CarterHud

     With a record of 86-75, the Detroit Tigers finished second in the AL Central, 8 GB of the first place Cleveland Indians. They finished 4 GB of the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, missing the playoffs. They also suffered a big loss in the offseason, with 87 year old owner Mike Ilitch passing away. But at least SP Michael Fulmer won the AL ROY. GM Al Avila had some work to do in the offseason. Let\’s look at what Avila did.

      Key additions: C Alex Avila, OFs Mikie Mahtook, David Lough, 2Bs Omar Infante, Brendan Ryan, RP Edward Mujica.
      Key subtractions: OF Cameron Maybin, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SSs Erick Aybar, Mike Aviles.

      Biggest move: The Tigers had one of the most uneventful offseasons. The biggest name they acquired was Alex Avila, GM Al Avila\’s son, who previously left the Tigers. He\’ll fight with James McCann for the starting catcher job, but that will most likely be a platoon, with Avila in against righties and McCann in against lefties.
       X-factor: It\’s still up in the air on who will be the Tigers starting CF. JaCoby Jones, Mikie Mahtook and Tyler Collins are all fighting for the job. The winner, who I think will be the newcomer in Mahtook, will play a big role. Comerica Park\’s center field is humongous, and it will take a good fielder to start for the Tigers. Mahtook can save games in CF.
        Biggest bounce back: After signing a 5 year, $110 million deal with the Tigers, SP Jordan Zimmerman had an ERA of 4.87 (his first 4.00+ ERA season since 2010) in just 105.1 IP (his first non 195+ IP since his breakout year in 2011). Stats prove that Zimmerman needs to turn around in 2017. Those numbers are definitely not $110 million numbers.
        Biggest breakout: Though he had over 100 less ABs in 2016 than 2015 and 2014, 3B Nick Castellanos had his best season yet, hitting career highs in average (.285) and homers (18). I have a feeling Castellanos still hasn\’t shown his best yet. If he can have at least 500 ABs, with a .275+ average and 20+ HRs for the first time, we\’ll have proof Castellanos is a solid player.
         Guaranteed star: If you don\’t know this name, you\’re not a baseball fan. Miguel \”Miggy\” Cabrera has hit 30+ HRs 10 times. He has 100+ RBIs 12 times. He\’s also won 2 MVP trophies. Winning 7 Silver Slugger trophies isn\’t bad either. Oh, he\’s been named to 11 All-star games, 7 consecutives. He\’s a no doubt hall of famer.
          The Tigers lineup should look like this:

1. 2B: Ian Kinsler
2. RF: J.D. Martinez
3. 1B: Miguel Cabrera
4. DH: Victor Martinez
5. LF: Justin Upton
6. 3B: Nick Castellanos
7. C: Alex Avila (platoon with James McCann)
8. SS: Jose Iglesias
9. CF: Mikie Mahtook
                Their rotation will probably be this.

1. Justin Verlander
2. Michael Fulmer
3. Jordan Zimmerman
4. Daniel Norris
5. Mike Pelfrey

                   C James McCann (platoon with Alex Avila), 3B Andrew Romine and CF Tyler Collins will be on the bench.
                   Francisco Rodriguez will be their closer, with Justin Wilson and Bruce Rondon setting him up.

                  For my prediction, I think the Detroit Tigers will fight with the Kansas City Royals for 2nd in the AL Central. They\’ll also be in the wild card chase, but lose by a slight amount.       

    With a record of 75-87, the Colorado Rockies finished 3rd in the NL West, 16 GB of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. A big reason why they weren\’t that good was because the Rockies are notorious for awful pitching. Like most offseasons, GM Jeff Bridich was looking for pitching. Let\’s look at what Bridich did.

      Key additions: 1B Ian Desmond, RPs Greg Holland, Mike Dunn, SS Alexi Amarista.
      Key subtractions: RPs Boone Logan, Justin Miller, C Nick Hundley, SPs Jorge De La Rosa, Eddie Butler, 3B Daniel Descalco, 1B Ben Paulsen.

      Biggest move: In 2015, Ian Desmond was a SS for the Washington Nationals. He signed a cheap, 1 year deal with Texas Rangers, and become their CF. A stellar year in Texas led to a big contract with the Rockies. Desmond will switch positions, again, and play 1B in Colorado.
      X-factor: In 2016, 22 year old David Dahl made his MLB debut, hitting .315 in 222 ABs. He\’s earned the starting job. He\’ll be a big part of their lineup in 2017.
      Biggest bounce back: After being diagnosed with cancer in the offseason, SP Chad Bettis is now cancer free, and ready for 2017. He had an ERA of 4.79 in 186 IP in 2016. He\’ll bounce back in 2017.
      Biggest breakout: I think Dahl will breakout, but I think 25 year old catcher Tom Murphy will breakout even more. He\’s never had more than 44 ABs in a season but 2017 is the year to change that. He has 8 HRs and a .266 average in 79 ABs over 2 career seasons. A good sign.
      Guaranteed star: Ever since 2015, 25 year old 3B Nolan Arenado has been a top 10 player in the entire MLB. He has 40+ HRs and 130+ RBIs in the last 2 seasons each. He can easily hit that number again in 2017.
       The Rockies starting lineup should look like this.

1. CF: Charlie Blackmon
2. 2B: D.J. LeMahieu
3. 3B: Nolan Arenado
4. RF: Carlos Gonzalez
5. 1B: Ian Desmond
6. SS: Trevor Story
7. LF: David Dahl
8. C: Tom Murphy
9. Pitcher
         Their rotation should be this.

