Five teams that may be underrated this spring
By Joe Lucia
On Thursday, we brought you five teams that seem to be getting too much credit and attention this spring. After a suggestion on Twitter, we thought that maybe it would be a good idea to provide you with the flip side of the coin and look at five teams we may be underrating before the 2015 season begins. This list wasn’t nearly as easy to put together, simply because of the way the league seems to be falling this year – two great teams, five bad teams, and a whole lot of teams in the middle.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves are the only team on this list that I’d group into that “five bad teams” category. But I think many of the muted expectations for the Braves this year have to do with the team’s history (which in all honesty, hasn’t been stellar over the last decade) of success. It’ll be tough for Atlanta to break into the National League playoff race this year, but escaping the bottom two places in the NL East is possible. The Braves still have a perennial MVP candidate at first base in Freddie Freeman. They have an all-world defensive shortstop in Andrelton Simmons. The team’s starting rotation is looking pretty solid with Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Shelby Miller heading up the pack, and Mike Minor is waiting in the wings for when his shoulder stops barking at him.
Throw in Craig Kimbrel, the best closer in baseball, and you’ve got all the makings of a solid core of players. Well, except for the lack of offense past Freeman, the question marks in the bullpen in front of Kimbrel, and the sheer depressing level of defense outside of Simmons. I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to pin Atlanta as a 90-loss team, but the pieces are there for the team to flirt with .500 this season.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles ran away with the AL East in 2014, and to the shock of no one, hardly any pundits are picking the team to repeat in 2015. Baltimore lost Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, and didn’t really replace that offense on their team. They’re really gambling on Chris Davis returning to form after a lost 2014, Travis Snider finally putting it all together after a disappointing career in Toronto and Pittsburgh, Steve Pearce continuing to hit like he never has throughout his career, and Delmon Young once again thriving in a platoon role.
But Baltimore will be getting a whole year out of Manny Machado following a second knee injury in 2014. Matt Wieters is expected to be back behind the plate following Tommy John surgery last year, though setbacks have already robbed him of some playing time this spring. The Orioles bring back every relevant pitcher from their 2014 squad with the exception of trade deadline acquisition Andrew Miller. There’s a lot to like here, and as usual, Baltimore is flying under the radar because the Red Sox and Yankees spent oodles of money this winter.
Kansas City Royals
It seems weird to be so down on the defending AL champs, but that’s where we are with the Royals. A year after their miraculous World Series run, the Royals had a turbulent offseason that was panned nationally. The only players the Royals lost on offense are Billy Butler, who had arguably the worst year of his career in 2014, and Nori Aoki, who was frequently subbed out late in games and didn’t provide much upside for the team. Replacing those two with Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios is a high risk, high reward, expensive proposition, but it’s not as if Butler and Aoki were key components in 2014.
Losing James Shields in the rotation hurts much more, especially considering the team decided to replace him with ex-Pirate Edinson Volquez, former Mariner Chris Young, and two-time Tommy John survivor Kris Medlen. The bullpen hydra is still alive and kicking, and the Royals have plenty of other arms to add to that collection as well.
The main problem with the Royals’ winter is that they didn’t exactly dominate the regular season. The club clinched a playoff spot on the season’s final weekend. This year, the Indians are better. The White Sox are better. The Mariners are better. The Angels, Tigers, and Athletics will all still be in the chase like they were last season. That’s a lot of competition for the three playoff spots Kansas City is hunting for, and they may not be good enough. But completely writing the Royals off based on their winter? That’s silly.
