With the Class of 2008 set to graduate in the coming weeks, here's a look at what will happen in the American League between now and the five-year reunion:
The Tampa Bay Rays will win the World Series: The Rays are very good already and are going to be one of the best teams in baseball within the next couple of years. They have excellent offensive talent across their entire team and more talent in the minors in the form of Reid Brignac and Desmond Jennings. They have an above-average starting rotation already - and that's not including four of the game's top 10 pitching prospects: Wade Davis, David Price, Jake McGee and Jeremy Hellickson. Most importantly, they have an extremely smart, progressive front office that will take advantage of every opportunity to improve the team.
The "scouts vs. stats" debate will end: In many ways, the debate is already over. Many people around baseball understand the importance of statistics, and few people believe scouting is unimportant. The continuing success of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, and the burgeoning success of the Rays - three teams that truly combine scouting and statistics - will signal the new way forward in baseball's front offices.
Hank Steinbrenner will get himself (and perhaps the Yankees) into serious trouble: So far, the younger Steinbrenner has been eerily like his father during George's early days; it appears to be only a matter of time before he imposes his will on baseball operations. Remember what happened when George thought he could run a baseball team by himself? Here's a hint: The Yankees finished under .500 in every season from 1989 to 1993 before the Boss relinquished control of baseball operations to Gene Michael.
Felix Hernandez will be the best pitcher in the American League: Hernandez was hyped more than just about any other pitcher in recent memory. His first two seasons did not live up to expectations, but they were still above-average, especially for a pitcher of his age and experience. Hernandez's remarkable stuff is still intact, and if he can avoid injury, he should be able to live up to his initial high expectations.
Miguel Cabrera will be the best hitter in the American League: This isn't exactly a bold prediction, but as good as Cabrera is, he's still underrated - and he's just now approaching his prime.
The American League East will be the best division in baseball: The Red Sox are rich and extremely well-run, the Rays have a bright present and even brighter future, the Yankees spend more than anyone, the Orioles have committed to a full-scale rebuilding and the Blue Jays are a solid organization. The AL East will be an absolute dogfight in the next five years. It's very feasible that the three best teams of the next five years will all be inthis division.
The Chicago White Sox will be among the AL's worst teams: This is not so much an indictment of Kenny Williams or Ozzie Guillen, although neither man inspires much confidence. Rather, the White Sox have made the curious decision to play for this year, at the expense of the future. Unfortunately for them, they are not that good this year, and many of their key players - Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, Jose Contreras and Javier Vazquez - are quite old. Their core of Carlos Quentin, Josh Fields, Nick Swisher and John Danks is solid, but their farm system is virtually barren.
The Oakland Athletics will win the AL West more than any other team: This is not a slight to the rest of the teams in the division - well, except for Seattle. Texas has arguably the best farm system in the game and Los Angeles has an excellent major league roster and some big-time prospects that are near-ready. However, the Athletics have quietly built an extremely deep farm system spearheaded by some top-flight prospects, including Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson and Fautino De Los Santos, who will soon supplement an underrated roster.
Billy Beane is as adept as anyone at exploiting the market and acquiring cheap complementary pieces, a skill which, when combined with a fertile farm system, should vault the A's back to the top of the division shortly.
Remember: You heard it here first.
