As I sit and wait for baseball to begin, I decided to take the fact that I have no life and go through every MLB team and project their roster, as of the beginning of Spring Training.  I like to show as often as possible that I’m not just a Phillies fan; I want to know as much about baseball as possible.  I want to know to Orioles roster and I want to know the Giants roster, along with every team in the middle.  I’m not going to be doing any sort of season projections now, it’s far too early to tell something like that.  I just want a feel for what a team is going to look like, I’ll do my best to breakdown the strengths and weaknesses.  If you see something that doesn’t look right, it is most likely because that is who I personally believe should be in that spot.

The Los Angeles Angels

Projected Rotation:
Jered Weaver – RHP
Joe Saunders – LHP
Joel Pineiro – RHP
Scott Kazmir – LHP
Ervin Santana – RHP

Not seeing John Lackey at the top of the list really does take something away from the rotation.  After the year he just had, the Pineiro signing looks to be a smart one, plus, it solidifies the 3 spot pretty well.  Ervin Santana will have a lot to do with the success of this club, from 16 wins in ’08 to 8 in ’09, 3.50 ERA to 5.00 ERA, they need him now more than ever.

Projected Bullpen:
Brian Fuentes – Closer – LHP
Fernando Rodney – RHP
Scot Shields – RHP
Kevin Jepsen – RHP
Jason Bulger – RHP
Matt Palmer – RHP
Sean O’Sullivan – RHP

A little unsure about this bullpen.  Fuentes is an average closer at best and Rodney was good with save conversions, but the ERA was awfully high.  What will help, is a healthy Scot Shields; he’s a guy that I have always liked and I hope he returns to form.  Jepsen was a nice find as well last year, he’ll need to be even better this time around.

Projected Starters:
C – Mike Napoli – R
1B – Kendry Morales – S
2B – Howie Kendrick – R
3B – Brandon Wood – R
SS – Erick Aybar – S
LF – Juan Rivera – R
CF – Torii Hunter – R
RF – Bobby Abreu – L
DH – Hideki Matsui – L

I hope all of Brandon Wood’s waiting comes to fruition this season as 3rd base now belongs to him.  The rest of the lineup remained relatively unchanged, except for the addition of a new DH in Hideki Matsui. 

Projected Bench:
C Jeff Mathis – R
INF Maicer Izturis – S
OF Reggie Willits – S
3B Freddy Sandoval – S
Other Options:
OF Terry Evans – R

This looks to be a pretty strong bench if you ask me.  Maicer Izturis really could be a starter on many teams and Reggie Willits reminds me a lot of Brandon Wood.  Both of them are good enough in the Minors, but lack in the Majors.

The Oakland Athletics

Projected Rotation:
Ben Sheets – RHP
Dallas Braden – LHP
Justin Duchscherer – RHP
Brett Anderson – LHP
Trevor Cahill – RHP
Other Options:
Vin Mazzaro – RHP
Gio Gonzalez – LHP
Josh Outman – LHP

Any potential success this rotation will have relies on health.  If those top three guys stay healthy, especially Sheets and Duchscherer, watch out for these guys.  Ben Sheets is one of the most dominant starting pitchers in baseball when he’s on, and hitters make that pretty clear.  Justin Duchscherer is really a very nice foil pair (my 11th grade English teacher would be proud) to Sheets, as both take very different roads to getting hitters out, but they do it.

Projected Bullpen:
Andrew Bailey – Closer – RHP
Brad Ziegler – RHP
Michael Wuertz – RHP
Joey Devine – RHP
Craig Breslow – LHP
Jerry Blevins – LHP
Jon Meloan – RHP

The A’s bullpen looks alright on paper to tell you the truth.  You have a good young closer, your daily dose of two lefties and Michael Wuertz (who was crazy good last year, I had no idea).  A healthy Joey Devine will also do this pen a world of good.

Projected Starters:
C – Kurt Suzuki – R
1B – Daric Barton – L
2B – Mark Ellis – R
3B – Kevin Kouzmanoff – R
SS – Cliff Pennington – S
LF – Rajai Davis – R
CF – Coco Crisp – S
RF – Ryan Sweeney – L
DH – Jack Cust – L

I wonder if this team will do a good job at working walks?  Something tells me it will as the A’s brass love that sort of thing, not that there’s anything wrong with that.  It is a good apporach to the plate, but too many times batting averages aren’t high enough.  Nobody here really sticks out, although, I love Kurt Suzuki behind the dish, he’s grown to be a fairly good hitter too.

Projected Bench:
C Landon Powell – S
3B/1B Eric Chavez – L
INF Adam Rosales – R
1B/3B/DH Jake Fox – R
Other Options:
OF Gabe Gross – L
2B/OF Eric Patterson – L
OF Travis Buck – L

With Chavez, Rosales, and Fox on the bench, it’s looking pretty good.  Chavez has proven what he can do, Rosales has annihilated the Minors, and Jake Fox could one day be starting somewhere (he has got big time power, for those who don’t know).

