AL East
1. Boston Red Sox (97-65)
The Red Sox went from worst to first in a year. Moreover, they brought the third World Series title since 2004 to the Fenway Faithful. They did it impressively beating the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, and St. Louis Cardinals. Moreover, they did it after the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing at the beginning of the year. There is nothing more a team could have done for its city.
Grade: A+
2. Tampa Bay Rays (92-71)
The Rays continue to do very well despite a restrictive payroll. They have drafted and developed their players well. Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, and Chris Archer all took significant steps in their development and will form a great rotation next year. The rumor is that they will try to trade David Price this offseason as he is two years from free agency. Even without Price, the Rays have one of the better rotations. They also brought up outfield prospect Wil Myers and he established himself as a big bat. They won the tie breaker for the second wild card against the Texas Rangers then won the Wild Card game against the Cleveland Indians. Although they fell to the Red Sox in the ALDS, they had another excellent season and have the young players and farm system for a bright future.
Grade: A
3. New York Yankees (85-77)
The Yankees dealt with significant injuries before the season and suffered more injuries during the season. They did well to stay in the race into September. However, their inability to beat the Red Sox all season ultimately doomed their playoff chances. This season will be remembered as Mariano Rivera’s farewell. Although Derek Jeter says it is a failure if they do not win the World Series, Jeter did not play much this year. It was a good showing considering the circumstances.
Grade: B
4. Baltimore Orioles (85-77)
The Orioles have an excellent young team. Chris Davis completely broke out this year with 53 homeruns. Manny Machado is a young superstar. Hopefully, he recovers well from his brutal knee injury at the end of the year. The difference between last season and this season was the bullpen. They blew few saves last year and blew a lot this year. Going forward, they will need to acquire or develop a couple of top of the rotation starters. Their offense is set for years.
Grade: B
5. Toronto Blue Jays (74-88)
The Blue Jays spent a ton of money in the offseason and came into the season as a favorite to win the AL East. Obviously, a last place finish is a total bust. Moreover, they traded their former manager, John Farrell, to the Red Sox and they won the World Series. Nevertheless, they brought in a lot of new pieces this year and it sometimes takes time to come together as a team. Maybe next year.
Grade: F
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers (93-63)
The Tigers were surprisingly pushed by the Cleveland Indians for the division. However, they were able to win the division and escape in 5 games against the Oakland As in the ALDS. The injury to Miguel Cabrera was a big blow going into the playoffs. He was still a presence but clearly not the same player in the playoffs. Their starters pitched great but their Achilles Heel, the bullpen, did them in again this season as the Red Sox teed off on them in key games in the ALCS. Although the Jim Leyland retired, the Tigers should be loaded and ready to make another deep postseason run next year. Nevertheless, it was winning the World Series or bust this year for the Tigers.
Grade: B+
2. Cleveland Indians (92-70)
The Indians were one of the surprise teams this season improving from 68 wins in 2012 to 92 wins. Manager Terry Francona did an excellent job in his first year with the team. They had a good mix of young and veteran players. Second basemen Jason Kipnis established himself as a star while Justin Masterson took a step forward as their best starter. Ubaldo Jimenenz also had a resurgent year. Nevertheless, they will need young starters Corey Kluber and Danny Salazar to continue their progression next season. These two young starters will be the key to whether the team is a contender soon or is a flash in the pan.
Grade: A+
3. Kansas City Royals (86-76)
The Royals have had a top farm system in recent seasons. As such, they were a trendy pick to take a step forward this season. While they struggled mightily to start the season, they really picked it up and their young team played very well. They were within striking distance of the playoffs in September. They are beginning to integrate their strong position players from the minors to the Major League team. The player to watch going forward is Eric Hosmer who started showing signs again of being a star after a slow start. The acquisition of James Shields was huge as he was their ace. Rethreads Earvin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie also pitched well. Reliever Greg Holland has established himself as a dominant closer. The success of this team going forward will depend on how their position players progress and whether they can develop a couple of star pitchers from their farm system. 2013 was a good step forward for this organization.
Grade: B+
4. Minnesota Twins (66-96)
The pipeline of young players from their farm system ran dry and the Twins are in rebuilding mode. They still have Joe Mauer at catcher but not much else. Glen Perkins is an excellent closer and Samuel Deduno is a promising starter to watch. Nevertheless, it will take years for the Twins to retool through the draft.
Grade: D
5. Chicago White Sox (63-99)
After a solid first season under manager Robin Ventura, 2013 was a complete disaster. Ace Chris Sale is one of the lone bright spots for the White Sox. Although he was 11-14 as his team was terrible, he had an excellent 1.07 WHIP, 3.07 ERA, and 226 Ks versus only 46 walks. It was one of the great performances this season that went under the radar because of his last place team.
Grade: D
AL West
1. Oakland As (96-66)
While the As suffered another disappointing first round loss in playoffs after taking a 2-1 lead in the series, it is still very impressive how GM Billy Beane was able to rebuild the franchise with a limited payroll. They are definitely a playoff team for the next few seasons. They will be contenders to win it all if their young pitching develops a couple of aces. Sonny Gray looked great down the stretch and in the playoffs. He will definitely be expected to be one of those potential aces. They have a bright future again and have a chance to build a championship team. Yoenis Cespedes is a very powerful hitter. He had a sophomore slump. If he can up his game next year, he is a game changer on offense to better an already much improved offense.
Grade: A
2. Texas Rangers (91-72)
After back to back World Series appearances, the Rangers have lost key players and slowly regressed. Yu Darvish and Derek Holland have stepped up as their top 2 starters. They still have promising starters they are waiting to break out and hard throwers in the bullpen. However, they need to improve their offense in the offseason. They had a powerful and deep lineup in their World Series runs. However, free agency has stripped them of their potent offense. It is no surprise their team regressed this season once slugger Nelson Cruz was suspended for PEDs related to the Biogenesis clinic. They just did not have the depth they had in the past to adequately replace him. The Rangers still had a good season but losing the tiebreak game for the second wild card is a disappointing finish.
Grade: B+
3. Los Angeles Angels (78-84)
The Angels have spent a lot of money. Unfortunately, they have spent it very unwisely. They lack pitching and invested in aging sluggers. The Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton contracts are large, long, and burdensome for years to come. The Angels were terrible this year and set themselves for more failures in the future. While they have the best young superstar in the game with Mike Trout, they also managed to annoy him by not paying him while they are spending ridiculously elsewhere.
Grade: F
4. Seattle Mariners (71-91)
The Mariners have failed again to put a strong team around ace Felix Hernandez. They do have an excellent second starter in Hisashi Iwakuma. However, they will have to work on the anemic offense yet again.
Grade: D
5. Houston Astros (51-111)
Their strategy is to tank a few seasons to get top draft picks to rebuild. From that perspective, it was a successful season. However, I do not like the concept of purposely losing.
Grade: F
About Pat Wong
Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.