2016 American League East Division Preview

Mookie Betts is one of the Red Sox’s young stars. (Getty Images)

Projected AL East Standings:

1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. New York Yankees
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

The American League East is shaping up to be the most difficult division in baseball this season even with the worst team in the division, the Baltimore Orioles, being an average team who would finish second in the AL Central. The Red Sox will go from worst to first to become the best team in the AL East and also the whole American League. They will be led by rising-stars Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, and also newly acquired pitcher David Price. In a close second will be last year’s AL East Champions, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays will be returning a majority of their team including reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson. The New York Yankees look poised to finish in third place in the AL East this year in their second season without Derek Jeter. They will also make the playoffs which is pretty decent for a franchise that appears to be saving money for the 2018 free agent class. In fourth place will be the Tampa Bay Rays who will be led by Chris Archer, Evan Longoria, and an very underrated player in Kevin Kiermaier. Finishing in the cellar of the AL East this year will be the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are by no means a bad team, who I have already mentioned would be projected to finish in second in the AL Central, but with so many quality teams ahead of them in their division, the O’s won’t have a great record at the end of the year. Come October, the AL East will put three teams in the playoffs with the Red Sox winning the division and the Blue Jays and the Yankees as the two AL Wild Card teams.