2013 MLB Picks: AL East Division Odds and Predictions – Toronto Blue Jays the Favorite

2013 MLB AL East Odds, Free Picks and Predictions – Vegas Favorites and Odds to Win 2013 American League East: No division in baseball has been dominated by a single franchise more than the American League East. The current division has been established for 18 seasons, and the New York Yankees have claimed 13 the regular season title 13 times while no other franchise has more than two AL East crowns. Part of New York’s dominance has included the last two division crowns, but just as their hated rivals the Boston Red Sox came back to the pack the last two years, the Yankees could be in danger of doing the same. In fact, the Al East could be as wide open in 2013 as it has been in its 18-year history. For a look at how the division stacks up heading in the 2013 MLB season, here is a closer look at each team in the AL East.

1.      Toronto Blue Jays: You can’t win a division title in the offseason, but Toronto certainly put itself in position to win one in the past couple of months. The Blue Jays added Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera and Emilio Bonifacio to the top of a lineup that features sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. More importantly, defending NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey was added to the rotation, along with Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle. After massively upgrading their lineup and the rotation, Toronto now has more than enough pieces in place to capture the AL East.

2.      Tampa Bay Rays: Defending AL Cy Young winner David Price is back to head a pitching staff that led the majors in ERA in 2012. While pitching will be this team’s strength yet again, the Rays should have a more potent offense in 2013. For one, slugger Evan Longoria will be healthy. Not to mention the fact the Rays also added some steady bats to their lineup that should fit their aggressive base running style perfectly. Tampa Bay isn’t afraid to manufacture runs, and while newcomers James Loney, Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson don’t have a lot of power, they can move runners over and do the other little things that add up over the course of a season.

3.      New York Yankees: Don’t get me wrong. This lineup still has Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira and is going to hit plenty of home runs and put some runs on the board. However, Curtis Granderson just broke his arm and tablesetters Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner are coming off injuries as is closer Mariano Rivera. Meanwhile, CC Sabathia is the only ace-caliber pitcher on the staff, and although Hiroki Kuroda has been solid, the next guy in line is 40-year-old Andy Pettitte. You can never rule out the Yankees making a splash during the year with a big trade, but for now, age, injuries and mediocre pitching are all cause for concern.

4.      Baltimore Orioles: Baltimore came out of nowhere in 2012, winning 93 games and making the playoffs. However, repeating the feat will be a challenge. For one, teams like Tampa Bay and Toronto made improvements during the offseason. More importantly, young players like Adam Jones, Chris Davis and Matt Wieters will have to back up their numbers from last season when the Orioles finished with the second-most home runs in the majors. Throw in a pitching staff that is basically full of overachievers like Miguel Gonzalez and Steve Johnson, and there is a good chance the upstart Orioles will be coming back to earth a bit in 2013.

5.      Boston Red Sox: Getting rid of Bobby Valentine as manager should help, but Boston could be right back in the cellar of the AL East in 2013. The offense does have Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury, but the top-to-bottom lineup depth still isn’t what it used to be when the Red Sox were perennial contenders for the division title. Not to mention that the rotation could struggle again if Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz don’t find a way to return to form. On the plus side, the bullpen should be better with a healthy Andrew Bailey and the addition of Joel Hanrahan. That being said, Boston has a lot of question to answer and some holes to fill in 2013.

2013 MLB AL East Division Odds
5101 Baltimore Orioles +850
5102 Boston Red Sox +450
5103 New York Yankees +235
5104 Tampa Bay Rays +350
5105 Toronto Blue Jays +175

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