All-Division Team Picks for the MLB East, Central and West Regions

The 2020 MLB season is filled with unique wrinkles, including a sectioning off of the league into three general regions.

In an effort to cut down on travel, teams will only play their four division rivals and the five teams from the other league's regional counterpart this season, meaning that all 60 games will be played against a field of nine opponents.

In other words, the AL East and NL East form one region, the AL Central and NL Central are a second region, and the AL West and NL West make up a third region.

Within those three regions—East, Central and West—we set out to build the best team possible from each collection of 10 teams.

The 30-man rosters consist of a nine-man starting lineup, seven-man bench—including a backup catcher, backup middle infielder and backup outfielder—five-man starting rotation and nine-man bullpen.

Included along with each roster is a look at the toughest omissions from each team, as well as a few general thoughts on the selection process.

Enjoy!

East Region (Hitters)

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Ronald Acuna Jr.

Starting Lineup

CF Ronald Acuna Jr., ATL
2B DJ LeMahieu, NYY
LF Juan Soto, WAS
RF Aaron Judge, NYY
DH J.D. Martinez, BOS
1B Freddie Freeman, ATL
3B Rafael Devers, BOS
SS Xander Bogaerts, BOS
C J.T. Realmuto, PHI

Bench: C Gary Sanchez (NYY), 1B Pete Alonso (NYM), 2B/SS Gleyber Torres (NYY), IF/OF Jeff McNeil (NYM), OF Bryce Harper (PHI), OF Austin Meadows (TB), OF Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)

Toughest Omissions: 1. 2B Ozzie Albies (ATL), 2. SS Trea Turner (WAS), 3. OF Victor Robles (WAS), 4. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 5. 3B/OF Brian Anderson (MIA)

Notes

• The toughest decision was second base. Knowing Gleyber Torres and Jeff McNeil had spots on the bench and were capable of backing up second base meant that whoever didn't get the starting nod between DJ LeMahieu and Ozzie Albies was going to be the odd man out. I'll take LeMahieu in 2020, and Albies for the long haul.

• Toronto Blue Jays rising stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio could all push their way into this conversation. For now, more proven players get the nod.

• The AL East is surprisingly weak at first base, but the NL East more than makes up for it with Freddie Freeman and Pete Alonso.

East Region (Pitchers)

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Gerrit Cole

Starting Rotation

RHP Jacob deGrom, NYM
RHP Gerrit Cole, NYY
RHP Max Scherzer, WAS
RHP Stephen Strasburg, WAS
RHP Charlie Morton, TB

Bullpen: RHP Chad Green (NYY), RHP Seth Lugo (NYM), RHP Hector Neris (PHI), LHP Zack Britton (NYY), RHP Brandon Workman (BOS), LHP Will Smith (ATL), RHP Nick Anderson (TB), RHP Ken Giles (TOR), LHP Aroldis Chapman (NYY)

Toughest Omissions: 1. SP Aaron Nola (PHI), 2. SP Patrick Corbin (WAS), 3. SP Blake Snell (TB), 4. SP Mike Soroka (ATL), 5. SP Tyler Glasnow (TB)

Notes

• There's a strong case to be made that this rotation has the three best pitchers in baseball and another inside the top 10. Charlie Morton had a 146 ERA+ and 240 strikeouts in 194.2 innings last year to finish third in AL Cy Young voting, and he's the clear No. 5 starter.

• Aroldis Chapman and Ken Giles are the known late-inning commodities, but Nick Anderson might be the best reliever of the bunch in 2020. The 30-year-old struck out 110 hitters in 65 innings as a rookie, including 41 of the 78 batters he faced after he was traded to the Rays at the deadline.

• The five toughest omissions in the East Region make for an awfully good rotation on their own, especially if Aaron Nola and Blake Snell return to their 2018 form. Beyond those five guys, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Wheeler, James Paxton and Max Fried were also tough to exclude.

Central Region (Hitters)

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Christian Yelich

Starting Lineup

CF Whit Merrifield, KC
SS Francisco Lindor, CLE
LF Christian Yelich, MIL
DH Nelson Cruz, MIN
1B Anthony Rizzo, CHC
3B Kris Bryant, CHC
RF Max Kepler, MIN
2B Keston Hiura, MIL
C Yasmani Grandal, CWS

Bench: C Willson Contreras (CHC), 1B Josh Bell (PIT), 3B Josh Donaldson (MIN), IF Javier Baez (CHC), IF Jose Ramirez (CLE), OF Nick Castellanos (CIN), OF Eloy Jimenez (CWS)

Toughest Omissions: 1. 1B Paul Goldschmidt (STL), 2. 3B Eugenio Suarez (CIN), 3. C Mitch Garver (MIN), 4. SS Tim Anderson (CWS), 5. 3B Yoan Moncada (CWS)

Notes

• Yasmani Grandal and Willson Contreras get the nod at catcher thanks to a longer track record of success, but don't be surprised if Mitch Garver outplays one or both of them. The 29-year-old had a 156 OPS+ with 31 home runs in 359 plate appearances last year.

• Christian Yelich and Whit Merrifield were easy choices for two of the outfield spots, but deciding on the other starter and the backups was tough. Max Kepler got a starting nod and Nick Castellanos and Eloy Jimenez rounded out the bench, but Bryan Reynolds, Luis Robert, Eddie Rosario and Lorenzo Cain all received consideration.

