Two solid pitching staffs could be threat in AL Central
A changing of the guard might be helpful for the AL Central's reputation.
Since Cleveland lost in the 2016 World Series, teams from the division have gone a combined 3-16 in playoff games over the past four seasons.
Most of those losses belong to Cleveland and Minnesota - especially the Twins with their 18-game playoff losing streak - so the time seems right for the White Sox to step forward, win the division for the first time since 2008 and maybe not get swept in the divisional round. Here's a check on the competition:
Minnesota
The Twins built a reputation for slugging the past few years and did finish third in the AL in home runs last season. But they ranked just 10th in runs scored. Pitching was a greater strength, with Minnesota finishing third in ERA.
The heart of the rotation returns in Jose Berrios, Kenta Maeda, Michael Pineda and Randy Drobnak, while the Twins added J.A. Happ from the Yankees.
The two main additions in the field are former Angels SS Andrelton Simmons and OF prospect Alex Kirilloff. The rest of the lineup is basically the same, but that includes 1B Miguel Sano, who hit .204 last year, 3B Josh Donaldson (. 222) and 40-year-old DH Nelson Cruz.
Cleveland
There may be no team that is more about pitching than this one. Cleveland led the AL by a wide margin in ERA and strikeouts, while Shane Bieber, 25, easily won the Cy Young.
The team did this while trading away the core pitchers from the World Series squad along the way. Carlos Carrasco was the latest to depart, going to the Mets along with all-star SS Francisco Lindor. There's not much to suggest Cleveland will improve it's anemic offense, even with MVP runner-up Jose Ramirez coming back. Besides Lindor, 1B Carlos Santana also departed. There's a lot riding on Bieber, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie becoming another dominant rotation.
Kansas City
The Royals finished last season with two successful hitters (OF Whit Merrifield and DH Jorge Soler), along with one, maybe two, promising pitchers (Brad Keller, Brady Singer).
That's probably not enough to field a good team, so Kansas City went out and got some reinforcements with former Red Sox OF Andrew Benintendi, former Cleveland 1B Carlos Santana and former Nationals OF Michael Taylor. All three of those players hit below .200 last season, so the Royals are taking a leap of faith just to be mildly competitive.
Detroit
The Tigers probably won't be good, but their plan is to at least give the fans a solid glimpse of the future.
MLB Pipeline rated Detroit's farm system No. 2 in baseball, and the Tigers landed four players among the top 25 prospects. So there will be eyes on starting pitchers Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, and eyes on the clock waiting for 1B/OF Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 pick of the 2020 draft, who is expected to start the season in high Single A.