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From top to bottom, AL Central is looking like baseball's best

Looking good again, NL Central, but only at the top.

Not too shabby NL West, even if you also run just three teams deep.

AL East? Possibly better, but nothing special on paper.

Ditto for you, NL East and AL West.

With the regular season opening in three weeks, one major-league division jumps out at you for its top-to-bottom strength.

Take a bow, AL Central.

"We have a very tough division," Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "That's not a secret to anybody."

The AL Central might not have three tough teams like their NL counterparts, where the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates all won at least 97 games last season, a staggering total.

But in the NL Central this year, the Cardinals and Pirates don't appear to be quite as imposing, and the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds could combine for 200 losses.

In the NL West, the San Francisco Giants are expected to push for their fourth World Series championship in seven years, but how good are new starting pitchers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija and 34-year-old holdover Jake Peavy going to be behind ace Madison Bumgarner?

The Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation also has some flapping red flags after Clayton Kershaw, and new ace Zack Greinke and the Arizona Diamondbacks have worrisome holes in the lineup and bullpen.

The Boston Red Sox are the consensus favorite to win the AL East, but they are coming off two straight last-place finishes and have plenty to prove.

The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees look solid in the East, but what about the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays?

As for the AL West and the NL East, there are some strong teams like the Houston Astros and defending National League champion New York Mets, but both divisions have lightweight entrants as well.

In the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals have made back-to-back World Series appearances, and they won it all last season.

With Alex Gordon back on a new contract to fortify an impressive core of positional players, and another shut-down year expected from the bullpen, the Royals have the pieces - and confidence - to make more noise in October.

But don't be surprised if the White Sox, revamped Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians or upstart Minnesota Twins win the Central or claim a wild-card spot.

"We are the home to the world champs, so that's a good argument that you have a strong division," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "From 1-5, you have strong clubs and anyone can win this thing. Certainly, there is more depth in the division than some others."

The Tigers added quality veteran help over the winter, headed by outfielder Justin Upton and starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann.

With Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin/Cody Anderson, the Indians have one of the top rotations in baseball.

And don't forget the Twins, a rising young team that surprised everyone with an 83-79 record in 2015.

The White Sox like what they have this season after a massive overhaul brought in third baseman Todd Frazier, second baseman Brett Lawrie, catchers Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro, outfielder Austin Jackson, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and starter Mat Latos.

On paper, the Sox are a much better team than the one that went 76-86 while finishing fourth last year. USA Today projects them to win the AL Central.

"Realistically, the guys that we have in here, if we come together as a unit and get off to a good start, there's no end in sight," outfielder Adam Eaton said at the start of training camp. "There's always a team here and there that comes up and surprises people. We want to be that team."

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