Comparing AL Central Rosters: Part 2 (Outfielders/DH)

Yesterday, we discussed the infielders and catchers of the five AL Central rosters as of today. Obviously there will (or should!) be more moves coming, but I think the other part of this exercise is that it shows where the Twins and their competitors strengths and weaknesses are as we approach mid-January. 

Today, we'll take a look at the three outfield positions, pick a DH for each team, and then try to project a bench for each team. Then, like yesterday, we can try to summarize and rank the players. 

Left Field 
Twins: Trevor Larnach (1.5)
Guardians: Steven Kwan (4.1)
Royals: MJ Melendez (-0.3) 
Tigers: Kerry Carpenter (2.4)
White Sox: Andrew Benintendi (-0.3)  

A couple of CWS champions from Oregon State at the top of this list. Larnach and Kwan teamed with Nick Madrigal and Adley Rutschman at the top of the Beavers championship lineup in 2018. Kwan missed some time with injury last year, but he’s been very good at the top of the Guardians lineup and playing a Gold Glove left field. Larnach finally got consistent playing time and performed well. Quietly, Kerry Carpenter had a really solid season in Detroit. Presumably, more people will know about him after the upcoming season. Benintendi was a really good player as recently as three seasons ago.  

Center Field 
Twins: Byron Buxton (3.7)
Guardians: Lane Thomas (0.4)
Royals: Kyle Isbel (1.4)
Tigers: Parker Meadows (2.1) 
White Sox: Luis Robert, Jr. (0.5)

Here is a category in which there is no doubt that the Twins player is top of the list. Speed is still a big part of his game - he was certainly enjoying playing in center field more than he liked DHing in 2023. However, it is his power that has become his top tool the past few seasons. Parker Meadows played well in the second half, helping lead the Tigers surge toward the playoffs. Kyle Isbel is really strong in the center of the Royals outfield, but he hasn’t had an on-base percentage over .290 since his 28-game debut in 2021. Lane Thomas had a couple of decent seasons in Washington but struggled after Cleveland traded for him in July. Luis Robert has as much talent and athleticism as Buxton. While he had a very rough season in 2024, he is the one scary bat in the White Sox lineup. That, of course, means he could be traded at any point.  

Right Field 
Twins: Matt Wallner (2.1)
Guardians: Will Brennan (0.5)
Royals: Nelson Velazquez (-0.5) 
Tigers: Riley Greene (4.0) 
White Sox: Mike Tauchman (1.1) 

Greene was a consensus Top 10 prospect coming into the 2022 season. He debuted that season. He improved significantly in 2023 despite missing time due to injury. In 2024, he really put it all together. Strong defense, but an .827 OPS (133 OPS+) and 57 extra base hits. And he won’t turn 25 until the final week of the 2025 season. Considering how rough his first few weeks of the 2024 season were, Wallner came back later in the summer and really hit well. We’d love to see him get 140 games and see what kind of power numbers he can put together.  Tauchman joins the Sox after playing on the North Side of Chicago the past two seasons. 2025 will be his eighth with big-league service time. He’s become a solid on-base guy with the ability to make some great plays in the outfield too. After a solid 11-game debut in 2022, Brennan has been the primary right fielder for the Guardians, though he hasn’t posted an OPS over .700 either year. 

Designated Hitter 
Twins: Willi Castro (3.1)
Guardians: Kyle Manzardo (0.0) 
Royals: Hunter Renfroe (-0.1)
Tigers: Matt Vierling (2.6)
White Sox: Austin Slater (-0.1) 

Obviously Castro isn’t an ideal Designated Hitter, but he is an everyday player on the Twins roster and this spot fits. The true value of Castro is his ability to play all over the field, three infield spots and three outfield spots. He has earned his playing time with the Twins, and he even earned a spot on the 2024 All-Star team. However, his OPS+ the last two seasons have been 105 and 102. That’s not a bad thing for a utility player with strong defense. After a couple of seasons with the Phillies, Vierling has played in 268 games with the Tigers over the past two seasons. He has hit .259 with a combined 49 doubles and 26 homers. More of a utility player, he has played all three outfield spots and both corner infield positions. Renfroe has had several solid MLB seasons, even hitting more than 25 homers or more in five different seasons. The last two seasons, he has essentially been a replacement level player. Slater joins the White Sox as a free agent. After seven-plus seasons as a part-timer with the Giants, he played for three teams in 2024. The Rays dealt Manzardo to Cleveland for Aaron Civale at the 2023 trade deadline. He debuted in 2024 with about six weeks of games in May and early June. He came back to the big leagues on September 1st and homered  twice in his first game back. He finished the month with five homers including two against the Twins in their mid-September series against Minnesota that put a dagger in the Twins season. Manzardo added another homer in the ALCS against the Yankees. 

Bench 
Twins: Christian Vazquez (0.8), Edouard Julien (0.0), Austin Martin (-0.2), DaShawn Keirsey (0.0)
Guardians: Austin Hedges (0.4), Daniel Schneemann (0.3), Jhonkensy Noel (0.6), Tyler Freeman (0.3), David Fry (IL, 1.7)
Royals: Freddy Fermin (1.9), Nick Loftin (-0.2), Drew Waters (0.0), Michael Massey (1.5) 
Tigers: Dillon Dingler (0.0), Javier Baez (-0.7), Justyn-Henry Malloy (-0.5), Zach McKinstry (1.1), Spencer Torkelson (0.1)
White Sox: Korey Lee (-0.4), Josh Rojas (1.9), Bobby Dalbec (-0.7), Miguel Vargas (-1.2)

I won’t spend much time talking about the bench, but the best teams often have the most depth. Injury is part of it, unfortunately. Initially, it’s fair to say that none of these benches inspire a lot of confidence. However, there are some interesting names. Will Vazquez remain with the Twins. Can Julien return to his 2022 and 2023 form? David Fry was an All-Star last year, but he’ll miss time early in the season. And Jhonkensy Noel should get a lot of at-bats. And hit a ton of home runs. Will Freddy Fermin get more time behind the plate with Perez DHing? What can the Tigers hope for from Javier Baez? Are they somewhat obligated to start him? 

Summary
At the beginning, I made the note that you should think through how you would want to rank the players at each of these positions. Maybe you even want to consider degrees of 'better than'. Just for fun, I tried two exercises. 

The first chart simply ranks the teams, with "1" being the team with the best player at each position, "2" being second best, and "5" being the worst of the group. In this case, you can see how the teams rank (at these positions) with the lowest total being the best. 

The second chart is a chart in which you get to divvy up 10.0 points for each position. Depending on how detailed you want to get, you can use whole numbers or use decimals. In my example yesterday, I gave Bobby Witt, Jr. five of the 10 available points at shortstop. As you'll see today, I don't have any single spot over 3.75. Again, make it your own, give it some thought, and then we can discuss.  

The intent for these is to see where each team's strengths and weaknesses may be relative to the rest of the division. As you know, it's all a matter of opinion. Even projections are calculated opinions and guesses. So, have some fun with this and make it your own. If you think Byron Buxton should get all 10 points, that's totally up to you. Or make up your own system of rank and comparison. Think you have a good system? Share it in the comments for us to all try. Even if you don't formalize your rankings in a chart, please leave a comment below with how you would rank the positions. Who would make your All-AL Central Preseason First Team? 

Check back in coming days for conversations and discussions on the pitchers.