The Z Files: AL Central Playing Time Preview

Welcome to Part Two of the six-part excursion through the MLB divisions, this time stopping in the American League Central. Pardon me if I type fast, I want to file this before another trade is made at the Winter Meetings. Here's a look at where the division sits in terms of current playing time, presented in order of last season's finish.

CLEVELAND INDIANS

Infield

One of the most stable infields the past couple of seasons has several question marks, beginning with first base as Carlos Santana departed in free agency. There's a chance Edwin Encarnacion dons his first baseman's mitt, but that opens another hole at designated hitter. Complicating matters is that prospect Bobby Bradley is on the fast track, so signing someone long-term isn't likely.

Jason Kipnis was a stalwart at second, but he could be out of a job as last season's injuries plus poor performance has Kipnis on the trading block. Jose Ramirez could shift to second, but that leaves the hot corner unattended. Yandy Diaz saw some action there last season and is a candidate to return, especially if he can add some loft to his batted ball profile.

The dark horse is top catching prospect Francisco Mejia, who was asked to play some third in the Arizona Fall League. His defense is fine behind the plate, it's just the Tribe is looking for a way to get his major-league ready bat in the lineup.

Outfield

Despite a pair of deep playoff runs, the Indians outfield hasn't been a strength the last couple of seasons. Assuming Bradley Zimmer produces adequately between strikeouts, the primary question is Michael Brantley's health in left field. The former All-Star only played in 90 games and is recovering from offseason ankle surgery. He's supposed to be ready for spring training, but he can't be trusted for a full season after missing large portions of the last two. For a team with World Series aspirations and a couple of needs on the offensive side of the ledger, Cleveland has been quiet thus far.

Pitching

The main question here is how do the Indians get Mike Clevinger the starts he deserves? Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco comprise one of the better one-two combos in the league. Someone from Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin and Clevinger is the odd man out as far as starting is concerned. Injuries may dictate the direction, but assuming everyone is healthy, Tomlin should head to the bullpen. This is more my opinion, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Someone to consider for deep leagues is Nick Goody, in line to pick up the innings previously belonging to Bryan Shaw. With Shaw in Colorado, Goody now becomes a nice source of holds, pairing with Andrew Miller to set up Cody Allen.

MINNESOTA TWINS

Offense

The wild-card runner-up's lineup is pretty well set, with the possibility of upgrading at shortstop or bringing in a bat to be the designated hitter.

Pitching

The arms, on the other hand, need some help. It's nice to read the club is in on all the free agents, as hopefully they'll be able to add some top-level reinforcements to join veteran Ervin Santana and the up-and-coming Jose Berrios. With all due respect to my podcast partner's cautious optimism regarding how much the Twins' outstanding outfield defense helps Kyle Gibson, the club needs something better than Adalberto Mejia and Aaron Slegers to keep up with the iron in the American League. Signing Michael Pineda is a nice gamble for 2019, but isn't likely to make a difference this season. Maybe down the stretch.

Fernando Rodney was signed to shore up the closer spot. I know, that feels like an oxymoron, but Rodney did save 39 in 45 chances for the wild-card Diamondbacks last season. Next in line is probably Trevor Hildenberger, who has ninth-inning experience at Triple-A, but he's not overpowering, relying on a deceptive motion that's more effective versus righty swingers.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Infield

What a mess. Foundational cornerstones Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are both free agents. The Royals may be able to bring one of them back, but probably not both. The issue is they really don't have anyone ready in the system to backfill, a requisite for a club like Kansas City, as they don't have the payroll to keep their home-grown talent as they hit their prime. There's a bunch of Brandon Moss-like hitters on the market, or they could just stick with Moss himself to play first. It's hard to imagine Cheslor Cuthbert handling the chores at the hot corner, but that's the top in-house candidate. At least the middle is set with Whit Merrifield stabilizing the keystone, pushing Raul Mondesi to his natural position at shortstop.

A name to speculate on in deep leagues is Samir Duenez. Colleague James Anderson ranks him as the fourth best Royals prospect. Duenez is only 21, but he held his own at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and could debut in 2018 if he hits well for Triple-A Omaha.

