In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

First up is the AL East.

1. New York Yankees (1)
If you think I would get cute in these rankings and suggest that some upstart team would derail the Yankees this season, then you sir, are sadly mistaken. I just don’t have the conjones to bet against them, especially after they added Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson to their already stacked roster. Sure they lost World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, the latter of which loved to work the count and provided the Yanks with some pop over the last couple of seasons. But thanks to Granderson, Johnson, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texeira, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada, the lineup is still stacked from top to bottom. Vazquez, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mariano Rivera will once again highlight a strong pitching staff and assuming they don’t suffer any major injuries, there’s nothing to suggest that the Bombers won’t make another championship run. That said, let’s not be oblivious to the potential problems that could arise for the Yanks this season. Age is a factor, as is the fact that Granderson can’t hit lefties and will be under the spotlight as the club’s biggest offseason acquisition. Plus, for as good as Vazquez was over the past couple of years, he was a disaster the last time he wore pinstripes (Boston fans remember this well.) Should the Yankees win another World Series? Yeah – especially considering they have the best-purchased roster in baseball. But just like last year, they still have to prove it between the lines and they’re not immune to hurdles getting in their way.

2. Boston Red Sox (3)
Based on the moves they made this offseason, you either love the Red Sox’s chances this year or you’re willing to write them off like your favorite tax exemption. The club acquired ace John Lackey, outfielder Mike Cameron and infielders Marco Scutaro and Adrian Beltre last winter. Every player will be counted on to contribute this season, but they all come with question marks as well. When healthy, Lackey is virtually guaranteed to win 15-plus games and pitch over 200 innings. But he has to stay healthy. Cameron is a huge upgrade over Jason Bay in the outfield, but he won’t fill Bay’s shoes offensively. Scutaro is coming off a career year but the law of averages suggest that he’ll take a step back in 2010 and there’s no telling what Boston will get out of Beltre after he only appeared in 111 games last season due to an injury. Plus, will Big Papi carry over his production from June to September last year or will he struggle as he did at the start of 2009? That said, the BoSox are still stacked. Along with Lackey, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz give Boston the best pitching staff in the division and their bullpen is solid as well. Ortiz, Beltre, Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, J.D. Drew, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Victor Martinez comprise an offense that should help Boston win over 95 games this season and compete for a postseason berth. Their defense has also improved dramatically with the addition of Cameron and Ellsbury’s move from center to left. Do they have unanswered questions? Of course – all clubs do at this time of year. Will they overcome the Yankees? Maybe. Will they compete? Most definitely.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (7)
The Rays stumbled out of the gates last year, although they fought through injuries in order to finish with a respectable 84-78 record. But they didn’t make any moves this offseason, so it’s hard to figure out whether or not they’re going to compete for a postseason berth or finish with roughly the same record as they did in 2009. If BJ Upton stays healthy for an entire season and rebounds, then the Rays have more than enough offense in him, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist to compete. And if a No. 1 emerges out of David Price, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann or James Shields, then the Rays will compete. If, if, if, if. I want to believe that the Rays are the perfect team to unseat the Yankees and Red Sox (two teams that have had more than enough time at the top) in the division. But there’s no question that they’ll have to overachieve again like they did in 2008 in order to make the postseason. They have the talent, but they need an ace to emerge, Upton to be productive again and for Crawford (whose contract is up at the end of the year) to stay happy or else they’re destined for another third place finish.

4. Baltimore Orioles (22)
The O’s have several pieces that will get your heat pumping just like the time you stole that car and led the police on a two-hour joy ride down the interstate. Wait…what? Nick Markakis is already a fine ballplayer, Adam Jones showed his vast potential last year before getting hurt and Matt Wieters is already being described as the next Joe Mauer (only with more power). The club also improved in a couple of areas over the offseason, namely at third base with the acquisition of Miguel Tejada, at first base with Garrett Atkins and in their starting rotation with Kevin Millwood. But it’s hard to measure how good this club will be when they play in the AL East and their pitching still has the potential to be down right hideous again. It says a lot about a team’s starting staff when the team leader in ERA finished with a 5.04 mark (Jeremy Gutherie). Maybe Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta will surprise and overachieve this season, but chances are Baltimore will top out around 75-80 wins in 2010. They should be improved, but again, their division will keep them from competing for a postseason berth again this year.

