Starting Nine Update: American League East

We go from the National League now to the American League. The East features lineups with some heavy hitters in them. Top to bottom, this is the best offensive division in baseball.

Here are the updated starting lineups for each American League East team:

New York Yankees

1. Derek Jeter, SS

2. Nick Johnson, DH

3. Mark Teixeira, 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B

5. Jorge Posada, C

6. Robinson Cano, 2B

7. Curtis Granderson, CF

8. Nick Swisher, RF

9. Brett Gardner, LF

Quick Take

Best and deepest lineup in baseball. Cano and Posada could flip-flop between fifth and sixth in the order. Brett Gardner held off Randy Winn to win the starting job in left.

Boston Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. Victor Martinez, C

4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B

5. David Ortiz, DH

6. Adrian Beltre, 3B

7. Mike Cameron, CF

8. J.D. Drew, RF

9. Marco Scutaro, SS

Quick Take

Not a classic Red Sox lineup. Not a lot of high OBP guys and nobody jumps out and scares you. Terry Francona is loyal to Ortiz, so he bats fifth ahead of Beltre in the lineup.

Tampa Bay Rays

1. B.J. Upton, CF

2. Carl Crawford, LF

3. Ben Zobrist, 2B

4. Evan Longoria, 3B

5. Carlos Pena, 1B

6. Pat Burrell, DH

7. Kelly Shoppach, C

8. Matt Joyce, RF

9. Jason Bartlett, SS

Quick Take

This lineup will go from very good to great if Upton and Burrell come back strong in 2010. Matt Joyce looks like he will start the season right. Sean Rodriguez could play a factor if he continues with his hot bat.

Baltimore Orioles

1. Brian Roberts, 2B

2. Adam Jones, CF

3. Nick Markakis, RF

4. Luke Scott, DH

5. Miguel Tejada, 3B

6. Nolan Reimold, LF

7. Matt Wieters, C

8. Garrett Atkins, 1B

9. Cesar Izturis, SS

Quick Take

This lineup has always been good, they just need to take it to the next level. The addition of Tejada should help. If Matt Wieters has a good year, this lineup will get to that level.

Toronto Blue Jays

1. Jose Bautista, RF

2. Lyle Overbay, 1B

3. Aaron Hill, 2B

4. Adam Lind, DH

5. Vernon Wells, CF

6. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B

7. Travis Snider, LF

8. Alex Gonzalez, SS

9. John Buck, C

Quick Take

My lineup is a little different than Campbell’s as I have Overbay hitting in the two-hole. This lineup has the potential to be good, but Gonzalez and Buck represent too many automatic outs to be really dynamic.

Tomorrow, I will cover the American League Central.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg