The 2012 AL Central Position Analysis - Center Field

Sliding over to the middle, we land in the expanse of center field. Austin Jackson clearly leads this group and he still has his prime years ahead of him. As much guff Brantley gets, he fares very well compared to the rest of the division, with De Aza possibly edging him out ever so slightly. But Danks is hot on his heels for that spot. Brantley is 3 years younger than him and has a chance to still push his OPS closer to 800. But with the deal for Stubbs, my bet is that Stubbs lands in center with Brantley shifting back to left. Span had a decent 2012 but has been dealt. The Royals bring up the rear here and unless Dyson or Cain catches a hot streak, there is not much to offer here. I fear 2013 will be another runaway year for Jackson, I expect De Aza to finish second, but that is mainly due to the dearth of good options for the Tribe, Royals and Twins. The Tribe will see if Drew Stubbs can relocate his bat. The Royals are hoping that either Dyson or Cain figures it out. And I am not sure what the Twins are doing after Span and Revere both got dealt. The current depth chart lists Darin Mastroianni as the starter. Brantley and Carrera will back up Stubbs, Wise was resigned and would likely get the call in Chicago. Torii Hunter and Berry can cover in Detroit, and Clete Thomas is the next in line for the Twins. The Royals also have Willy Tavares if needed.

Onto the minor league assessments ...

Fedroff looks ready and could be an option if Stubbs busts out. The Tribe also signed Cedric Hunter this offseason and he will get some play in Buffalo. Holt had a lot of playing time last year but does not seem to be ready yet. Levon Washington got very little playing time due to injury, but is still very young and he may be the top prospect other than Fedroff.

With Golson gone, Blake Tekotte (formerly of the Padres) should be the AAA guy. There are a number of high draft picks here. Mitchell still has time to mature. Thompson is the best of the lot based on the stats. Walker is also still young enough to break out. And Hawkins did well as an 18 year old. Earley had good numbers but is a bit old at 24 in A+.

Henry was dealt to the Red Sox, so the Tigers picked up Matt Tuiasosopo this offseason. With Jackson entrenched, no need for a big stick here. Best bet going forward might be Schotts, but 181 plate appearances is a small sample size, especially for an 18 year old.

Lough and Willy Tavares will likely split time in AAA. Myers was really a RF, but he is now Rays property. And of the rest of the guys listed here, I don't see a single prospect going forward. This should be an area of need in the 2013 draft or in a future trade.

If Clete Thomas doesn't beat out Mastroianni, he should be the AAA starter here. The future at the position likely belongs to Hicks. He did very well as a 22 year old in AA and might be on the fast track this year. Rosario looks like another option if he continues his growth.

Austin Jackson should hold the top spot here for quite awhile. None of the other options in division look to have a spike in the near future. Speaking of futures, the White Sox have the best chance going forward with four draftees from the first or second round. For the non-White Sox options, Hicks looks to be the best bet.

This series attempts to review how each position fared within the AL Central last year and what holds for the future. The first chart reviews how the position fared in the majors between the five teams. The subsequent charts track each position through each team's farm system. Status is not always correct as some of the info was culled a few weeks ago. For players not on the 40-man roster, I have taken my best guess as when/how they were acquired. Not every player who played the position in the minors has been identified as again, I have tried to identify core players at the position only. Some identified as minor league free agents, could have been trade acquisitions. I also only reviewed down to the A level as players at A- or in the rookie leagues are still quite volatile.