AL Central Preview - 1980

1979 AL central standings:

Milwaukee: 112-50

Cleveland: 74-88

Chicago: 72-90

Kansas City: 71-91

Minnesota: 65-97

Minnesota Twins (1979 Record: 65-91):

Minnesota enters the 80’s with the longest playoff drought in the AL central, failing to reach the postseason since 1960 and producing progressive worse records each year since 1973. As dismal as this may appear, hope remains for the new decade. Minnesota will retain multiple bright young stars for at least the next 4 years in LF Fernando Ramirez (4.5 WAR), 1B Tim Crilly (5.3 WAR), and the AL K/9 leader SP Daniel Webb (4.2 WAR). Top prospect CF Shane Taylor will look to join this elite group when he (presumably) makes his debut this season.

Even with these young players, Minnesota will likely need to invest in FA or trades to fill their remain holes as no other starting position player produced more than 1.3 WAR in 1979. While daunting, this ‘stars and scrubs’ lineup formation provides clear avenues for future upgrades. Once an average lineup can be implemented along with Crilly and Ramirez the rest of the AL central will need to take notice.

The Twin’s rotation will again see multiple newcomers. Free agent signing SP Kyle Nicklas will likely join two former first round picks from 1977, SP Ethan Dowdell and SP Bill Price, and make their debut in the rotation. Although they will join incumbents SP Daniel Webb, SP Tim Thompson, and SP Luis Rondon, the success of the rotation and the team will land heavily on the shoulders of the new rotation members.

If the young pitchers continue to take steps forward and a few more holes in the lineup are filled in the coming year, the Twins have the potential to contend for the division title and snap their 20 year playoff drought. However, they still look to be a year or two away from full contention.

Projected 1980 Record: 70-92

Kansas City Royals (1979 Record: 71-91)

Since their inception in 1969, the Kansas City Royals have struggled to field a competitive roster and saw significant turnover in the front office. With rare stability in recent years they have revamped both the top end and depth of the farm system. After bottoming out in 1978 and receiving the first overall pick in the talented 1979 draft this organization clearly looks to be on the upswing.

They will return three talented young pitchers in SP Tony Robinson (1.5 WAR – 16 GS), SP Sean Ross (2.4 WAR – 20 GS), and SP Frank Lennon (3.3 WAR) all still on league minimum contracts. These three will join trade acquisition SP Mike Bishop to solidify and stabilize a productive rotation, but one that lacks elite talent. Former 1979 first overall pick and current #14 overall prospect SP Bobby Lewis’ debut looks to be on the horizon and should immediately take the mantle of staff ace.

The ageless future hall of fame lock 3B Jessie Weisberg (86.0 Career WAR) will once again lead a young lineup out to prove themselves. He will be joined by RF Scott Davis (2.0 WAR) and rookie DH Josh Madsen, who was acquired from Milwaukee in the RP Jonathan Harlan trade, in the center of the lineup as they wait for top prospect LF Gabe to debut. Even in the cavernous Royals Stadium, this lineup ranked in the top half the AL in runs scored and will likely improve as more prospects debut.

Although questions remain at multiple positions on the Kansas City roster in 1979, this organization seems to clearly be on the path towards contention and will be a team to watch out for once their top prospects reach the big leagues.

Projected 1980 Record: 78-84

Chicago White Sox (1979 Record: 72-90)

The end of the 1970s has been a time of turnover in Chicago’s south side. After reaching the playoffs in 1978 for the first time in 7 years, stars CF Justin Crafton, SP Rich Hare, SS Matt Lopez, and RF Shane Herrera were moved at the 1979 deadline with an eye towards retooling for the future. Ultimately (after a couple intermediate trades) this led to the acquisition of 22-year-old SP Kaleb Romero and 23-year-old SP Gabriel Ochoa from Miami. They will look to join FA signing SP Jimmy Sutton to revitalize a White Sox rotation that did not feature any pitcher who exceeded 2.0 WAR, and should be joined by top prospect SP Dave Kearns during the year.

While the rotation incorporates a mixture of the young and old, the lineup features few players above 30. Trading SS Matt Lopez and RF Shane Herrera to Atlanta brought back the promising young LF Nick Harvey who put up 3.3 WAR in his inaugural season with the Sox. Similarly, 23-year-old LF Orlando Candido and 26-year-old 1B Jeremy Lisker traversed time zones in the SP Rich Hare and CF Justin Crafton deal from the Angels. Harvey, Candido, and Lisker will be joined by 24-year-old 2B Victor Ditella acquired over the offseason from division rival Milwaukee.

