For the last two seasons the Detroit Tigers have been the team to beat in the AL Central, but with a new season brings new opportunities.  While the Tigers should still be the favorites to win the division because of the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander they have made some money saving moves that has brought them back closer to the competition.  Thanks to these moves, some injuries and improvement in the division, the Tigers could be in danger of losing their crown as Division Champions.

Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers

It’s pretty simple, there is no one in this division that is on his level.  Jose Abreu of the White Sox is an unknown entity and could someday be the kind of power hitter that pushes for the AL MVP award, but for now the honor of the best player in the AL Central belongs to the two-time AL MVP.

Cy Young Award: Chris Sale - Chicago White Sox

Two of the last three years the AL Cy Young award has come out of the AL Central, specifically the Detroit Tigers.  This year there will be a change as Sale takes over as the top pitcher in the division.  The Kansas City Royals may have a candidate of their own in the form of James Shields as he plays for his next contract, but in the end I believe that Sale emerges as the best pitcher in the division.  The last two seasons he has made the all-star game and finished sixth and fifth in Cy Young voting respectively, but with an improved offense on his side this will be the year that he makes the leap to at least the top of the voting for the division.

Rookie of the Year: Yordano Ventura - Kansas City Royals

The AL Central will have multiple players that can win Rookie of the Year this season with Abreu, Nick Castellanos and Ventura all starting their rookie campaigns as starters for their respective clubs.  This is going to be very tight to not only decide who the best rookie in the Central is, but possibly determine who will win the Rookie of the Year award.  While it would be easy to pick Abreu as the guy to win the award because he is considered to be a better prospect than Yoenis Cespedes, and Cespedes not only finished in second in the RoY voting, but finished in the MVP voting as well in his rookie year.  It will be tight, but with the numbers Ventura is putting up this spring, 18 strikeouts in 20 and one third innings with an ERA of only 1.77, it is hard to imagine anyone beating him out for the award.

After a long look at the moves and injuries that have come this offseason there will be a new champion in this division, and possibly the end of an era for the Detroit Tigers as they miss the playoffs.

2014 Standings Projection

Cleveland Indians: 92-70

Kansas City Royals: 90-72

Detroit Tigers: 89-73

Minnesota Twins: 74-88

Chicago White Sox: 70-92

While both the Twins and the White Sox will improve they will not improve enough to change their position in the division as they again finish fourth and fifth.  The big mix up is in the middle of the division, though, as the Tigers struggle to mesh with the loss of some of the key players over the past two seasons and fall to third in the division.  They do push for a wild card spot, but in the end they fall short of the final playoff spot as do the Kansas City Royals, who finally break 90 wins, but again fail to make the playoffs falling just short of the Wild Card.  Enter the new champions as last season’s Cinderella team, the Cleveland Indians, continue their rise to the top by winning the division behind solid pitching and a young core that continues to improve.