Detroit Tigers
Offense: Grade: A This is one of the best lineups in the league. Newcomers Cabrera, Jacques Jones, and Renteria join an already potent lineup. It's so potent, that Pudge will bat eight in the order. They have five tool players in this lineup, so they'll beat you in many ways....not just with homeruns.
Defense: Grade: B Granderson is A+ in CF, and the rest of the team will hold its own. Polanco steadies a good infield defense.
Rotation: Grade: B+ Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis will be the keys to this staff. If they can return to form, the Tigers will be unbeatable. Verlander is a true ace, and is automatic for 20 wins this season. Kenny Rogers needs to return to form as well. Nate Robertson is a pretty good number five starter.
The rotation has questions, but the pitchers in question should weather the storm and pitch respectable, especially for a team that gives tons of run support.
Bullpen: Grade: C- Injuries have clouded this once top rated bullpen. Rodney and Zumaya are both injured. Rodney's out until July. And Todd Jones has never been a lights-out closer, and he has struggled this Spring. That leaves Seay as the only decent reliever for now. They'd better hope their starters pitch deep into games.
Bench: Grade: A- It's an unhappy bench, but having Inge, Thames, Hessman, and Wilson on the bench is a manager's dream.
Manager: Grade: A Jim Leyland is Jim Leyland. He knows what he's doing.
Outlook: 99-63 1st Place This team is too good and too athletic not to win the division. They'll need their rotation to step up. Hitting won't be a problem for this team.

Chicago White Sox
Offense: Grade: B+ The additions of Cabrera and Swisher will help this team score plenty of runs. Dye will need to bounce back from a down year. Quentin is a good young player that could emerge as a hard hitting leftfielder. Thome and Konerko can still hit with pop. This team will score runs.
Defense: Grade: B- Getting a bit older, but still capable of catching the ball .
Rotation: Grade: C Many questions persist. Buehrle and Vasquez should be fine atop the rotation, but young pitchers Danks and Floyd must start living up to the hype. They need to pitch better than they have. Contreras looks washed up, and could be a liability if he stays in the rotation. Will Lance Broadway get a chance? He needs to replace Contreras.
Bullpen: Grade: B+ They overpaid dearly, but with Dotel and Linebrink, they should have a decent bullpen, providing Dotel doesn't break down yet again. Jenks is money in the closer role.
Bench: Grade: A- Owens, Ozuna, Uribe, Fields, and Ricar make up a pretty good bench.
Manager: Grade: C Ozzie is Ozzie. Last year his act didn't work. This may be a year it does work. He's got more talent to work with.
Outlook: 92-70 2nd Place This team was better than they played last season. This team has the potential to go a long way. The young pitchers will have to come through for the Sox to remain in contention.

Cleveland Indians
Offense: Grade: A- They could very well lead the league in runs scored, though Cabrera over Barfield makes little sense to me. Can Garko repeat his 2007 season? Hafner, Martinez, and Blake are a dangerous trio.
Defense: Grade: B- Solid all around in the OF, led by a superb Sizemore in CF. The infield is average at best.
Rotation: Grade: C Overrated, overrated, overrated! Sabathia is a sure thing, but Carmona has had exactly one good season under his belt. He won't be as dominating this season. Lee and Westbrook are not very good. If not for run support, they'd be losers year in and year out. They'll need Byrd to have another great season...and at 38, that's no sure thing either. This is not a great rotation by any means.
Bullpen: Grade: A One of baseballs best bullpens. Betancourt and Perez are as solid setup men as there are. Borowski isn't your classic closer, and he'll get hit on occasion, but he knows how to get out of jams. Masa Kobayashi seems like the real deal, and only improves this pen.
Bench: Grade: B Solid bench with guys capable of starting in case of injury. Barfield (should be starting), Shoppach, Marte, and Dellucci are good off the bench.
Manager: Grade: B Wedge continues to get the most out of his team. He's where he belongs and should be a manger of the year candidate again this year.
Outlook: 91-71 3rd Place The starting staff is the concern. They're not as good as experts believe. Most like the Indians to finish first or second, but Carmona won't be as good, and Westbrook and Lee will struggle.

Minnesota Twins
Offense: Grade: B This team will miss Hunter, but they are still a team that can hit. Gomez could swipe 50 bases if he plays full time. Jason Pridie could be a rookie of the year candidate. Delmon Young is a solid addition. The Twins will still score runs, many manufactured with NL style play and speed.
Defense: Grade: B- Fine infield defense, but the OF defense scares me a bit.
Rotation: Grade: C- Questions galore, but there is potential. Is Liriano all the way back? He was dominant before the injury. Is Humber and/or Mulvey ready to pitch at the major league level? Can Slowey allow less hit? Will Bonser improve? Is Livian Hernandez still sliding? There are many questions surrounding this rotation. Glen Perkins should be in the rotation. He's being wasted in the pen. I believe next season will be the year this rotation starts to put it together.
Bullpen: Grade: C Outside of Joe Nathan, there are issues with this bullpen. This isn't the most talented group of arms ever assembled.
Bench: Grade: C+ Decent bench with Monrow, Punto, Redmond, and Gomez.
Manager: Grade: B If Gardenhire has the team, he'll manage them to victory. It just doesn't seem that he has the team this year.
Outlook: 78-84 4th Place Somewhat of a rebuilding year. They won't be awful, but won't be very good either. They should hang near .500 this season before the young pitchers start tiring.

Kansas City Royals
Offense: Grade: B- This is not a bad hitting team, but they keys will be Alex Gordon and Mark Teahan. Teahan struggled with the bat after moving to the OF. Gordon was supposed to set the world afire, and he didn't. Both are capable of much more. Guillen adds punch to this lineup.
Defense: Grade: B Guillen improves the OF defense. The infield defense is solid.
Rotation: Grade: C This staff is improving. Meche proved to be Mr. Reliable last season. Bannister is a master of working out of jams. Those two are a decent 1-2 in the rotation. Zack Greinke finally lived up to his potential and had a great year. Tomko and Davies don't thrill me, but they will improve the Royals if they can pitch at or near .500 ball. John Bale could be a sleeper. He'd be a solid addition to the rotation.
Bullpen: Grade: C- Outside of Soria, this is not a very good bullpen. They will often ruin the quality starts provided by the rotation.
Bench: Grade: B Surprisingly good bench with Olivo, Gathright, Huber, and Shealy. Huber is in danger of being traded, but he can hit given the chance.
Manager: Grade: ? We need to see more of Trey Hillman before giving a proper grade.
Outlook: 77-85 5th Place The Royals will not be pushovers this season. They can hit and pitch. The bullpen will be the downfall of this team. Regardless, they will be competitive and give other teams fits.