1. Jon Gray
2. Tyler Chatwood
3. Chad Bettis
4. Tyler Anderson
5. Jeff Hoffman
 
         LF Gerardo Parra, C Dustin Garneau and SS Alexi Amarista will be on the bench.
         Greg Holland will be their closer, with Jake McGee and Adam Ottavino will set him up.

          For my prediction, the Rockies will get better but once again be in the middle of the NL West, missing the playoffs.

    

With a record of 29-27-11 (69 points), the Florida Panthers are 7 points out of a playoff spot. After a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, some news that broke out might ruin their chances at the postseason.
       Two players left that game for the Cats. Those players where D Aaron Ekblad and C Denis Malgin. Both where diagnosed with concussions. Ekblad was hit by forward Gabrel Dumont, and Malgin was hit by D Anton Stralman. Defenseman Keith Yandle came in to fight Dumont, but Yandle got an extra 2 minutes.
        \”Malgin hit by [Anton Stralman] was a good clean hit,\” GM/head coach Tom Rowe said. \”I talked to the supervisor and thought the hit on Ekblad was dangerous. We\’ll leave that up to the league.\”
         Ekblad, 21, has 21 points (10 goals and 11 assists) in 67 games this season. He won the Calder

Memorial Trophy (best rookie) in 14-15, where he recorded 39 points in 81 games. He was drafted 1st overall in 2014.
         Malgin, 20, is in his 1st NHL season. He has 8 points (4 goals and 4 assists) in 42 games this season. They drafted him in the 4th round (102 overall) in 2015.

    

With a record of 94-67, the Cleveland Indians won the AL Central. They made it passed the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS and the ALCS before losing to the Chicago Cubs in a thrilling, 7 game World Series. GM Mike Chernoff had some work to do in the offseason. Let\’s see what Chernoff did.
   
      Key additions: DH Edwin Encarnacion, RPs Boone Logan, Steve Delabar, OF Austin Jackson, 1B Chris Colabello.
      Key subtractions: 1B Mike Napoli, OFs Coco Crisp, Rajai Davis.

      Biggest move: The Indians were major winners this offseason. The main reason they were winners was because of the signing of Edwin \”EE\” Encarnacion. He\’s a game changer, and has hit 40 or more homers twice in his career, including last year.
       X-factor: Injuries sidelined SP Carlos Carrasco for the entire playoffs. He had an ERA of 3.32 in 146.1 IP in the regular season (in 2016). If he\’s fully healthy, he can really contribute.
       Biggest bounce back: Catcher Yan Gomes was basically awful in 2016. He had an average of .167 and 9 HRs (his least amount of HRs of his career, with a MIN of 200 ABs). If he can at least hit .200 and double digit HRs, Gomes can revive his starting job in Cleveland.
       Biggest breakout: In his rookie season (2016), CF Tyler Naquin was a finalist for ROY. He had an average of .296 and hit 14 HRs. He can really breakout in 2017. Also, he\’s only 25.
       Guaranteed star: With a 2.44 ERA, SP Corey Kluber won the Cy Young in 2014. 2015 wasn\’t as strong, but he regained his stellar form in 2016 with a 3.14 ERA in 215 IP. He\’ll have another great season in 2017, I\’m sure.
       The Indians\’ starting lineup should look like this:

1. SS: Francisco Lindor
2. 2B: Jason Kipnis
3. 1B: Edwin Encarnacion
4. LF: Michael Brantley
5. DH: Carlos Santana
6. 3B: Jose Ramirez
7. CF: Tyler Naquin
8. RF: Lonnie Chisenhall
9. C: Yan Gomes
         Their rotation will probably be this.

1. Corey Kluber
2. Carlos Carrasco
3. Danny Salazar
4. Trevor Bauer
5. Josh Tomlin
    
          C Roberto Perez, CF Abraham Almonte and LF Brandon Guyer will be on the bench.
          Cody Allen will be their closer, with Andrew Miller and Boone Logan setting him up.
        
          For my prediction, the Indians will once again win the AL Central. They are also my pick to win the World Series.

   

With a record of 43-23-2 (88 points), the New York Rangers are 13 points ahead of the New York Islanders, and seem destined for the playoffs. But something might hurt their chances at a better record, and that might affect who they play in the first round of the playoffs.
     That thing is that goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will be out 2-3 weeks with a lower body injury. His last game was a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, where Lundqvist saved 43 of the 45 shots he faced. This injury is only short term, and the only real \”issue\” they\’ll probably face is back to back games Sunday and Monday (first in Detroit, then home vs Tampa Bay). Backup Antti Raanta will start most games when Lundqvist is out.
     They called up goalie Magnus Hellberg from the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) on emergency basis. Hellberg will back up Raanta under Lundqvist\’s absence.
     Lundqvist, 35, has a GAA of 2.65, a SV% of .913 and 30 wins in 51 appearances this season. He has a career GAA of 2.31 and a career SV% of .920 in 736 career appearances (all for the Rangers), starting in 2005-06.
     Hellberg, 25, made one relief appearance this year, making all 4 saves. He has a GAA of 2.91, a SV% of .902 and 11 wins in 31 appearances for Hartford. He has a 3.53 GAA and a .786 SV% in 3 NHL appearances for the Rangers and the Nashville Predators.