5. Toronto Blue Jays (27)
Mom always said that if you don’t have anything nice to say then you shouldn’t say anything at all. But mom doesn’t have to complete this preview now does she? The Blue Jays traded away ace Roy Halladay in the offseason and while they may benefit from the deal down the road, they don’t have anyone to pick up the slack in 2010. They also lost one of their top offensive pieces from last year in Marco Scutaro and replaced him with Alex Gonzalez. That’s great news if you’re into defensive wizards that can’t hit over .250 on a consistent basis. The club does have a couple of nice/promising/okay/whatever pieces Vernon Wells, Ricky Romero, Brandon Marrow, Aaron Hill and Travis Snider, but the bottom line is that the Jays are in rebuilding mode and will wind up collecting dust all season in the basement of the AL East. They’re going to be horrible and there’s very little to like about their chances to succeed in 2010. Sorry, Mom.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/22/2010-mlb-preview-al-east/feed/ 1 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/23/rays-pursuing-tribe-ace-cliff-lee/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/23/rays-pursuing-tribe-ace-cliff-lee/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:20:43 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=21701

According to a report by Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.com, the Indians are apparently considering trading ace Cliff Lee to the Rays for a couple of minor league prospects. Who those prospects are, however, seem to be the sticking point in Tampa pulling the trigger.

The article reports that Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro is asking for multiple high-end prospects in return for Lee, and that Shapiro specifically has his eyes set on Class AAA Durham pitcher Wade Davis. But the Rays value Davis, who is 8-6 with a 3.22 ERA in the minors this season and has a fastball that reaches 95 mph.

Along with Davis, we’re also hearing rumblings that the Tribe want 22-year-old outfield prospect Desmond Jennings as part of the package for Lee. Much like some of the other outfielders (i.e. Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton) that have come up through Tampa’s farm system, Jennings is big, strong and incredibly fast, but he’s raw and he would need some more polishing in the minors before eventually making his major league debut.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Rays and Indians can come together on a trade for Lee and what the eventual compensation would be. Considering Scott Kazmir’s performance/injury troubles this season, Lee would be a tremendous addition to their rotation and could help close the gap between them and the Yankees and Red Sox.

With the 2009 MLB Draft set to kickoff at 6:00 ET tonight on the MLB Network, SI.com did a cool feature in which they rated how each club has fared over the past 10 years when it comes to the draft.

The Brewers were rated number one and it’s hard to argue with the ranking after looking at the names Milwaukee has drafted over the years: Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Manny Parra, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo. Amazingly, this club also drafted Hunter Pence (Astros), but couldn’t sign him.

The Red Sox were rated No. 2, with Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen leading the way, but the site left off a glaring omission: Jacoby Ellsbury. The Rays actually drafted Ellsbury in the 2002 draft, but never signed him. The Sox then nabbed him with the 23rd overall pick in 2005 and he’s currently their starting centerfielder.

Speaking of the Rays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tampa ranked higher than No. 4 in the next couple of years. Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are just some of the names they’ve drafted in the past 10 years. Don’t forget that they were the team that also drafted Josh Hamilton before he got injured and then became the poster child of what not to do when you’re an inspiring ballplayer with loads of free time on your hands.

You look at a club like the Nationals ranked No. 8 and you wonder why they’ve been so awful over the years despite drafting so well. Then you realized they dealt Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips all in the same trade for Bartolo Colon and it all starts to make sense.

If you’re wondering whom SI had ranked last, it was the Astros; only Hunter Pence was worth noting of the players Houston drafted the past 10 years. The White Sox were second to last, although if Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Gordon Beckham develop like the club hopes, I highly doubt Chicago will be ranked that low again if SI does another ranking like this in the next couple of years.

Cleveland Indians C/1B Victor Martinez has one simple rule for opposing pitchers that throw inside on him during an at-bat: If you throw at his head, he will go after you. And evidently his pitching staff also has his back, as Tribe closer Kerry Wood threw two inside pitches on Tampa Bay Rays OF B.J. Upton that began a brief scrum in the bottom of the eighth inning of Sunday’s game.