The Seattle Mariners

Projected Rotation:
Felix Hernandez – RHP
Cliff Lee – LHP
Ryan Rowland-Smith – LHP
Ian Snell – RHP
Doug Fister – RHP
Other Options:
Luke French – LHP

I’ve been talking ever since the trade went down that Seattle now has the best 1-2 punch in the MLB.  Cliff Lee made a fan for life out of me last year when he did what he did for me and my Phillies.  I tuned in with new-found excitement everytime he pitched and was wowed during Game 1 of the World Series when he dominated.  In addition, I was genuinely disappointed when I heard we traded him away.  It’s not all about Cliff though, King Felix was just that last year and I really like Ryan Rowland-Smith, these guys look rather good.

Projected Bullpen:
David Aardsma – Closer – RHP
Mark Lowe – RHP
Brandon League – RHP
Sean White – RHP
Garrett Olson – LHP
Shawn Kelley – RHP
Jason Vargas – LHP
Other Options:
Kanekoa Texeira* – RHP

*Rule 5 pick*

I wouldn’t say that the bullpen looks anywhere near as good as the rotation.  Picking up Brandon League, even if it meant trading away Brandon Morrow, will be worth it in the end.  He’s got quite the live arm and is a tough guy to face in the late innings when he’s healthy.  David Aardsma may have been the surprise of the season last year, as I don’t believe anyone saw that dominance coming.  Mark Lowe adds to League and Aardsma to give hitters three tough arms to face late in games.

Projected Starters:
C – Rob Johnson – R
1B – Casey Kotchman – L
2B – Jose Lopez – R
3B – Chone Figgins – S
SS – Jack Wilson – R
LF – Milton Bradley – S
CF – Franklin Gutierrez – R
RF – Ichiro Suzuki – L
DH – Ken Griffey Jr. – L

Adding former division rival Chone Figgans and giving Milton Bradley a change of scenery should do wonders for this already stable offensive team.  Not to mention, the defense on this team looks spectacular.  I suppose the only guy you really won’t know what to expect from is the new catcher Rob Johnson, he may not even win the job once Spring is over.

Projected Bench:
OF Michael Saunders – L
C Josh Bard – S
3B/1B Jack Hannahan – L
1B/DH Ryan Garko – R
Other Options:
LF/DH Eric Byrnes – R
C Adam Moore – R
OF Ryan Langerhans – L
INF Matt Tuiasosopo – R

This is a bench that has a lot of options, maybe some of these guys should be starting and maybe some of them should make the team.  Should Ryan Garko be the DH when there is a lefty on the mound?  Should Eric Byrnes get the veteran benefit of the doubt and take a spot from someone younger (and possibly more deserving)?  These questions should be answered during Spring.

The Texas Rangers

Projected Rotation:
Scott Feldman – RHP
Rich Harden – RHP
Tommy Hunter – RHP
Brandon McCarthy – RHP
Derek Holland – LHP
Other Options:
Colby Lewis – RHP
Neftali Feliz – RHP

What is with all this talk about Colby Lewis getting a spot in the rotation?  Whatever he did in Japan or whatever is fine and dandy, but he doesn’t earn the right the be given anything.  I put Tommy Hunter, Brandon McCarthy, and Derek Holland ahead of him on my depth chart.  Rich Harden is a fantastic signing, those of you who know my blog know all to well how I feel about him.  This guy has the nastiest stuff I have ever seen when he is healthy, Cy Young stuff.

Projected Bullpen:
Frank Francisco – Closer – RHP
C.J. Wilson – LHP
Neftali Feliz – RHP
Darren Oliver – LHP
Darren O’Day – RHP
Chris Ray – RHP
Doug Mathis – RHP

Since the Rangers decided to bring Neftali Feliz to the Majors last season as a relief pitcher, then that is where he should stay.  I’ve seen the Yankees run Joba Chamberlain into the ground because they can’t figure out where they want him, and frankly I don’t want to see the same thing happen to Feliz.  In addition to that, the Rangers need more help in the bullpen anyways.  With Feliz having a spot in the pen, it looks to be a pretty good one.

Projected Starters:
C – Jarrod Saltalamacchia – S
1B – Chris Davis – L
2B – Ian Kinsler – R
3B – Michael Young – R
SS – Elvis Andrus – R
LF – Josh Hamilton – L
CF – Julio Borbon – L
RF – Nelson Cruz – R
DH – Vladimir Guerrero – R

It should come as no surprise to anyone that this Rangers offense looks to be awfully strong, even without Rudy Jaramillo as hitting coach.  It’s good to hear that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is feeling good, so he should do just fine behind the plate.  Josh Hamilton is going to need to be healthy this year, he’s exciting to watch and he really changes a game.  A guy who I really like is Nelson Cruz.  I first heard about Nellie in 2008 when I heard he was smashing the ball in the Minors.  Well, Nellie brought his power to the Majors and if anyone hasn’t seen him yet, by all means, watch him this year.

Projected Bench:
OF David Murphy – L
C – Talyor Teagarden – R
INF Joaquin Arias – R
INF Esteban German – R

I haven’t the slightest clue what is going on in the head of Khalil Greene, but I hope he gets everything sorted out up there.  I remember watching him when he first came up and being really impressed with his defense, good luck Khalil.  David Murphy is a guy who, by all rights, should be a starter.  Well, he would be a starter on most other clubs, but this particular team has a stacked outfield, he’ll be just fine on the bench though.