AL Manager of the Year Rankings: Buck Showalter Checks in as Early Favorite

Before the start of the 2012 season, nobody expected the Baltimore Orioles to be anything other than a doormat in the American League East. That is, after all, their lot in life, and it has been for over a decade.

A little over a month into the 2012 season, Buck Showalter has the O's looking like serious contenders in the AL East. They've gotten great pitching, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are both playing like MVP candidates and Showalter himself has pushed all the right buttons.

It's early yet, but Showalter is a legit contender for the American League Manager of the Year award.

In fact, he might just be the favorite.

I'll be keeping tabs on the AL Manager of the Year race all season long. As things stand right now, here are my top-five contenders for the award.

5. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers

Ron Washington's Texas Rangers got off to a blistering start this season and quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the pack in the American League West.

The Rangers have slowed down somewhat in recent days, but still have a comfortable lead in the AL West. It helps that the Los Angeles Angels, a team that was supposed to challenge the Rangers for division supremacy, is well off the pace.

These Rangers aren't a whole lot different from the 2010 or 2011 Rangers.

Their pitching staff is as solid as any pitching staff in the majors, and their lineup can absolutely mash. Josh Hamilton, especially, has been remarkable this season.

Washington's job isn't complicated. He just needs to fill out his lineup card each day and keep the atmosphere in Texas' dugout loose and easy going. Every man on the Rangers buys into the concept of playing and winning as a team—something that Washington is largely responsible for.

Nevertheless, Washington is low on my list because his job is a little too easy. He's not a bad manager, but any manager in the big leagues could win ballgames with the roster he has at his disposal.

4. John Farrell, Toronto Blue Jays

John Farrell got his managerial career off to a solid start in 2011, leading the Blue Jays to an 81-81 record.

This year, Farrell has the Blue Jays right in the thick of the AL East race. And for once, he has them ahead of both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. 

Toronto's bats have a lot to do with its resurgence, as the Blue Jays entered Thursday's action seventh in the majors in runs scored. The fascinating part is they've been able to score runs despite a relatively low team batting average and a frustrating lack of consistency from Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus and star slugger Jose Bautista.

Farrell has been forced to mix and match with his lineups and squeeze the most out of a young pitching staff. The Jays have had their ups and downs, but Farrell deserves all the credit for the fact they've won more than they've lost.

The AL East is as winnable this year as it's ever been.

Don't underestimate Farrell's Blue Jays.

3. Manny Acta, Cleveland Indians

The Detroit Tigers were supposed to run away and hide with the AL Central. It was generally acknowledged the Cleveland Indians had the goods to finish second in the division, but a distant second.

While the Tigers have struggled ever since opening their season with a sweep of the Boston Red Sox, Manny Acta's Indians have taken advantage of that as they sit alone atop the AL Central.

Acta doesn't have a wealth of talent on his roster.

He has some good individual hitters in his lineup (Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis), but they're not the 1927 Yankees.

Pitching-wise, Acta is forced to make do with what talent he has, and he doesn't have much.

Yet the Indians just keep winning ballgames.

Their early success is not unlike their early success last year. The Indians won games because they were much greater than the sum of their parts. They're doing the same thing this year.

And for that, you have to tip your cap to Acta. He's at the center of the #Windians phenomenon.

2. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

Joe Maddon has already won the AL Manager of the Year award twice, and for good reason. He's one of the most creative managers in baseball, consistently doing more with less.

This season, much is being made of Maddon's use of shifts. The New York Times even wrote a (somewhat belated) piece about his shifts, summing it up nicely by saying Maddon and the Rays are "doing what other teams are increasingly doing, just more of it."

The shifts have gotten all the attention, but Maddon is still doing more with less.

He's lucky enough to have a great starting pitching staff at his disposal, but has gotten a lot of production from of a bunch of mediocre hitters, and has the Rays winning despite some key injuries. Closer Kyle Farnsworth and All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria are both on the disabled list.

Sparky Anderson once said (via Baseball-Almanac.com) that managers are a necessary evil, his point being the talented players are more important than talented managers.

Maddon is different.

He's baseball's master string-puller, and the Rays are lucky to have him.

1. Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles should not be as good as they are. They have a pitching staff full of no-names, and their lineup doesn't look all that scary when you check it out on paper.

Appearances count for little when it comes to Buck Showalter's Orioles.

Despite their lack of pitching star power, Baltimore is among the league leaders in team ERA. They're also among the league leaders in runs scored, and the middle of their batting order is not to be underestimated.

During the offseason and in the weeks leading up to Opening Day, the general perception among baseball fans and some experts was the Orioles didn't spend the winter loading up for a great season.

If anything, the O's seemed to get worse.

I still think we can debate whether or not the 2012 Orioles are truly better than the 2011 Orioles—a team that finished dead-last in the AL East.

What's not debatable is Showalter squeezing everything he can out of his roster, and the scary part is it feels like the Orioles are just now starting to realize they can compete with anybody.

That's Showalter's influence at work.

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