The beanball war began on Friday night, as Martinez thought Rays lefthander J.P. Howell was purposely throwing at his head. After ducking away from a high and tight fastball, Martinez began yelling (click here to see video) at Howell before home-plate umpire Greg Gibson stepped in to calm the situation.

After the game, Martinez explains his side of the incident:

“I don’t like that, throwing at my head,” Martinez said. “If you want to hit somebody, [throw at] a different spot. But don’t throw at the head.”
Howell shrugged off the whole incident.
“I was just pitching, man, playing ball,” he said. “I mean, whatever. I threw a pitch in. Whatever. Where the ball was, if his face was in that area, you make up your own mind what you think. I just threw a pitch barely in, a little up. And whatever. He didn’t like it. I don’t know what that is.”

After the first two pitches went behind and inside to Upton, Rays manager Joe Maddon got into a shouting match with Martinez before both benches emptied. Maddon felt Wood was intentionally throwing at his player in retaliation to the incident in Friday’s game. The Indians have denied the accusation.

These two teams meet again in Cleveland for a four-game series beginning on May 25. Stay tuned!

Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams

Offseason Movement: The Rays hope the signing of OF/DH Pat Burrell will add a little more pop to their lineup, although it could sink their team batting average at the same time. The club also added a slew of pitchers including Lance Cormier, Jason Isringhausen, Joe Nelson and Brian Shouse, and acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Tigers in exchange for RHP Edwin Jackson.

Top Prospect: David Price, RHP
The Rays never seem to have a shortage of top prospects at their disposal and Price clearly tops a group that also includes RHP’s Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson. Some believe Price is the best pitching prospect in baseball and he should have gotten the opportunity to prove that this year at the big league level. But the Rays optioned the talented youngster to Triple-A Durham recently for reasons unknown to Price and the rest of the baseball world. Tampa could be regretting the decision if the Yankees and/or Red Sox take early lead in the highly competitive AL East.

The Big Question: Will B.J. Upton be healthy?
The 24-year old Upton proved how vital he was to the Rays last year when he led the club in on base percentage, doubles and stolen bases. He also absolutely raked in the playoffs, clubbing seven home runs and helping Tampa set a new team record for steals in a single postseason (22). But in mid November, Upton underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder and while he was recovering this spring, also suffered a bone bruise when he was hit on the hand by a pitch. He’ll likely miss Opening Day, but should be back sometime in mid April. Still, will the effects of either injury slow him down this season? Can the Rays get by with Ben Zobrist in center field until Upton recovers? If he misses significant time, the Rays could take a step back this year.

Outlook: After producing the single greatest season in club history, 2009 marks a vital year for the Rays. Why you ask? Because Tampa is now the model franchise, building their roster the way rosters should be built. They slowly developed prospects instead of signing big name free agents. They won with youth and are built for the long haul. And most importantly, they’re the anti-Yankees and Red Sox in every sense of the word. B.J. Upton’s injuries aside, the Rays should be better than they were a year ago. Upton, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine have yet another year of experience under their belts and thus should lift the Rays right back into contender status. This club didn’t lose much in the offseason either, and even signed free agent Pat Burrell to give the middle of the lineup some added pop. But obviously things will be different this year. The Rays won’t sneak up on anybody and both the Yankees and Red Sox retooled in the offseason. New York and Boston have been consistently winning for years. It’s time for the Rays to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke and they don’t go the way of the ’08 Tigers and Indians.

Projection: 3rd AL East

The AL Champion Rays will likely be missing one of their stars when the regular season starts in April.

UPDATE 1: Center Fielder B.J. Upton, who suffered a bruised bone when hit by a pitch in a minor league game yesterday, said he will have to take it easy for the next couple of days. He said the setback probably firms up the target date for his return to the lineup as the regular season home opener April 13. There was an outside chance he could have returned from off-season shoulder surgery for the season opener April 6 at Boston.

This injury is unlikely to sideline Upton very long. Fantasy owners should monitor the situation, but he’ll be fine over the long haul.

All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings

The great thing about addressing your outfielder positions on draft day is that there are so many to choose from that chances are if you don’t like one facet about a certain player (i.e. age, inexperience, he plays for the Red Sox and you’re a Yankees fan, etc.), you can move on to one of the many other choices available.

Conversely, with so many players to choose from, you’re liable to stick your head in an oven in order to avoid having to decide between which outfielders will explode and which will wind up on your league’s wavier wire after making you suffer for the first couple months of the season.

The nice thing about having so many choices for outfielders is that you can draft certain players to fill certain needs. As your roster starts to take shape on draft day, if you desire more power, then there are plenty of outfielders that can address that specific need. If your team is lacking speed, there are outfielders that you can target to rack up stolen bases. And if you were able to draft for both speed and power in previous rounds, then adding a couple outfielders that can hit for average will only help you in the long run.

That said, if you’re smart, you’ll pinpoint the outfielders that can do it all. Sure, they might not excel in any one area, but over the course of the season if you can land a guy that can spread out his production in home runs, RBIs, runs and average, it will do wonders for your team in the end. After all, balance is key in fantasy baseball and after you land your studs early on, you’re going to need to complete your roster with players that can produce in all areas.

With a huge pool of outfielders to choose from, there are plenty of players that will give you the balance you’ll need all season. We’ve picked out a few below (that you’ll find in both middle and late rounds), so take a look and keep an eye on them come draft day. And for the sake of not insulting your intelligence, we didn’t list any of the outfielders in our top 15 (see the rankings below). There’s no sense waxing poetically about Ryan Braun, Grady Sizemore and Matt Holliday when you already know what they can do.

Alex Rios, Toronto Blue Jays
Rios flashed power in 2007 and speed in 2008 and if he can put everything together this season, 2009 could be a very good year fantasy-wise for the Blue Jay right fielder. If Rios falls into your lap after the top 15 outfielders come of the board, you probably won’t be disappointed. He should close in on a .290 batting average, 20 home runs, 100 runs and 90 RBI, all while stealing 25 bases. When we talk about finding balance in outfielders, Rios is exactly what we’re talking about.

Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels
Vlad might not be the player he was a couple of years ago, but don’t be the one that passes on him because you’re worried about his age. He’ll still hit over .300 and chip in 25-plus home runs, 100-plus RBIs and 85-plus runs. He won’t steal any bases, but he doesn’t strike out much and he’ll likely finish with a slugging percentage around .530.

Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers
Ordonez is another player that you might pass up due to age, but don’t forget that he hits in the same lineup that features Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson and Gary Sheffield so he still has a ton of value fantasy-wise. Similar to Guerrero’s production, Mags will hit over .300, drive in over 100 runs and finish with 20-25 home runs if he can stay healthy. And much like Vlad, Ordonez won’t give you anything in the stolen base department but he’ll finish with a slugging percentage in the .520-range and score 80-plus runs.

Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies
If this guy can stay healthy, he’s going to be a hell of a fantasy player and could be in store for a solid season. Victorino lacks elite power, but he’ll still hit 10-plus dingers, score 95-plus runs and hit in the .280-range. He won’t knock in many runs, but he’ll make up for it by stealing 35-plus bases and add 7-plus triples.

Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox
If Dye comes close to what he did last year (.292-34-96-96), then you’ll be more than happy to add him as your second outfielder. Dye loves hitting at U.S. Cellular and while he won’t hit for average like Vlad or Mags will, he’ll produce seven to 10 more dingers. The only disadvantage of drafting him is that he obviously doesn’t have much upside. He is what he is at this point in his career, so don’t expect better than what he produced last year, which certainly isn’t bad by any means but there’s not much to get excited about either.

Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays
By this point, everyone knows the book on Wells; if he can stay healthy, he has the capability of being a top 20 pick, but you can draft him as a top 30 pick. If avoids the injury bug, he’ll close in on .285, hit 20-plus home runs and score 75-plus runs. He doesn’t offer much in the RBI category, but he’s always knocking on the door of a huge season and worth a look if other owners in your league avoid him like the plague on draft day.

J.D. Drew, Boston Red Sox
This guy terrifies us, as well as he should terrify you. But there’s no doubt he can hit and in that lineup, Drew will have the opportunity to knock in close to 80 RBIs, score 80-plus runs and hit close to 20 dingers. He’ll also sniff .285 and chip in 30-plus doubles. The only problem, of course, is that he’s always a stubbed toe away from landing on the DL and he’s already complaining about his back. Be afraid…be very afraid. Still, there’s no doubt Drew offers a ton of value late in your draft.

Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees
There will probably be a point during your draft when you see Matsui’s name staring you in the face and you might be tempted to pass. Depending on what round it is and how your draft has shaken out to that point, Matsui could be a great low risk, high reward player. He’s coming off knee surgery, but he also will see plenty of time at DH this season with the Yankees, which hopefully will keep him healthier. If he does stay healthy throughout, there’s no reason he can’t hit .300 with 15-plus home runs and chip in 80 RBI and 80 runs.

Xavier Nady, New York Yankees
We’ll give you the bad news first; Nady plays in an awfully crowded outfield in New York and you have to be concerned about guys like Melky Cabrera stealing his at bats. But the good news is that he’s in a contract year and could flourish hitting in a stacked lineup. (Although A-Rod is set to miss up to 10 weeks so that certainly doesn’t help.) Nady will likely close in on .280, hit 20-25 home runs and score 70-plus runs. You could do a lot worse late in the draft.

Fred Lewis, San Francisco Giants
Lewis is a sleeper and could be a great value late in your draft following a breakout year of sorts in 2008. He’ll move into the third spot in the lineup sandwiched between Edgar Renteria and Benglie Molina, thus having the opportunity to score close to 90 runs while sniffing a .280 batting average. Unfortunately he probably won’t rack up a ton of RBIs, but he’ll more than make up for it with 20-25 stolen bases and he’ll even chip in 10-15 home runs and 10 triples. Not bad for a late round pick.

1. Grady Sizemore, CLE
2. Ryan Braun, MIL
3. Carlos Beltran, NYM
4. Carlos Quentin, CHW
5. Alfonso Soriano, CHC
6. Carlos Lee, HOU
7. Josh Hamilton, TEX
8. B.J. Upton, TB
9. Carl Crawford, TB
10. Matt Holliday, OAK
11. Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
12. Nick Markakis, OAK
13. Matt Kemp, LAD
14. Manny Ramirez, LAD
15. Jason Bay, BOS
16. Alex Rios, TOR
17. Shane Victorino, PHI
18. Nate McLouth, PIT
19. Vladimir Guerrero, LAA
20. Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS
21. Curtis Granderson, DET
22. Magglio Ordonez, DET
23. Adam Dunn, WAS
24. Jermaine Dye, CHW
25. Corey Hart, MIL
26. Bobby Abreu, LAA
27. Ryan Ludwick,
28. Jay Bruce, CIN
29. Vernon Wells, TOR
30. Raul Ibanez, PHI
31. Johnny Damon, NYY
32. Hunter Pence, HOU
33. Brad Hawpe, COL
34. Torii Hunter, LAA
35. Chris Young, ARI
36. Milton Bradley, CHC
37. Lastings Milledge, WAS
38. Andre Ethier, LAD
39. Pat Burrell, TB
40. Jayson Werth, PHI
41. Conor Jackson, ARI
42. Xavier Nady, NYY
43. Nelson Cruz, TEX
44. Justin Upton, ARI
45. Fred Lewis, SF
46. Mark DeRosa, CLE
47. J.D. Drew, BOS
48. Coco Crisp, KC
49. Rick Ankiel, STL
50. Adam Jones, BAL
51. Shin-Soo Choo, CLE
52. Carlos Gomez, MIN
53. Cameron Maybin, FLA
54. Hideki Matsui, NYY
55. Willy Taveras, CIN
56. Denard Span, MIN
57. Elijah Dukes, WAS
58. Adam Lind, TOR
59. Mike Cameron, MIL
60. Juan Pierre, LAD
61. Jason Kubel, MIN
62. Jack Cust, OAK
63. Randy Winn, SF
64. Jeremy Hermida, FLA
65. Felipe Lopez, ARI
66. Travis Snider, TOR
67. Mat LaPorta, CLE
68. Chase Headley, SD
69. Jose Guillen, KC
70. Michael Bourn, HOU
71. David DeJesus, KC
72. Gary Sheffield, DET
73. Ryan Spillborghs, COL
74. Ryan Church, NYM
75. Ty Wigginton, BAL
76. Aaron Rowand, SF
77. Brian Giles, SD
78. Eric Byrnes, ARI
79. Michael Cuddyer, MIN
80. Ken Griffey, SEA