Outfield

The outfield isn't in much better shape with Lorenzo Cain joining Hosmer and Moustakas on the market. Alex Gordon and Jorge Soler can play rock-paper-scissors to decide who has been more disappointing. Paulo Orlando has major-league experience, but talk about a backhanded compliment.

Pitching

The prognosis doesn't get much better here as the Royals are also lacking the arms to compete. The problem is, with so many holes in the lineup, there's no reason to spend on pitching. Yeah, innings eaters will be brought in, but they won't have much fantasy relevance.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Infield

For some reason, the White Sox are supposedly entertaining offers for Jose Abreu. Granted, he'll be 31 when spring training rolls around, but he's still cost-controlled at a reasonable rate for a couple more seasons and the club should be able to afford to bring him back when they're ready to compete, which isn't that far away.

The middle is covered nicely with Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson. Yolmer Sanchez and Matt Davidson are in-house options for third base. There's a chance the Pale Hose bring someone in, but they're more likely to make do with what they have, despite the rumor that they're in on Manny Machado.

Outfield

Some say Nicky Delmonico came out of nowhere, but if you research his history, he was a decent prospect in the Orioles and Brewers systems before being tagged with a suspension for amphetamines. Look for him to get a long look, along with Charlie Tilson, who's returning after missing all of 2017 with a foot injury. There's a slim chance top prospect Eloy Jimenez is promoted this season, Personally, I doubt it and prefer to throw my speculative darts elsewhere.

Pitching

The organization has done a nice job of stockpiling power arms. Lucas Giolito and Reyaldo Lopez both have tasted the bigs and should be up to stay. James Shields is still under contract to chew up innings. I'd expect someone else of that ilk to be brought in, that is, someone with no fantasy allure.

Michael Kopech is the prize arm on the farm. Like Jimenez, some are drafting him for 2018, but I don't see it. At least in my not-so-humble opinion, everything would have to break perfectly for the club to be in the hunt for a playoff berth, which is the only logical reason why they'd accelerate Kopech's development plan. Sure, I didn't think the Twins had a chance this time last season, so anything can happen. I just prefer using my resources on a player I'm more confident will contribute in the current season.

Juan Minaya ended last season as closer and while I don't feel the White Sox should invest a lot in the position, it would be nice to have someone more reliable to lock down some wins for Giolito and Lopez.

DETROIT TIGERS

Infield

The recent trade of Ian Kinsler creates an opening at the keystone, with only Dixon Machado in line to grab the spot. Signing someone like Neil Walker or Brandon Phillips is possible. The rest of the spots are set, assuming Miguel Cabrera can handle being in the field with Victor Martinez returning as designated hitter.

For fantasy purposes, it will be interesting to see if Jeimer Candelario's bat can play at the hot corner. This is a case of trusting scouts citing developing power as opposed to reading the numbers, as those numbers don't portend a ton of pop.

Outfield

The repercussion of handing third to Candelario is that Nick Castellanos gets pushed to right field. The last time something like this happened in the AL Central, Lonnie Chisenhall ceded the hot corner to Jose Ramirez. No, I'm not comparing Candelario to Ramirez, I'm just making small talk.

Detroit recently signed Leonys Martin, ostensibly to play center field as no one from last season's merry-go-round stuck. Martin has shown flashes of mediocrity in the past and is an interesting play in deeper leagues.

Pitching

While there's some help in the lower minors, short-term reinforcement options are bleak. Detroit has an ace in the making with Michael Fulmer, and a project with Daniel Norris. They already showed their hand, picking up Mike Fiers, hoping a change in scenery will get his career back on track. That's the kind of acquisitions to expect.

Shane Greene is the incumbent closer. Being saddled with the 'closer of the future' label is often the kiss of death, but that doesn't dampen my optimism Joe Jimenez can emerge as a ninth-inning stopper down the road. I like him as a speculative play for later this season as well as 2019 and beyond.

As always, happy to address anything overlooked in the comments.

Previous installments: AL East

Next week: AL West