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2008 American League Central Odds & Predictions

With all the strong starting pitching in the AL Central division, it looks like we’re going to see a tight race this season. 2007 MLB World Handicapping Champion, Jimmy Boyd, takes a look at the 2008 odds to win the AL Central below. Can the Indians repeat as Central division champs or will someone dethrone them? Jimmy gets right to the point with how he likes this division to shape up.

1st Place – Detroit Tigers

With the addition of slugger Miguel Cabrera to and already potent lineup as well as the addition of Dontrelle Willis to an exceptional rotation, the Tigers have done enough to edge out the rest of the competition. Oh yeah, they added Edgar Renteria to the mix as well. The five-time All-Star gives them better defense at short and a clutch bat. You can bet the Tigers to win the AL Central at 5/6 odds.

2nd Place – Cleveland Indians

The Indians ran away with a division that was close throughout, finishing 96-66 in 2007. With aces CC. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, the Indians will still be in the wild card picture as one of the better teams in baseball, but one through nine, the Tigers appear to have the better lineup. If you think Cleveland can repeat as AL Central champs, you can bet the Tribe at 7/5 odds.

3rd Place – Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are still a talented team, but they seem to have lost focus since winning the World Series in 2005. Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez anchor the rotation, but Jon Garland will be greatly missed. Just 72 wins in 2007 was hard to imagine with the talent on this team, but I have Chicago lucky to win 80 games in a tough AL Central. If you think the Sox could be a sleeper in this division, bet them at 6/1 odds.

4th Place – Minnesota Twins

With Johan Santana and Torii Hunter dealt away to contender, the Twins are going to take a major step back. Oh yeah, and they shipped off Matt Garza, their top pitching prospect. The Twins have only had one losing season since 2000 and four Central division titles since 2002, but a losing campaign appears inevitable in 2008 unless Minnesota makes another miracle run. Minnesota is listed at 12/1 odds to win the AL Central.

5th Place – Kansas City Royals

The Royals will fall into their old, familiar last place slot this season. While Royals pitching showed improvement in 2007, the teams still struggled to score. They did bring in Jose Guillen from Seattle to add some pop, but the fact that he will be suspended the first 15 games of the season for violating the league’s drug policy says it all for the Royals.

Jimmy Boyd delves deeper into each of these Central division clubs in his individual team prediction articles. Make sure you check them out to get the skinny on all the projected stating pitching rotations and batting orders on these teams.

Updated February 25th, 2008