With many starters in the nascent stage of their career, the success of the White Sox will heavily depend on what steps forward these youngsters can take to establish themselves as big league ball players. If everything goes right, this team could be knocking on the door to the playoffs once again in short order. However, if key youngsters neglect to develop, or regress, expect star C Danny Lopez to be shopped in pursuit of reinforcements for the coming years.

Projected 1980 Record: 80-82

Cleveland Indians (1979 record: 74-88)

Cleveland has remained a consistent team for much of the 1970s as they have remained between 72 and 78 wins each year since 1975. Entering the new decade, they will look to buck this trend after heavily investing in their rotation and expecting the further development of some promising young bats.

After gambling on the injury prone Jorge “The Old Fox” Pineda, by singing him to the largest contract in RLB history at $14.17m spread over 6 years, they were rewarded by a full season of productivity. He will be joined by recent acquisitions SP Pablo “King” Rincon (FA) and SP Chris Baca (trade), along with exciting knuckleballer SP Kyle Coogle and former top prospect and 2nd overall pick SP Kurt Johnson. Cleveland has also invested significant draft capitol in their bullpen by taking RHP Manny Chavez with the 26th overall pick in 1976 and LHP Randy Black with the 13th overall pick in 1975 and were handsomely rewarded by the production of these youngsters during the past year (1.2 and 2.8 WAR, respectively). This right-hand dominant rotation projects to fare well in Cleveland stadium but it remains to be seen if the lineup can provide enough thump to finally break through the .500 mark.

Former top 5 prospect CF Fernando Castellanos will look to stay healthy and bounce back to regain the form that led to a career high 5.4 WAR in his rookie year while he remains in his prime. He will be joined by young, former top 50 prospect, 1B Danny Medina as the LHB stalwarts in a RHB dominant lineup. They will be joined by a smattering of productive bats including 5-time all-star 1B Art Sunderland, defensive wizard and former top 50 prospect 3B Jake Irvine, and speedster 2B/SS Robby Robinson.

A few holes remain in to be addressed before this team can take the step from above average to contender. Hopefully, these holes can be filled before father time comes for their rotation anchors.

Projected 1980 Record: 86-76

Milwaukee Brewers (1979 record: 112-50)

The end of the decade in the AL central saw a dominant Brewers team lead their division wire to wire and conclude with their second piece of metal in 4 years. After expansion they quickly built themselves into a perennial contender culminating in 7 consecutive division championships, 7 consecutive 100+ win seasons, 5 AL pennants, and 2 world series. With a new decade approaching, it remains to be seen if their remaining franchise icons of the 70’s can avoid decline as they approach their late 30’s. SP Joe Coggins (35yo, 39.0 ML4 WAR), LF Alex Searcy (34yo, 39.7 ML4 WAR), 3B Michael Wilson (34yo, 54.3 ML4 WAR), and DH James King (35yo, 44.4 ML4 WAR) are all locks to have their number retired by the brew crew, but the success of the team going into a new decade will largely depend on their continued production.

Beyond these four, the Brewers return a strong group of players in their prime including former MVP 1B Dan Linson (5.4 WAR), 1979 batting champion RF Jonathan Gardner (6.4 WAR), former ROY and 1979 world series MVP 2B/SS Mario Murillo (3.6 WAR), and rotation stalwart SP Daniel Barreto (3.9 WAR).

Eight players do not make a complete team; however, and the remainder of the team projects to include many new faces who have yet to spend a full year with the ball club led by C Paul “Cookie Monster” Seaver and LF Bobby “Hamburger” Reyna. Recently acquired Chris “Sweetness” Bechtel will look to put his injury woes behind him and join FA acquisition SP Josh Gallery as productive pieces of the rotation.

With a strong mix of veterans and young players, the Brewers will look to eke out another year of production from their aging stars while relying on production from their up-and-comers to repeat as division champions and potentially make another run in the playoffs. Since the beginning of the FA era no team has repeated as world series champions, so the Brewers will have a tough road ahead as they look to buck the trend.

Projected 1980 Record: 107-55

Final Projected Standings:

Milwaukee Brewers: 107-55

Cleveland Indians: 86-76

Chicago White Sox: 80-82

Kansas City Royals: 78-84

Minnesota Twins: 70-92