Well, it’s the last week in March. Football is over (except for the upcoming draft) and the NBA and NHL are ending their seasons and heading into the playoffs soon. March madness is almost over (RIP to my bracket), and the Kentucky Derby looms in May. This can mean only one thing: Baseball is BACK. Over the next week, each division will be broken down and analyzed by the Greyhound Sports staff.

Overall, the AL East is going to be wide open.  The Toronto Blue Jays won the division last year because their offense was absolutely stacked, and they had David Price as a half-a-year rental. Toronto still has AL MVP Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista though, keeping them as contenders in the league. In case you haven’t heard: Price signed a 200+ million dollar contract with the Boston Red Sox this off-season. Boston is also trying to answer questions surrounding Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez and an overall iffy starting rotation. The Tampa Bay Rays might have one of the deepest farm systems in baseball in terms of pitching. The New York Yankees are looking for a way to get younger while also staying competitive. The Baltimore Orioles re-signed fan favorite Chris Davis, but is it enough to make the playoffs?

1. Toronto: Even though they lost Price, their starting pitching is still pretty solid. They should have Marcus Stroman for an entire year, and their offence will still be potent. Kevin Pillar is a very underrated member of this team. He’s a great defender and sets the offense up for Trot Tulowitzki, Bautista, and Donaldson to do massive damage. Acquiring closer Drew Storen begs the question of how will Aaron Sanchez respond to being moved into a starting rotation spot.

2. Boston: Some analysts predict the Red Sox to run away with this division. As a Boston fan, I’m not buying it. Price is the ace we needed, but Clay Buchholz is always injured, Rick Porcello was terrible last year, and Joe Kelley needed four months to learn how to be remotely effective. This starting rotation is not ideal besides Price. Xander Boegarts is a star in the making, and David Ortiz is looking to still produce heading into his last year. Bottom line is youngster Eduardo Rodriguez needs to continue to develop, Jackie Bradley Jr. needs to consistently hit, and Sandoval might be shipped out of Boston real soon. Craig Kimbrel will go a long way for Boston this year.

3. New York: The Yankees, unlike years past, had a relatively quiet off-season…except the fact that they acquired Cuban flamethrower (and rumored Domestic abuser) Areoldis Chapman. Chapman became the first player to be penalized under Major League Baseball’s new Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy. Once Chapman gets off his suspension, the Yankees might have the best closing bullpen in baseball with three solid pitchers at their disposal. Alex Rodriguez announced his retirement two years in advance (one-upping Jeter much?) and Starlin Castro figures to fit well as the Yankees 2^nd Their rotation is sub-par at best, primarily due to the potential for injury. The Yankees are coming to a time where they need to decide which veteran to cut in order to get prospects time in the majors.

4. Baltimore: The Orioles pleased their fans by re-signing Chris Davis. Davis, combined with Adam Jones and Manny Machado, might be the best combined 3 position players currently. However, there are massive holes in their lineup. Zach Britton is going to be the anchor of the bullpen, and he needs to be great this year. Baltimore’s starting rotation, put bluntly, just isn’t good. Mark Trumbo will benefit from switching to a very friendly hitters park in Camden Yards. If all goes according to plan, Baltimore very well could win the division. But the risk is extremely high with this team, and there are too many areas where it all could go wrong (look at the pitching and batting average).

5. Tampa Bay: Tampa’s classified as a team with not much offense, lots of starting pitching, and the worst stadium in baseball. As much as I don’t like Chris Archer, he’s really good. Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly are also really good 2^nd and 3^rd Evan Longoria needs to re-find his form if Tampa is to become serious AL contenders (not just in the East alone). The true test is if Tampa can survive without injured closer Brad Boxburger in the beginning of the season, and if Matt Moore can recover from his 2015 Tommy John surgery.