2012 BYB AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTIONS

Every baseball blog site is posting their MLB predictions. I’ve never been a huge fan of predictions because the game is simply unpredictable. Either way, we’re going to try to defy the laws of Major League Baseball predictions starting with the American League. Enjoy.

AL East:

1. Yankees: Elite offense and bullpen, rotation strong even without Michael Pineda. X-factor: Phil Hughes; could have breakout, All Star season.(In Photo: Desmond Jennings)
2. Rays: Starting rotation could compile 1,000 innings this year and Longoria could rise to MVP status after unlucky 2011. X-factor: Desmond Jennings; Could be a 20 homer, 50 steal guy.

3. Red Sox: Bobby Valentine has work cut out for him after questionable pitching decisions (ie: Daniel Bard in rotation, Alfredo Aceves closing), though Boston has elite offense, could finish fourth in AL East. X-factor: Daniel Bard; If Bard struggles in rotation look for him to shift back to ‘pen.

4. Blue Jays: Jose Bautista is the best in the game, Brett Lawrie a superstar in the making, fixed leaky bullpen though rotation has questions. X-factor: Brandon Morrow; if he harnesses his electric stuff (Led AL SP’s with 10.19 K/9 in 2011) he could contend for the AL Cy Young.(In Photo: Matt Wieters)
5. Orioles: Have absolutely no chance of winning AL East, though Matt Wieters is one of best catchers in baseball. X-factor: Zach Britton; one of the O’s best young pitchers. If they want to see any improvements they need Britton to mature.

AL Central:

1. Tigers: Great offense, back end of bullpen, and Justin Verlander. Defense takes big hit with Miguel Cabrera moving to third, could hinder pitching. X-factor: Max Scherzer; reminds me of a young AJ Burnett. If he can harness his stuff to go behind Verlander and Doug Fister, this team could win it all.(In Photo: Justin Masterson)
2. Indians: Got off to great start last year, but faded badly in second half. Justin Masterson is a future marquee name anchoring the Indian rotation, Chris Perez and Vinny Pestano one of best 8-9 inning combos. X-factor: Travis Hafner; needs to stay healthy for full season to even dream about overtaking Detroit.

3. Royals: Oodles and oodles of young talent in majors and minors, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon among others are future stars, very thin rotation. X-Factor: Luke Hochevar. Former number 1 overall pick pitched 198 innings in ’11, needs to take step to the next level.(In Photo: Adam Dunn)
4. White Sox: GM doesn’t know if contending or rebuilding, loss of Mark Beuhrle is huge for rotation, Alex Rios and Adam Dunn are terrible contracts and dead weight to the team. X-Factor: Adam Dunn; He can’t be worse than last year, right?

5. Twins: Suffered insane amount of injuries last year, don’t know if Francisco Liriano is taking the next step to be consistent, elite starter. X-factor: Health of Joe Mauer and Justin Mornaeu; both have laundry list of injury concerns, almost a given they’ll miss a chunk of team each.

AL West:

1. Rangers: Powerful offense 1-9 with strong, young rotation, bullpen could be leaky with Nathan closing. X-factor: Yu Darvish; If he pitches like an ace, this team could define “Third time’s the charm”.
(In Photo: Kendrys Morales)
2. Angels: Incredible 1-4 in rotation, not much offense after Pujols, questions in the bullpen with Jordan Walden closing. X-factor: Kendrys Morales; If he stays healthy and produces 2009 numbers, look out.

3. Mariners: Felix Hernandez, Jesus Montero, Dustin Ackley, Rally Fries, and their commercials are all they have. Virtually no offense, though Montero and Dustin Ackley are future stars, Ichiro is over the hill. X-factor: Justin Smoak; Still find it hard to believe Jack Z traded Cliff Lee for this guy, needs to show results and fast.
(In Photo: Brandon McCarthy)
4. A’s: Brandon McCarthy is the most underrated pitcher in all of baseball, should be 3-ring circus when Manny Ramirez returns. X-factor: Yoenis Cespedes; Had good showing in Japan, could have big rookie year.

