2017 MLB Predictions – American League Central Division Odds & AL Central Expert Predictions

2017 MLB Predictions – American League Central Division Odds & AL Central Expert Predictions: The odds to win the 2017 MLB American League Central Division are posted at Bovada Sportsbook and the Cleveland Indians are favored to repeat as Champs with -400 odds. The American League Central Division is one of the worst divisions in all of baseball in our eyes as the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins will easily be amongst the worst MLB teams this season. Nevertheless, the AL Central race could be interesting between the Indians and Detroit Tigers(+550 odds to win). Read our AL Central Division prediction for order of finish below. Stop by and visit NSAwins.com all season long for the best 2017 MLB picks and daily LIVE 2017 MLB Betting Odds.

2017 MLB Predictions – American League Central Division Odds & AL Central Expert Predictions

1. Cleveland Indians(94-67 last season, 92-70 prediction for 2017) – The Cleveland Indians look to bounce back and get back to the World Series after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Chicago Cubs in the Fall Classic last season. The Indians look to be in good shape to get back to the postseason thanks to a strong pitching staff headlines by ace Corey Kluber(18-9, 3.14 ERA in 2016) and super reliever Andrew Miller(4-0, 1.55 ERA with Cleveland in 2016). The Indians lineup is the question mark as we don’t love their bats and will need to increae their power as they finished just 18th in the major in home runs last year.

2. Detroit Tigers(86-75 last season, 89-73 prediction in 2017) – The Detroit Tigers look to be improved this season as they finished 86-75 last season with a pitching staff that finished just 20th in the majors in ERA at 4.24 ERA. The Tigers need their third starter, Jordan Zimmerman(9-7, 4.87 ERA in 2016), to bounce back and return to the pitcher he was in Washington when he annually had a sub 4.00 ERA and could be counted on for roughly 200 innings a year. The bats for Detroit shouldn’t be a problem as they still have Miguel Cabrera in the middle of the lineup and he makes everyone around him better.

3. Kansas City Royals(81-81 last season, 81-81 prediction for 2017) – We liked the Kansas City Royals to improve from last year’s .500 finish and challenge the Indians in the AL Central but that was before the tragic death of KC starter Yordano Ventura. Ventura was killed on January 22nd, 2017 in the Dominican Republic after being in a car crash. That death leaves a big cloud over the Royals this spring and it’s hard to believe they will be able to overcome his loss on the field as he leaves a big hole in the Royals starting rotation. The Royals have a mediocre batting lineup and middle of the pack starting rotation so it’s tough to see them being more than a .500 team again in 2017.

4. Chicago White Sox(78-84 last season, 74-88 prediction for 2017) – The White Sox were bad last season and they will be even worse this season after trading their ace, Chris Sale, to the Boston Red Sox in an offseason trade. There is not much to like at all about the 2017 White Sox and especially their starting rotation that is downright brutal. Any rotation that has James Shields(4-12, 6.77 ERA in 2016) and Carlos Rodon(9-10, 4.04 ERA in 2016) as the 2nd and 3rd starters is not a rotation that is going to take a team anywhere especially with an offense that is mediocre at best.

5. Minnesota Twins(59-103 last season, 62-100 prediction for 2017) – The Minnesota Twins were an absolute train wreck last season and they will be a train wreck again this season. They stink. A lot. The Twins had one of the worst pitching staffs in the bigs last season(29th in ERA at 5.08) and they are simply hoping on a wing and a prayer that the same players will be able to show a lot of improvement in 2017 to help them win more games. Good luck with that. Frankly, this team isn’t even worth the time and print. You can permanent marker them in for 95 losses at best and most likely 100 plus again in 2017.

Odds to Win 2017 American League Central Division
Cleveland Indians -400
Detroit Tigers +550
Kansas City Royals +675
Chicago White Sox +2500
Minnesota Twins +2800