onents."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Royals Trade Rumors & Hot StoveRoyals Minor Leagues & ProspectsRoyals Review ClassicRoyals Review Users GuideThe 100 Greatest Royals Of All TimeScouting the Enemy: 2019 AL Central PreviewNew Martin Prado Jersey ,4commentsThe Royals will play 76 of their 162 games against AL Central opponents.EDTShareTweetShareShareScouting the Enemy: 2019 AL Central PreviewDenny Medley-USA TODAY SportsEarlier this off-season, I wrote this article detailing that the AL Central is going to be especially vulnerable in 2019. In the article I broke down a pretty thorough list of how the Royals stack up to the Cleveland Indians and how the gap between the two teams isn’t as big as some may think. Last year around this time, I wrote this same article previewing the AL Central for you guys for 2018. Let’s go through each team really quickly and see how I did pegging the 2018 AL Central:Detroit TigersProjected Record: 60-102Actual Record: 64-98Projected Finish: 5thActual Finish: 3rdChicago White SoxProjected Record: 69-93Actual Record: 62-100Projected Finish: 4thActual Finish4thMinnesota TwinsProjected Record: 79-83Actual Record: 78-84Projected Finish: 3rdActual Finish: 2ndCleveland IndiansProjected Record: 97-65Actual Record: 91-71Projected Finish: 1stActual Finish: 1stRecapSo I missed with the Royals a bit...Predicted the order of the other four teams correctlyMissed the four teams’ records by a combined 17 games, an average of 4.25 wins/teamSo I was way off in regard to how good the Royals would be in 2018. My bad. I think I did a pretty dang good job with everyone else though, so I’m gonna go ahead and give this thing a whirl again for 2019. Let’s take a look at the projected record, finish, lineup, rotation, and MVP for the Royals AL Central opponents in 2019.2019 Detroit Tigers PreviewProjected Rotation:Michael FulmerMatt BoydJordan ZimmermanTyson RossMatt MooreProjected Lineup:LF: Christin Stewart/Mikie MahtookCF: JaCoby JonesRF: Nicholas Castellanos3B: Jeimer CandelarioSS: Jordy Mercer2B: Josh Harrison1B: Miguel CabreraC: Grayson GreinerDH: John Hicks/Niko GoodrumMan. I don’t know how this Detroit team improves much from their poor 2018 effort. I love the Josh Harrison signing for them, but Jordy Mercer doesn’t offer much of an improvement at SS and they lost their starting backstop in James McCann. McCann didn’t hit well at all last year http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey , but he was one of the better defensive catchers in the AL and Grayson Greiner, well, wasn’t. The rotation didn't get much better. I love Matt Moore. I’ve been waiting for him to breakout for years. He just has not been the same since having Tommy John surgery in 2014. He’s an exciting wildcard for Detroit, but after Michael Fulmer took a step backwards in 2018, that rotation could be brutal. They say every team wins and loses 60 games, but I’m not sure Detroit gets there in 2018. Projected Record for 2019: 58-104Projected Finish in the AL Central: 5thTeam MVP: Nicholas Castellanos2019 Chicago White Sox PreviewProjected Rotation:Carlos RodonReynaldo LopezIvan NovaLucas GiolitoDylan CoveyProjected Lineup:LF: Daniel Palka/Nicky DelmonicoCF: Adam EngelRF: Jon Jay/Leury Garcia3B: Yoan MoncadaSS: Tim Anderson2B: Yolmer Sanchez1B: Jose AbreuC: Welington CastilloDH: Yonder AlonsoThe Chicago White Sox are in something of a weird place. The team could legitimately sell pieces at the trade deadline in 2019 and actually be a better team afterwards. One of baseball’s top prospects, Eloy Jimenez, lurks in AAA. The kid can absolutely rake and when ever he gets his shot in the big leagues, the team will instantly become much better. Yoan Moncada, baseball’s former top prospect Wei-Yin Chen Jersey , struggled a bit in his sophomore season, but he figures to make some improvements. Yonder Alonso and Welington Castillo figure to be big adds to the team. I like what the White Sox did this off-season. Their farm system is absolutely loaded and their future is very bright. I just have way too many questions about their pitching staff heading into 2019. Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning, both top 60 prospects in baseball, aren’t far from the big leagues, but neither have appeared in AAA yet. Their bullpen actually figures to be pretty good, but the overall depth of the staff is concerning. Nonetheless, I expect the Chi-Sox to surprise some people in 2019.Projected Record for 2019: 74-88Projected Finish in the AL Central: 3rdTeam MVP: Yoan Moncada2019 Minnesota Twins PreviewProjected Rotation:Jose BerriosKyle GibsonMichael PinedaJake OdorizziAdalberto MejiaProjected Lineup:LF: Eddie RosarioCF: MVP: rolling in the division. What Cleveland does in the playoffs figures to be determined by moves they make at the deadline. Their farm system isn’t great, but they’ve got some really good pieces that should have an impact in the big leagues fairly soon. Their lucky the rest of the AL Central is going to be bad in 2019, because this front office didn’t appear to want to win.Projected Record for 2019: 92-70Projected Finish in the AL Central: 1stTeam MVP: Francisco Lindor The Los Angeles Dodgers made it a closer call than anyone expected, but they're headed back to the postseason.The Dodgers clinched their sixth straight MLB playoff berth Saturday with a 10-6 win over the San Francisco Giants. Alex Wood was credited with the win after pitching 1.1 of scoreless relief. A four-run ninth inning helped propel Los Angeles to victory. Manny Machado went 2-of-5 and gave the Dodgers a 6-5 lead with an RBI triple in the eighth.Los Angeles Dodgers DodgersThe boys in blue are heading back! #CLINCHED 9AshHnnBE3A year removed from reaching Game 7 of the World Series Jeff Locke Jersey , the Dodgers spent most of 2018 battling to make it to October. They entered September one game out of the NL West lead and 2.5 games behind for the second wild-card slot.The Colorado Rockies led the West as late as Sept. 16. But a three-game sweep of Bud Black's team in a late-season series shifted the tide in the Dodgers' favor. Colorado has since climbed back into first place and holds a 0.5-game lead.Had the Dodgers missed the playoffs, this whole season could have been a miscalculation. The team went all-in on winning a ring in 2018, giving up elite prospects to land Machado from the Baltimore Orioles and adding David Freese from the Pittsburgh Pirates.Health has been a major issue throughout the season, with every regular starting pitcher missing time because of injury. No Dodgers pitcher has thrown more than 161.1 innings.The bats have also been shakier than expected. The Dodgers rank in the bottom half of baseball in batting average, though their on-base numbers are much better.Despite injuries and occasional hitting droughts, the Dodgers still rank second in ERA and sixth in runs scored. Their plus-176 run differential is by far the best in the National League. So while the road to get there was a little uneven, the Dodgers should be considered favorites for another World Series berth once the postseason gets underway.