Would you believe it if I told you they picked the White Sox to win the AL Central? Seriously, they did. They picked the Minnesota Twins second, the Cleveland Indians third, the Kansas City Royals fourth and the Detroit Tigers last.
They've also got Rick Renteria winning AL Manager of the Year, and center fielder Luis Robert winning AL Rookie of the Year. I guess when you think about it, if the Sox are going to win their division, those two things become that much more likely, right?
Not surprisingly, Lindy's has the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros as the other two AL division winners. The AL wild cards are the Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays, with the Yankees predicted as the AL champion.
That's certainly fair. I'm guessing the Yankees will be the most popular pick to win the AL this season.
But I'm somewhat surprised that a national outlet is believing the hype on the Sox, an unproven team that very much is relying on internal improvement from young players. I can see a scenario where the Sox contend, sure, but I wouldn't predict it. My expectations are for the team to pull its record up to .500 or slightly better.
I'm not expecting them to challenge the Twins, who were a 101-win juggernaut in 2019. I do not expect Minnesota to win 101 again, but I won't be shocked if the Twins win, say, 93 games.
Do you think the Sox have a 21-game improvement in them? Because that's what it would take for the South Siders to reach 93 wins. I'd say that's a stretch.
But Lindy's lauds the Sox's "young players with high ceilings," and notes that Minnesota's "rotation is not good enough to cover for subpar infield defense."
I sure hope that assessment is correct. I just wouldn't go to Vegas with that one.
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