The MLB lockout has ended, and baseball is back! As DFS players shift from winter sports like NBA and NHL to a summer mindset, Razzle brings everyone up to speed on who went where and what teams might be offensive juggernauts prime for some daily fantasy stacks anchoring those winning lineups.
We aren’t yet 100% sure what rosters will look like for every team, as there are still some free agents dangling on the vine. Below, I am going to look at the AL Central. I will give my thoughts on guys set up for big seasons when it comes to DFS MLB.
MLB AL Central – Chicago White Sox
Aug 22, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (7) and first baseman Jose Abreu (79) celebrate after the team win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
The White Sox have the looks of a team that should compete for the most wins in the A.L. this season. The big question is health with their pitching staff plus their OF. Luis Robert is one of the most popular picks for MVP this season and that is certainly possible. He needs to show that he’s not an injury-prone player in order to realize his upside.
Acquiring AJ Pollock late in camp should help out the lineup as well as the OF defense. What this team needs is Yoan Moncada to step up and fulfill some of his prospect status promises. I do think that the White Sox still have a hole at 2B after trying Cesar Hernandez out in the 2nd half last season. They have replaced him with Josh Harrison but I feel like it turns into a revolving door.
In the DFS world, we love using a metric we invented called KScore. KScore combines the strikeout ability of pitchers and compares it to the daily opponent’s strikeout percentage…spotting key matchups slipping under the DFS radar. (See how it works here.)
The White Sox have a very strong bullpen but it has been weakened recently. They had to give up Craig Kimbrel in the deal for Pollock and Crochet is undergoing Tommy-john surgery. The rotation should be strong overall but Lynn just underwent surgery. That injury led to the team signing Johnny Cueto but he shouldn’t scare any opponent bats. Dylan Cease is a popular step-up candidate and I have to agree. I wouldn’t be shocked by an ascension to the ace territory.
Overall, the White Sox should showcase plenty of offense while having some strong SP performances. There are question marks with the pitching staff (Keuchel, Cueto, bullpen health) but the offense can cover a lot of that. This is a weak division for the most part but a few of the teams are on the cusp of becoming contenders.
Detroit Tigers
I might be pushing Detroit up a little too far but I would rather be ahead of the curve. The young guys are ready and the front office has done a decent job of filling in with vets. Riley Greene getting hurt delays his MLB debut but I expect that to happen sooner than later. Spencer Torkelson made the club out of spring training and his debut is going to be extremely hyped.
The overall MLB lineup is going to be decent on a daily basis. During the spring, this squad has done a good job of getting the ball in play. They have 29 HRs through 18 games. I believe there will be a handful of times where this team flies under the radar as far as stacking goes. MLB Research Station Hot Stacks Tab.
The pitching staff should offer some upside if Mize, Manning, and Skubal have taken a step forward. Eduardo Rodriguez was added as a veteran ace while Michael Pineda was a late sign to stabilize the back-end of the rotation. The bullpen is a pretty big question mark for me. Soto and Fulmer combined to be pretty strong at the back-end last season. Fulmer hasn’t seen his velocity come back yet this spring and that’s a big worry for me right now.
This might be a year too early for Detroit but let’s go with it. The offense should hit plenty of HRs but I do think they will go through some rough stretches. If the pitching staff takes a step forward with the bullpen being above average, I could see this team getting to 85 wins by the end of the season.
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Minnesota Twins
Apr 7, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Jake Cave (60) center fielder Byron Buxton (25), and right fielder Max Kepler (26) celebrate after the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
The Twins have had a really curious offseason. I was shocked to see them go after Correa, to be honest. As a Twins fan, I do not understand giving Garver and Donaldson away. What did they get in return? Well, they brought on Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela, two guys I think are downgrades from where the team was. Buxton is the key to this offense, especially after his ridiculous start in 2021. If he stays healthy, this Twins offense becomes extremely dangerous.
When the Twins acquired Sonny Gray, I thought they were going to make multiple SP moves. I love the acquisition but giving up Chase Petty is hard. Joe Ryan gets the opening day start and he’s an exciting young pitcher. The issues come with the last part of the rotation with guys like Ober and Archer. I expect the bullpen to be decent but I worry that there is no absolute, shut-down arm.
My plan is to carefully watch the Domination Station Optimizer’s love of an MLB stat like ISO and prepare myself to cut down my exposure to them until the weather heats up a little in MIN.
My views on the Twins are skewed as a fan. I wish they kept the Bomba squad together but it is what it is. This offense is going to score some runs so they will make my stacks on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I feel like they have to win a number of games 7-6 at this point. I wouldn’t rule out them acquiring an arm like Frankie Montas, just yet.
Kansas City Royals
Jul 23, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals’ first baseman Carlos Santana (41) hits a home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
I might be underestimating the Royals this season. We get to see Bobby Witt Jr. break camp with the big league squad. When you add his upside to the dynamite that is Mondesi (but he’s very injury prone) and the steadiness of Merrifield, Santana, and Perez, you get a lineup that could put up some big numbers for stretches.
The KC pitching staff is going to leave a LOT to be desired, especially if the young guys continue to struggle. I am not sure I understand bringing Greinke back and then starting him on opening day. Carlos Hernandez is my favorite starter on this team but he looked atrocious this spring. The overall bullpen should be pretty below average but there are a couple of strong pieces.
Kansas City falls behind Detroit in terms of when the young guys are going to get to the majors and compete. There will be a TON of eyes on the Royals this summer with Witt making the ascension to the pros. DFS wise, I have a feeling that Witt is going to carry plenty of ownership early in the season.
Cleveland Guardians
Aug 31, 2020; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
I started out the Nationals’ write-up by saying I felt sorry for Juan Soto. That same feeling can be applied to Jose Ramirez. The overall lineup is going to be pretty bad unless a bunch of unknowns steps up, over their heads. There are rumors flying about trading Ramirez to the Padres as I write this.
Shane Bieber should make a bit of a comeback this season. He was so good in 2020 and if he stays healthy, he should put up similar numbers. Cleveland has a ton of young arms that could really step up and make a formidable rotation. The bullpen is generally loaded with guys who can bring it. The pitching staff shouldn’t be the reason this team struggles in 2022.
When it comes to DFS with the Guardians, we really just want to look at mini-stacks to begin the season. I know that ALL offenses find hot stretches and Cleveland has some bats that can get hot enough. I generally love to be aggressive and predict the start of hot stretches, but with Cleveland, I will take a wait-and-see approach. I will always get a Jose Ramirez-Franmil Reyes mini-stack in my GPP builds.
MY PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH
- Chicago White Sox
- Detroit Tigers
- Minnesota Twins
- Kansas City Royals
- Cleveland Guardians
The start of the 2022 MLB season is just over a week away, thankfully. It was a long offseason with a lot of unknowns thanks to the lockout. After all of the struggles, we’ve gotten to witness a somewhat abbreviated spring training. Over the next week, I am going to preview each division in baseball and then I will finish with a DFS season preview. I should introduce myself, I am Eric Rasmussen (@Razzle11Grinds on Twitter) and I cover MLB and CBB for DFS Army.
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