Ranking Each MLB American League's Starting 9

As much I love the pageantry of football and the personality of basketball, there's simply nothing like Major League Baseball. It's truly the our nation's pastime. What better way to kick off the 2012 season than with a rundown of the American League top lineups?

I used information from ESPN and MLB Depth Charts to develop the lineups, and the rest is all with my own mind. In other words, reader beware.

Note also that these starting nines aren't necessarily the Opening Day lineups.

They are what I believe the basic roster will be throughout the year minus random prospects being called up when (SPOILER ALERT!) teams like the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins fall out of contention.

Be sure to check my mirror to this article—the NL rankings!

No. 14: Oakland Athletics

C: Kurt Suzuki

1B: Brandon Allen

2B: Jemile Weeks

3B: Josh Donaldson

SS: Chad Pennington

LF: Coco Crisp

CF: Yoenis Cespedes

RF: Josh Reddick

DH: Seth Smith (Manny Ramirez suspended for first 50 games)

Have you seen Moneyball? It was fun to see GM Billy Beane make the Oakland Athletics click if only just for one year.

No. 13: Minnesota Twins

C: Joe Mauer

1B: Justin Morneau

2B: Alexi Casilla

3B: Danny Valencia

SS: Jamey Carroll

LF: Josh Willingham

CF: Denard Span

RF: Ben Revere

DH: Ryan Doumit

There are just too many health concerns with the Minnesota Twins for them to be a major force in the American League. Former MVPs Mauer and Morneau are the heart of this team, but also the most dinged up.

No. 12: Seattle Mariners

C: Miguel Olivo

1B: Justin Smoak

2B: Dustin Ackley

3B: Chone Figgins

SS: Brendan Ryan

LF: Mike Carp

CF: Michael Saunders

RF: Ichiro

DH: Jesus Montero

Though the Seattle Mariners are ranked low in the 2012 American League starting lineups, their future seems bright. Smoak, Carp and Montero provide the base for what could be a competitive club late this year and into 2013.

No. 11: Chicago White Sox

C: A.J. Pierzynski

1B: Paul Konerko

2B: Gordan Beckham

3B: Brent Morel

SS: Alexei Ramirez

LF: Alex Rios

CF: Alejandro de Aza

RF: Dayan Viciedo

DH: Adam Dunn

I went from putting the Chicago White Sox in the American League Championship Series last year to tossing them in the bottom four of the starting nines for 2012. It's amazing what Dunn's incredible power-drop can do to a psyche.

No. 10: Baltimore Orioles

C: Matt Wieters

1B: Chris Davis

2B: Robert Andino

3B: Mark Reynolds

SS: J.J. Hardy

LF: Nolan Reimold

CF: Adam Jones

RF: Nick Markakis

DH: Wilson Betemit

The Baltimore Orioles are so close, yet so far. Their lineup is worthy of the American League as a whole, but it is not worthy of the AL East. They are a threat to shake up the division standings by delivering tough losses, but won't be contenders themselves.

(Atlanta fan in me: "Adam Jones needs to be in a Braves uniform.")

No. 9: Cleveland Indians

C: Carlos Santana

1B: Casey Kotchman

2B: Jason Kipnis

3B: Jack Hannahan

SS: Asdrubal Cabrera

LF: Aaron Cunningham

CF: Michael Brantley

RF: Shin-Soo Choo

DH: Travis Hafner

Another year and another injury to Grady Sizemore. It's okay, though, because the Cleveland Indians are used to it.

I expect Choo to get back to his usual .300, 20 homers, 80 RBI, 20 steals self and Cabrera to build on his great 2011 season.

No. 8: Kansas City Royals

C: Humberto Quintero

1B: Eric Hosmer

2B: Johnny Giavotella

3B: Michael Moustakas

SS: Alcides Escobar

LF: Alex Gordon

CF: Lorenzo Cain

RF: Jeff Francoeur

DH: Billy Butler

If the Kansas City Royals had any pitching at all, they'd be a serious contender for the American League Central. As it stands, their staring lineup is improving every year after a terribly long 20-year drought since relevance and will have to support sub-par pitching.

Gordon finally showed why he was so hyped after being pushed by youngsters Hosmer and Moustakas.

No. 7: Tampa Bay Rays

C: Jose Molina

1B: Carlos Pena

2B: Ben Zobrist

3B: Evan Longoria

SS: Reid Brignac

LF: Desmond Jennings

CF: B.J. Upton

RF: Matt Joyce

DH: Luke Scott

The Rays welcome back Pena, whose best seasons came with Tampa Bay. Their farm system produced another solid player in speedster Jennings last year, while new addition Scott is a good source of power.

They may also have the best pitching staff in the American League.

No. 6: Toronto Blue Jays

C: J.P. Arencibia

1B: Adam Lind

2B: Kelly Johnson

3B: Brett Lawrie

SS: Yunel Escobar

LF: Colby Rasmus

CF: Rajai Davis

RF: Jose Bautista

DH: Edwin Encarnacion

Remember that these rankings don't include pitching. The Toronto Blue Jays are certainly not the sixth best team in the American League, but they do field the best starting nine. There is an incredible amount of power with Bautista, Lind and Arencibia.

Davis has tremendous speed, and Rasmus could be a steal from the St. Louis Cardinals if he can fix his attitude and find his early-2011 form.

No. 5: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

C: Chris Ianetta

1B: Albert Pujols

2B: Howie Kendrick

3B: Alberto Callaspo

SS: Erick Aybar

LF: Vernon Wells

CF: Peter Bourjos

RF: Torii Hunter

DH: Kendrys Morales

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the American League's version of the Boston Celtics. They have a ton of talent but also a ton of wear and tear. Wells, Hunter and Morales are terrific veterans, though they are unlikely to play everyday.

An upgrade at third base could make the Angels a top three starting lineup by midseason.

Oh and Albert Pujols.

No. 4: Detroit Tigers

C: Alex Avila

1B: Prince Fielder

2B: Ryan Raburn

3B: Miguel Cabrera

SS: Jhonny Peralta

LF: Andy Dirks

CF: Austin Jackson

RF: Brandon Boesch

DH: Delmon Young

I believe in the sophomore slump in baseball. Recently, Troy Tulowitzki, Jason Heyward and the Detroit Tigers' Austin Jackson were victims of it. I expect Jackson to have a nice bounce-back season in 2012.

Cabrera's shift to third base shouldn't be taken lightly, and Fielder may have a little trouble hitting 40 homers in a less-friendly park than Milwaukee, but all-in-all, this is a potent starting nine.

No. 3: New York Yankees

C: Russell Martin

1B: Mark Teixeira

2B: Robinson Cano

3B: Alex Rodriguez

SS: Derek Jeter

LF: Brett Gardner

CF: Curtis Granderson

RF: Nick Swisher

DH: Raul Ibanez

The New York Yankees are back and good as always. There will come a day (in the near future) when Jeter and A-Rod will have to be replaced, but that won't be in 2012.

No. 2: Boston Red Sox

C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

1B: Adrian Gonzalez

2B: Dustin Pedroia

3B: Kevin Youkilis

SS: Mike Aviles

LF: Carl Crawford

CF: Jacoby Ellsbury

RF: Cody Ross

DH: David Ortiz

This time last year, we were all crowning the Boston Red Sox as the best lineup in the American League. Are we going to let one bad month completely cloud our judgement?

News flash: Gonzalez is still awesome. Crawford is still fast. Ellsbury, Pedroia and Youkilis still have World Series rings on their fingers.

(I do, however, think Bobby Valentine was a terrible hire. Boston would've been better off if they hired a different ESPN analyst, Terry Francona. Oh wait...)

No. 1: Texas Rangers

C: Mike Napoli

1B: Mitch Moreland

2B: Ian Kinsler

3B: Adrian Beltre

SS: Elvis Andrus

LF: Josh Hamilton

CF: Craig Gentry

RF: Nelson Cruz

DH: Michael Young

The Texas Rangers are back-to-back American League Champions and for good reason. They have the most complete lineup in the AL and are always able to piece together a solid pitching staff.

Moreland has the ability to hit 30 homers, while Gentry has something to prove as the newcomer to the Rangers. The rest of the lineup is familiar to us all and quite talented.