Wild Cards: Angels, Rays
ALCS: Yankees over Rangers
MVP: Evan Longoria
Cy Young: CC Sabathia
Rookie: Jesus Montero
Comeback player: Phil Hughes
Manager of the year: John Farrell

I’m sure there are some picks that I’ve made that you disagree with, and that’s fine. Feel free to sound off in the comments. Look out for our National League predictions and our World Series pick on Saturday or Sunday. After all, I can't give you our World Series pick if I didn't give our National League predictions yet, right?




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse

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THE YANKEES & DRAFT SIGNINGS

(In Photo: Dante Bichette Jr.)
The Yankees were able to secure 7 players that they selected in the draft before the deadline. We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue wanted to bring them to you.

(In Photo: Greg Bird)

Gregory Bird: This kid was in the 5^th round, 179^th overall and signed for $1.1 million. Bird played in the California Collegiate League. He's a catcher. Click on his name to read more. Bird had this to say about the Yankees, brought to you by the Denver Post: “It’s exciting... There’s still a long way to go."

(In Photo: Jake Cave)

Jake Cave: Cave is a left hitting outfielder who signed for $825,000. He was in the 6^th round and 209^th overall. Cave is a position player. The goal is to make him a center fielder by the beginning of his major league career. Cave played in the Coastal Plains League. More HERE from Yankees Daily.

(In Photo: William Davis)

William Davis: Davis a right hander in the 14^th round. It's reported the "Rookie" Davis will make $550,000, the "largest handed out to a player outside the top three rounds this year," according to the Jacksonville Daily News. While David can play shortstop and first base, the Yankees like him as a pitcher.

(In Photo: Daniel Camarena)

Daniel Camarena: This left hander was in the 20^th round. He signed for $335,000. MLB's Daily Dish says it best "Camarena is a polished lefty starter that tends to sit in the high-80's these days, but he flashes a quality curve ball and could develop into a quality pitcher down the road."

(In Photo: Chaz Herbert)

Chaz Herbert: Herbert is a left hander from the 27^th round. Herbert said of the signing, "It really came down to the last two days and me deciding what I really wanted to do, In the end, I did what I've always wanted to do and that's play professional baseball." That is brought to you by The Daily Advertiser. Herbert will please in the Rookie Gulf Coast League to finish out the minor league season and then report again in March to really start his professional career.

(In Photo: Joseph Maher)

Joe Maher: Maher is a right hander in the 38^th round. "The fall prior to his sophomore season, Joey Maher threw a pitch that registered 87 miles per hour on the radar gun," according to the Bedford Patch. and here's more from the Patch: "As a senior, he produced a .442 batting average while playing first base, third base and designated hitter on his non-pitching days."

(In Photo: Jordan Cote)

Jordan Cote: Cote was in the 3^rd round and signed for $725,000 instead of attending Coastal Carolina on a baseball scholarship. Cote is a former New Hampshire Union Leader Player of the Year and a right hander. He’ll report to Tampa, Fla. and play rookie ball in the Gulf Coast League. Read more HERE.

(In Photo: Dante Bichette Jr.)

Dante Bichette Jr: As you know, Bichette signed a $750,000 deal back on June 18^th and we wrote about it here on Bleeding Yankee Blue. Currently, Bichette is with the Gulf Coast League. He’s batting .338 with 13 doubles, 3 homers and 41 RBIs. Bichette is the son of former baseball great and friend of Joe Girardi, Dante Bichette.

Here's the full list of who the Yankees signed:

3B Dante Bichette Jr. (Comp. A)
RHP Jordan Cote (3rd rd.)
INF Matt Duran (4th)
C Gregory Bird (5th)
OF Jake Cave (6th)
1B Austin Jones (7th)
RHP Philip Wetherell (8th)
RHP Zachary Arneson (9th)
RHP Mark Montgomery (11th)
OF Cody Grice (12th)
OF Justin James (13th)
RHP William Davis (14th)
RHP Branden Pinder (16th)
RHP Hayden Sharp (18th)
RHP Robert Paullus (19th)
LHP Daniel Camarena (20th)
INF Zach Wilson (21st)
RHP Corey Maines (23rd)
LHP Matthew Tracy (24th)
LHP Chaz Herbert (27th)
RHP Joseph Maher (38th)

(Source: NJ.com)

Remember these names folks, we may see some of them n the Bigs one day. Exciting stuff coming out of Yankeeland.

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