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| AL Central SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, one of baseball's best surprises on the surprising Cleveland Indians |
C Carlos Santana, CLE
I can now say with surprising certainty that Santana is the best catcher in the American League. Here in his first full season at age 25, Santana dazzled with the bat and should have been an All-Star. His .239 average is nothing special, but 27 home runs, 97 RBIs and walks (good for a .351 OBP, fantastic for a catcher and highest on his impatient team) confirm his star status. The Indians remain a team with little power on the roster but Santana by himself can produce runs with the best of catchers. Competition: A.J. Pierzynski (CWS), Alex Avila (DET), Matt Treanor (KC), and Drew Butera (MIN).
1B Miguel Cabrera, DET (2nd)
It was an oddly quiet season again for Cabrera, who won the AL batting title at .344 and the AL OBP title at .448. But Cabrera easily could have been the MVP of the league if this wasn't the hardest year to win the AL MVP in who knows how long. Cabrera finished fifth in the voting. He 'only' hit 30 homers and 105 RBIs, which might explain the lack of MVP love. But he did set a career high in walks for the second straight year, finishing second in the AL with 108 and only 89 strikeouts. Of the 24 players who hit 30 homers in 2011, only Jose Bautista, Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Ian Kinsler, and Cabrera walked more than they struck out. Talk about elite company. Competition: Paul Konerko (CWS), Justin Morneau (MIN), Matt LaPorta (CLE), and Eric Hosmer (KC).
2B Alexi Casilla, MIN
In an awful, awful AL Central class of second basemen, Casilla is the best, but that doesn't say much. This race was more about who hurt their team less than helped their team more. Failed prospect Gordon Beckham and ever-impatient Orlando Cabrera actually hurt their teams with terrible seasons. Ramon Santiago is a no-offense utility man and Chris Getz needs to use all the muscle he has when he wants to hit it far; for him, that's in shallow center. Casilla was second the Twins with 15 steals had a good contact rate. For lack of a better option, I'll take it. Competition: Beckham (CWS), Cabrera (CLE), Santiago (DET), and Getz (KC).
3B Danny Valencia, MIN
Third base is another weak spot in the division. Valencia takes the title with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs. Despite a bad walk rate, Valencia managed a mediocre season in probably the worst hitters' park in the Majors now in Target Field. He even hit nine of his home runs there, a rare accomplishment so far in the ballpark's two-year history. No third baseman in the division even managed to hit above .270. Competition: Brandon Inge (DET), Brent Morel (CWS), Jack Hannahan (CLE), and Mike Moustakas (KC).
SS Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
Cabrera's role in MLB seemed to be defined heading into 2011; he was an average hitting shortstop with little power and a bit of speed. That was until he redefined his entire career in his age 25 season of 2011, hitting 25 home runs after never hitting more than six in a season and making his first All-Star team, winning his first Silver Slugger, and even gaining MVP votes. Cabrera was the biggest individual reason in how the Indians, a projected cellar dweller, rose to first place with an incredible 20-6 start to the season. His outburst kept Cleveland in contention for the summer until his former teammate Jhonny Peralta and Tigers surpassed them late. Competition: Peralta (DET), Alexei Ramirez (CWS), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (MIN), and Alcides Escobar (KC).
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| AL Central LF: Alex Gordon |
It was hard not to feel bad for the highly-touted Gordon, who was supposed to be the next big thing in Kansas City. In the mid-2000s scouts deemed Gordon would be the best thing to happen to the Royals since George Brett. Unfortunately Gordon was a bust his first few seasons, but he put it all together in 2011 with a .303 average, .376 OBP, 23 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 17 steals. His .502 slugging percentage led the team and his swing is one of the nicest to see. I see now why scouts liked him so much. Although he is already 27, better late than never. The Royals are going to be a great team very soon and this is the guy to build around. Competition: Juan Pierre (CWS), Brennan Boesch (DET), Michael Brantley (CLE), and Delmon Young (MIN).
CF Melky Cabrera, KC
Actually a year younger than his next-door teammate Gordon, Cabrera surprised everyone with an elite season in center. It seemed his career was on a downtrend after already being shipped out of two franchises upon arrival in KC, but he had by far the best season of his career. The most interesting part of it, however, is how he did it. Cabrera has always been a good contact hitter although not necessarily a patient one. In 2011, though, his walk rate dropped lower than usual and his strikeout output was over 40% of his normal total, and yet he batted .305 with 18 homers, 87 RBIs and 20 steals. A repeat performance is unlikely, but if there were one, I'd be a fan. Competition: Alex Rios (CWS), Austin Jackson (DET), Grady Sizemore (CLE), and Ben Revere (MIN).
RF Michael Cuddyer, MIN
I have him listed here as a right fielder, but every day Cuddyer seems to be playing somewhere different. In the last two seasons, he has played at first base, second base, third base, center field, right field, and he even pitched once. Injuries were the bread and butter of the problems facing the 2011 Twins, but Cuddyer was one of the few that avoided the plague. He was pressed into duty all over the diamond but still produced offensively at a high level and now has landed himself a real nice contract with the Colorado Rockies. The 32-year-old also expanded his market in 2011, reaching double digits in steals for the first time and getting his first trip to the All-Star Game. Even though Jeff Francoeur of the Royals actually had a better individual season, Cuddyer was the only thing that kept the inept Twins from insanity. Competition: Francoeur (KC), Shin-Soo Choo (CLE), Magglio Ordonez (DET), and Carlos Quentin (CWS).
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| AL Central DH: Victor Martinez |
To see how much of Martinez's role in his first year with Detroit played, reread Miguel Cabrera's summary above. Even though Martinez didn't flash power he normally does, he still batted .330 and was clutch for sure, driving in over 100 runs for the fourth time in his career. Cabrera's intentional walk total dropped 10 from 2010 to 2011, a seemingly small but notable difference. Martinez was able to drive in all the runs Cabrera couldn't and this made the Tigers offense a triumphant unit all season long. It's hard to get numbers that certify the value of his lineup protection, especially because a lot of that effect is mental for a pitcher. But he's there alright, and making a difference. Competition: Jim Thome (MIN), Travis Hafner (CLE), Adam Dunn (CWS), and Billy Butler (KC).
SP Justin Verlander, DET (2nd)
Best in the division and best in the league according to the baseball writers, who handed Verlander the Cy Young and MVP trophies in a season for the ages for this tall 28-year-old. He had the best pitching season of anyone since Randy Johnson was doin' his thing in the desert, I think. The wins continued to pile up in the 24-5 season with 250 strikeouts in 251 innings pitched; Pedro Martinez-type numbers. There's not much else to be said. Competition: Mark Buehrle (CWS), Luke Hochevar (KC), Carl Pavano (MIN), and Justin Masterson (CLE).
CP Jose Valverde, DET
'El Papa Grande' entered a realm of his own this season. The 33-year-old Papa, playing with his third team in five years and going slightly under-the-radar entering this season despite domination to show for his entire career, saved 49 games for Detroit and blew none, earning his second straight All-Star selection. His antics put a smile on even the toughest of his teammates' gamefaces while infuriating opponents. A truly dominating closer like Valverde gets into the hitter's mind with the game on the line in the tightest of situations. He wasn't perfect, but he was as close to it as a closer gets. Competition: Sergio Santos (CWS), Chris Perez (CLE), Matt Capps (MIN), and Joakim Soria (KC).
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