AL Season Preview 2026

The ATMs AL Season Preview

AL East

1^st – New York Yankees  

The Yankees won it all last year, and have only improved this offseason. The only thing that can keep them out of the playoffs is injuries. Phil Hughes wins the 5^th spot in the rotation and that might be a weak point if he can't translate his bullpen success from last year into a starters role. Newcomer Curtis Granderson looks to be a great addition and I think he could pop out 30 homers or more this year especially with that short porch in right at new Yankee Stadium. In my opinion the glue to this team is Robinson Cano, if hes playing well they are tremendously hard to beat.

2^nd – Tampa Bay Rays  

The Rays failed to make the playoffs last year after a World Series run in 08. This year though I expect to see them back in the playoffs as a wild card team. Carl Crawford is still there (for now) and can set the table and distract a pitcher with speed as good (or better) than anybody in the league. Ben Zobrist will be looking to build on his breakout 09 season and carry those numbers through 2026. Questions: How will David Price fare in his second major league season? Will BJ Upton be able to bounce back after a horrendous 09 season?

3^rd – Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox made the playoffs last year as a wildcard but fell flat against the Angels. The question this year is if they will even make the playoffs. They lost arguably their best batter from last year in Jason Bay and replaced him with Mike Cameron, that should help their defense but their offense will suffer. Also added to this year's roster is stud pitcher John Lackey who will help to stabilize the rotation for the Sox. I think age is starting to catch up with the Sox, David Ortiz looked finished at the beginning of last year but came around in the second half of the season. They'll need Ortiz to produce if they expect to make the playoffs.

4^th – Toronto Blue Jays  

The Blue Jays finished 4^th last year after a hot start to the season. This winter they traded Roy Halladay.  This year they are expected to finish in dead last behind the Orioles. Don't expect that to happen. The Jays have lost their best player, but that doesn't make them a lock for last in the division. They have a young team that will have its ups and downs but they have enough talent in both pitching and batting in order to stay out of 5^th place. Questions: How will Aaron Hill and Adam Lind follow up on their fantastic 09 seasons? Who will replace Roy Halladay? Is this the year Travis Snider starts to realize his potential?

5^th – Baltimore Orioles  

The Orioles have been bad for years, especially last year when they finished fifth in the AL east. There is hope for the future for the Orioles though as they boast an impressive lineup of up and comers including Adam (not the pacman) Jones, Nolan Reimold, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and more. Nick Markakis is their best player and he should continue to grow better. This team has talent but their pitching is still suspect. They should battle with the Blue Jays for 4^th place in the east this year.

AL Central

1^st – Minnesota Twins  

Minnesota won this division last year and have only gotten better. They have a solid offense that should improve with JJ Hardy coming in to play shortstop. The pitching will be good, especially if Francisco Liriano gets back to form and if they can find a suitable replacement for closer Joe Nathan who will miss time with injury. Joe Mauer signed a big deal with the Twins in the winter and looks to continue being the face of the franchise and also to keep them atop the AL Central.

2^nd – Chicago White Sox

The White Sox finished 09 third in the central, and a big part of that was Carlos Quentin. Quentin had an injury marred campaign recovering from a wrist injury and a bout of plantar fasciitis. Look for Quentin to come closer to his 08 numbers this year as he will have had 1 more year to recover from wrist surgery and his plantar fasciitis should be gone now. On the pitching side of things the pale hose will have Jake Peavy for the entire year this time around and that will greatly help their strong rotation. The key player for the White Sox is Alex Rios, if he can get back to form after a dismal season last year, the Sox could challenge the Twins for the Central.

3^rd – Detroit Tigers

The Tigers lost out on the playoffs last year narrowly by way of a 1 game playoff versus the Twins, they'll be lucky if they get to an extra game this year. They lost 2 solid contributors from last year in Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson and replace them with inexperienced players Austin Jackson and Max Scherzer. Those moves could pan out big time this year if both of those guys can come in and play solid baseball, but most of the time young players struggle. Semi relevant statistical based entry: Miguel Cabrera's stats through to this part of his career are closely comparable to how 2 other active players started their careers, those 2 players? Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, Good company although this doesn't factor in defense.

4^th – Kansas City Royals  

The Royals finished tied for fourth last year, and that wasn't necessarily a disappointment for this team. Kansas City has been one of the worse teams in the majors for a while. However there may be hope for the future. Zack Greinke showed his skill last year in picking up the AL CY Young award and Billy Butler had a solid season batting .301 with 21 HRs and 93 RBIs. If those guys can continue to build on their success and Alex Gordon can start living up to his potential this is a team whose future could be very bright.

5^th – Cleveland Indians  

Fans in Cleveland have little to look forward to this season.  Perhaps their defining moment will come closer to the trade deadline where the team will most likely attempt to flip Jake Westbrook and Kerry Wood in order to free up some salary space as well as restock their system.  Jake Westbrook is a huge question mark coming into this season, having not pitched since 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair his arm.  The best case scenario is that he returns to the form he had prior to his injury and helps solidify the top of the rotation.  Fans can hope Fausto Carmona returns to the pitcher that won 19 games in 2026, but if he continues the trend he has developed the last two seasons, the pitching staff's situation looks bleak.  SS Asdrubal Cabrera will have to continue to develop into an effective leadoff batter if the offense has any hope to produce runs.  Aside from Grady Sizemore, who is coming off of a relatively quiet season, the offense will have to rely on Matt LaPorta building on his debut from last season and hope that DH Travis Hafner stays healthy and regains his once feared slugging ability.

AL West

1^st – Seattle Mariners  

The Mariners had an alright season last year but ultimately missed the playoffs. This year they are coming back with Cliff Lee and free agent pick up Chone Figgins and they expect to make the playoffs. Their pitching is solid and should keep them in almost every game, and their lineup should be just good enough at grinding out some runs to win some games. They win the west because the Angels have lost too many pieces of their team to compete, and Texas is overrated.

2^nd – Texas Rangers  

The Rangers are one of baseball's most potent offenses. Unfortunately for them their pitching is weak. This is a team that expects to compete this year, and they could if they catch a couple breaks or the AL West turns out to be very weak. This is a team that is relying on too many injury prone players to be key contributors to not be a letdown team.

3^rd – L.A. Angels  

Last season the Angels made it through the regular season gauntlet into the playoffs where they swept the Red Sox before being hammered by the Yankees. That was before 3 of their top players left in free agency. This year they will be without John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero, and Chone Figgins. The loss of those three players will hurt this franchise as they do not look poised to make another run at the playoffs. The Rotation is still solid even without Lackey, but that is counting on less experienced players. They will not be able to score enough runs to  help their young pitchers and that will hurt them.

4^th – Oakland Athletics

The A's are to put it lightly, not good. Unless everything comes together perfectly for them they will not be making a run at the playoffs. They are still in rebuilding mode. The only way they will affect a contender is by playing spoiler late in the year, or trading Ben Sheets.

Playoff Predictions

AL East: Yankees

AL Central: Twins

AL West: Mariners

Wildcard: Rays

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