MLB Prospects to Watch 2020: American League Central

By: Chris Larson 

The American League Central saw a shift in powers last year when the Minnesota Twins ended up taking home the division crown. As a result, the Cleveland Indians ended up missing out on the playoffs altogether despite staying in the race until the very end for one of the American League Wild Card spots. Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers were in full blown rebuilds with their sights set to the future.

Heading into this season, both the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians look like co-favorites to win the division crown. Both teams are still in their championship window albeit the Indians window is starting to close somewhat after they were competitive for a couple of seasons prior to the Twins current window opening. However, the Indians still have an incredible amount of depth in their starting rotation and a middle of the lineup that can be anchored by shortstop Francisco Lindor and third baseman Jose Ramirez. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have equally as good of an offense especially now with the addition of third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson helps to really balance out the Twins lineup and while he isn't a pitcher to insert into their starting rotation or bullpen, he does help from a defensive standpoint.

The most intriguing team in the division might not be either the Twins or Indians, but rather the Chicago White Sox this coming season. The White Sox have had a very notable offseason this winter headlined by the signings of catcher Yasmani Grandal, the extension to first baseman Jose Abreu, the signing of Edwin Encarnacion, and the addition of both Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez to the starting rotation. Furthermore, the White Sox added a very intriguing bat to their lineup when they acquired outfielder, Nomar Mazara from the Texas Rangers during the Winter Meetings. If Mazara is able to live up to the expectations that have surrounded him from the past few years, then he should be an incredible addition for the White Sox in their attempt to add more offense. Additionally, both Keuchel and Gonzalez should be valuable innings eaters and veteran leaders among the team's young stable of pitchers.

Finally, both the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers will likely still be in rebuild mode this coming season. It's hard to see a legitimate path for either one making the postseason despite the fact that the Royals are a year or two ahead of the Tigers in the overall rebuild cycle. Kansas City should improve upon their win-loss record from last season, while the Tigers will still be focused on the future and trying to identify who their core group of players is going to be moving forward. If one thing standout between both organizations, it's the fact that both possess a lot of young, intriguing pitchers coming up the pipeline. Many of those arms should start making it up to the big leagues as early as this coming season, but some of them may have to wait until next year or beyond.

Despite the fact that it's going to be an interesting division to watch at the big league level, it will be fascinating to see how the farm system develops for each team as well. Therefore, here is one prospect to watch this coming season for all five teams in the American League Central: https://lastwordonbaseball.com/2020/01/23/mlb-prospects-to-watch-2020-american-league-central/