5 HR 27 RBI
1B Nick Johnson*
.201 AVG 6 HR 13 RBI (AA and AAA stats)
C Ronny Paulino*
.268 AVG 2 HR 19 RBI
Rotation
1. Jake Arrieta
10-8 5.05 ERA
2. Tommy Hunter
4-4 4.68 ERA
3. Jason Hammel*
7-13 4.76 ERA
4. Brian Matusz
1-9 10.69 ERA
5. Wei-Yin Chen*
8-10 2.68 ERA (Japan)
Setup
Jim Johnson
6-5 2.67 ERA
Closer
Kevin Gregg
22 SV 4.37 ERA
Buck Showalter’s Job: Take small steps forward
Most Important Player: P Brian Matusz
westhesportsguy.com 