FanPost
Preseason All-AL Central
College sports have all kinds of "All Whatever" lists...preseason all-conference, all-Americans, All-defense and everything else you can imagine. Professional leagues haven't messed with these lists, they provide All-Stars and that is about it. I'm changing that today, how about a preseason All American League Central list? In order to come up with my list, I used information from two websites, Fangraphs and MLB Depth Charts. Fangraphs was used for their projected WAR for the 2010 season and MLB Depth Charts for the projected depth charts for the five teams in the AL Central.
- Left Field Candidates: Juan Pierre, Michael Brantley, Carlos Guillen, Scott Podsednik, and Delmon Young. Winner: Carlos Guillen (1.6 WAR)
- Center Field Candidates: Alex Rios, Grady Sizemore, Austin Jackson, Rick Ankiel, and Denard Span. Winner: Grady Sizemore by a wide margin (5 WAR)
- Right Field Candidates: Carlos Quentin, Shin-Soo Choo, Magglio Ordonez, David Dejesus, and Michael Cuddyer. Winner: Shin-Soo Choo (3.1 WAR), also note that Dejesus is tied for 2nd at 2.5 WAR and would have been a first teamer at left field.
- Third Base Candidates: Mark Teahen, Jhonny Peralta, Brandon Inge, Alex Gordon, and Nick Punto. Winner: Alex Gordon (2.6 WAR). Lets hope he can hold off Fields.
- Shortstop Candidates: Alexei Ramirez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Adam Everett, Yuniesky Betancourt, and J.J. Hardy. Winner: Asdrubal Cabrera (2.8 WAR)
- Second Base Candidates: Gordon Beckham, Luis Valbuena, Scott Sizemore, Chris Getz, Alberto Callaspo, and Orlando Hudson. Winner: Gordon Beckham (3.6 WAR). Interesting side note: Callaspo (1.7 WAR) Getz (1.5 WAR) and Callaspo is the one that lost his job.
- First Base Candidates: Miguel Cabrera, Justin Morneau, Paul Konerko, Matt LaPorta, and Billy Butler. Winner: Miguel Cabrera (4.5 WAR)
- Catcher: AJ Pierzynksi, Jason Kendall, Lou Marson, Gerald Laird, and Joe Mauer. Winner: Joe Mauer (7.2 WAR)
The Royals end up with one first teamer and his manager had this to say about him:
I would put Gordon’s name probably at the top of the list," Hillman said. "He’s coming off major surgery. I know he came back last year. I know he’s a great worker and everybody is waiting for him to breakout so to speak. But I’m not going to discount Josh Fields’ ability and count him out of the mix there.
and this gem from Kaegel:
A big year from Gordon doesn't seem as crucial now, however, with slugger Josh Fields and .300 hitter Alberto Callaspo as possible alternatives at third base.
This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.
Recent FanPosts
- Planning Trips to Royals MiLB Affiliates/Request for Your Input
- The best of the Greinke trade: Escobar vs. Cain
- First Post: It's the Great Pumpkin, Jeremy Guthrie
- Royals Minor League Transactions (6/9 - 6/15)
- DSL Report June 15
- Pitching-Powered Prosperity: The Current 12 Game Pitching Streak
- Friday OT Thread Strikes Back
- Hot Corner...What to Do?
- Why not send Moustakas down?
- Omaha vs. Nashville
In This FanPost
Teams
Players
- Joe Mauer (C-MIN)
- Alex Gordon (LF-KCR)
- Grady Sizemore (CF-CLE)
- Alberto Callaspo (3B-LAA)
- Asdrubal Cabrera (SS-CLE)
- Shin-Soo Choo (CF-CIN)
- Miguel Cabrera (3B-DET)
- Carlos Guillen (2B-SEA)
- Gordon Beckham (2B-CWS)
- Josh Fields (3B-PHI)
- Gerald Laird (C-ATL)
- Carlos Quentin (LF-SDP)
- Matt LaPorta (1B-CLE)
- Chris Getz (2B-KCR)
- Alexei Ramirez (SS-CWS)
- Mark Teahen (3B-TEX)
- David DeJesus (CF-CHC)
- Austin Jackson (CF-DET)
- Scott Podsednik (LF-ARI)
- Michael Brantley (LF-CLE)
- Rick Ankiel (CF-NYM)
- Delmon Young (RF-PHI)
- Adam Everett (SS-CLE)
- Scott Sizemore (2B-OAK)
- Michael Cuddyer (RF-COL)
- Justin Morneau (1B-MIN)
- Juan Pierre (LF-MIA)
- J.J. Hardy (SS-BAL)
- Lou Marson (C-CLE)
- Billy Butler (DH-KCR)
- Paul Konerko (1B-CWS)
- Brandon Inge (3B-PIT)
- Jhonny Peralta (SS-DET)
- Orlando Hudson (3B-CWS)
- Yuniesky Betancourt (1B-MIL)
- Jason Kendall (C-KCR)
- Magglio Ordonez (RF-DET)
- Denard Span (CF-WAS)
- Alex Rios (RF-CWS)
- Nick Punto (3B-LAD)
- Luis Valbuena (3B-CHC)
There are 55 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.