• Chicago White Sox fans will no doubt argue for Tim Anderson earning a spot. However, his limited on-base ability (15 BB in 518 PA) and poor defense (-12 DRS) limited him to 3.7 rWAR, well behind Francisco Lindor (5.0) and Javier Baez (6.0) among shortstops.

Central Region (Pitchers)

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Jack Flaherty

Starting Rotation

RHP Jack Flaherty, STL
RHP Shane Bieber, CLE
RHP Luis Castillo, CIN
RHP Mike Clevinger, CLE
RHP Lucas Giolito, CWS

Bullpen: RHP Ian Kennedy (KC), RHP Joe Jimenez (DET), LHP Amir Garrett (CIN), RHP Keone Kela (PIT), LHP Brad Hand (CLE), RHP Giovanny Gallegos (STL), LHP Taylor Rogers (MIN), RHP Raisel Iglesias (CIN), LHP Josh Hader (MIL)

Toughest Omissions: 1. SP Kyle Hendricks (CHC), 2. SP Sonny Gray (CIN), 3. SP Jose Berrios (MIN), 4. SP Trevor Bauer (CIN), 5. SP Brandon Woodruff (MIL)

Notes

• Jack Flaherty, Shane Bieber, Luis Castillo and Lucas Giolito are all 27 years old or younger, and all four turned in breakout seasons in 2019. Add to that group Jose Berrios (26), Brandon Woodruff (27) and Joe Musgrove (27) to that group and the Central Region is home to some of the best young arms in the game.

• The bullpen situation is a bit weak here with Josh Hader and Taylor Rogers as the only clear top-tier relievers, while Raisel Iglesias and Brad Hand have something to prove after down years in 2019.

• The Cubs rotation is a question mark this year, but don't sleep on the one-two punch of Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish. Darvish, 33, had a 2.76 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 81.2 innings during the second half last year.

West Region (Hitters)

Matt York/Associated Press

Mike Trout

Starting Lineup

2B Jose Altuve, HOU
RF Mookie Betts, LAD
CF Mike Trout, LAA
LF Cody Bellinger, LAD
3B Nolan Arenado, COL
DH Alex Bregman, HOU
1B Matt Olson, OAK
SS Fernando Tatis Jr., SD
C Carson Kelly, ARI

Bench: C Will Smith (LAD), 3B Matt Chapman (OAK), 3B Anthony Rendon (LAA), SS Trevor Story (COL), IF Max Muncy (LAD), IF/OF Ketel Marte (ARI), OF George Springer (HOU), DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani (LAA)

Toughest Omissions: 1. SS Marcus Semien (OAK), 2. 3B Manny Machado (SD), 3. OF Charlie Blackmon (COL), 4. DH Yordan Alvarez (HOU), 5. OF Starling Marte (ARI)

Notes

• The starting outfield of Cody Bellinger (9.1), Mike Trout (8.2) and Mookie Betts (6.9) was worth a combined 24.2 WAR last season. Ridiculous.

• Third base in this division is absurdly deep. Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, Anthony Rendon, Matt Chapman and Manny Machado are all bona fide superstars, while Justin Turner, Eduardo Escobar and Kyle Seager also deserve a mention.

• The decision to go with 21-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. over Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa and Corey Seager at shortstop might ruffle a few feathers, but the potential is there for the Padres' young superstar to be one of the best players in baseball after tallying 4.1 WAR in 84 games as a rookie.

• While he is listed here among the hitters, Shohei Ohtani occupies one of the 16 pitcher slots on the roster.

West Region (Pitchers)

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Justin Verlander

Starting Pitchers

RHP Justin Verlander, HOU
LHP Clayton Kershaw, LAD
RHP Zack Greinke, HOU
RHP Walker Buehler, LAD
RHP Lance Lynn, TEX

Bullpen: RHP Josh James (HOU), RHP Scott Oberg (COL), LHP Drew Pomeranz (SD), RHP Archie Bradley (ARI), RHP Emilio Pagan (SD), RHP Liam Hendriks (OAK), RHP Kenley Jansen (LAD), RHP Kirby Yates (SD)

Toughest Omissions: 1. SP Robbie Ray (ARI), 2. SP Mike Minor (TEX), 3. SP Madison Bumgarner (ARI), 4. SP Chris Paddack (SD), 5. Jon Gray (COL)

Notes

• The first four spots in this group were easy choices, with three future Hall of Famers at the top of the rotation and a rising ace in Walker Buehler claiming the No. 4 slot. Lance Lynn quietly posted a 141 ERA+ with 246 strikeouts in 208.1 innings in a 7.5-WAR season last year to stake claim to the final spot.

• Hard-throwing Josh James tallied 100 strikeouts in 61.1 innings out of the bullpen last season, and now he moves into the Houston rotation. For the sake of this exercise, we'll pencil him into the long-relief role.

• The three-headed monster of Drew Pomeranz (28 G, 1.88 ERA, 15.7 K/9 as reliever), Emilio Pagan (66 G, 2.31 ERA, 12.3 K/9) and Kirby Yates (60 G, 1.19 ERA, 15.0 K/9) should be a real strength for the Padres this year. A bounce-back season from Jose Leclerc could make him a glaring omission from the relief corps.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.