AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

 

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

 

LINEUP

1. Marco Scutaro | SS | .267 | 7 HR | 60 RBI

2. Aaron Hill | 2B | .263 | 2 HR | 20 RBI

3. Alex Rios | RF | .291 | 15 HR | 79 RBI

4. Vernon Wells | CF | .300 | 20 HR | 78 RBI

5. Adam Lind | DH | .282 | 9 HR | 40 RBI

6. Lyle Overbay | 1B | .270 | 15 HR | 69 RBI

7. Scott Rolen | 3B | .262 | 11 HR | 50 RBI

8. Rod Barajas | C | .249 | 11 HR | 49 RBI

9. Travis Snider | LF | .301 | 2 HR | 13 RBI

 

PITCHING STAFF

1. Roy Halladay | 20-11 | 2.78 ERA | 206 K | 1.05 WHIP

2. Jesse Litsch | 13-9 | 3.58 ERA | 99 K | 1.23 WHIP

3. David Purcey | 3-6 | 5.54 ERA | 58 K | 1.48 WHIP

4. Ricky Romero |

5. Scott Richmond | 1-3 | 4.00 ERA | 20 K | 1.26 WHIP

CL B.J. Ryan | 32 SV | 2.95 ERA | 58 K | 1.28 WHIP

 

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Kevin Millar | .234 | 20 HR | 72 RBI

Jose Bautista | .238 | 15 HR | 54 RBI

 

The Blue Jays have been stuck in the AL East for far too long if you’re a Blue Jays fan. They have the hitting to compete with the rest of the division, but they don’t have the pitching. Outside of Halladay, it is Mediocre City in Toronto. Luckily, Jesse Litsch seems to be emerging and could possibly give the Blue Jays a boost in the pitching staff. However, the other three must have good years to pull off a “TB Rays.” The Blue Jays are still a team to watch out for, and if a couple teams don’t have the seasons they were expecting, they could slip up into a playoff contender.

 

OVERALL GRADE: B-

 

 

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

 

LINEUP

1. Brian Roberts | 2B | .296 | 9 HR | 57 RBI

2. Cesar Izturis | SS | .263 | 1 HR | 24 RBI

3. Nick Markakis | RF | .306 | 20 HR | 87 RBI

4. Aubrey Huff | 1B | .304 | 32 HR | 108 RBI

5. Melvin Mora | 3B | .285 | 23 HR | 104 RBI

6. Luke Scott | DH | .257 | 23 HR | 65 RBI

7. Gregg Zaun | C | .237 | 6 HR | 30 RBI

8. Adam Jones | CF | .270 | 9 HR | 57 RBI

9. Felix Pie | LF | .241 | 1 HR | 10 RBI

 

PITCHING STAFF

1. Jeremy Guthrie | 10-12 | 3.63 ERA | 120 K | 1.23 WHIP

2. Koji Uehara |

3. Mark Hendrickson | 7-8 | 5.45 ERA | 81 K | 1.47 WHIP

4. Alfredo Simon | 0-0 | 6.23 ERA | 8 K | 1.38 WHIP

5. Adam Eaton | 4-8 | 5.80 ERA | 57 K | 1.64 WHIP

CL George Sherrill | 31 SV | 4.73 ERA | 58 K | 1.50 WHIP

 

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Ty Wigginton | .285 | 23 HR | 58 RBI

Ryan Freel | .298 | 0 HR | 10 RBI

 

The Baltimore Orioles have the same problems that Toronto has, essentially. The only difference between the O’s and the Jays is the Jays have a guy named Roy Halladay. I like the O’s lineup and depth, but the fact that they’re in the AL East is the downer for this team. You can never count out a team like the Orioles considering what happened last year with the Rays, but nevertheless it looks like another long season for the O’s in the AL East.

 

OVERALL GRADE: C

 

 

TAMPA BAY RAYS

 

LINEUP

1. B.J. Upton | CF | .273 | 9 HR | 67 RBI

2. Carl Crawford | LF | .273 | 8 HR | 57 RBI

3. Evan Longoria | 3B | .272 | 27 HR | 85 RBI

4. Carlos Pena | 1B | .247 | 31 HR | 102 RBI

5. Pat Burrell | DH | .250 | 33 HR | 86 RBI

6. Dioner Navarro | C | .295 | 7 HR | 54 RBI

7. Gabe Gross | RF | .238 | 13 HR | 40 RBI

8. Akinori Iwamura | 2B | .274 | 6 HR | 48 RBI

9. Jason Bartlett | SS | .286 | 1 HR | 37 RBI

 

PITCHING STAFF

1. James Shields | 14-8 | 3.56 ERA | 160 K | 1.15 WHIP

2. Scott Kazmir | 12-8 | 3.49 ERA | 166 K | 1.27 WHIP

3. Matt Garza | 11-9 | 3.70 ERA | 128 K | 1.24 WHIP

4. Andy Sonnanstine | 13-9 | 4.38 ERA | 124 K | 1.29 WHIP

5. Jeff Niemann | 2-2 | 5.06 ERA | 14 K | 1.63 WHIP

CL Troy Percival | 28 SV | 4.53 ERA | 38 K | 1.23 WHIP

 

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Matt Joyce | .252 | 12 HR | 33 RBI

Willy Aybar | .253 | 10 HR | 33 RBI

 

The Tampa Bay Rays surprised the nation last season when they burst through the AL East and then went to the World Series. The question in 2009 is: will they repeat what they did last season? I think it is very possible for this team to repeat their 2008 performance. They have a lot of young talent mixed with veteran talent. David Price will probably make his way up from AAA before June, which will help the pitching staff. Also, I cannot see Percival being the closer for an entire season. Whether he gets hurt or not, I think Balfour or Wheeler will get that role by the end of the season.

 

OVERALL GRADE: B+

 

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