Welcome to the weakest division in baseball, the American League Central.
I’m in the midst of issuing yearend report cards for all 30 big-league teams, a process that began on Tuesday with the AL East’s five clubs and continues today with the Central’s five franchises.
The series still has two weeks to run, but the grades have already been calculated for all 30 teams. So I can offer a sneak peek at the divisions’ collective grade-point averages, using the familiar four-point academic scale.
Look to the bottom to find today’s subject:
AL East, 2.53
NL West, 2.35
NL East, 2.21
AL West, 2.00
NL Central, 1.63
AL Central, 1.54
I’m assessing each club in 10 categories — five on the batting/offensive side, five on the pitching/defensive side — based on statistics as of September 15. (Yes, that deadline came three weeks before season’s end, but it gives us a chance to run through all six divisions before the playoffs.) Grades are determined on a curve that encompasses all 30 big-league teams.
You’ll see five stats appear twice in each club’s statistical profile, once as a measure of offensive production (highest is best) and once as a reflection of defensive prevention (lowest is ideal).
You can click here to learn more the stats in detail, but let me give a quick rundown: runs per plate appearance (self-explanatory), bases per out (bases reached by hits, walks, hit batsmen, stolen bases, and sacrifices, divided by outs made), isolated-power average (extra bases from doubles, triples, and homers, divided by at-bats), contact rate (at-bats that did not result in strikeouts), and batting-eye rate (unintentional walks per plate appearance).
The Minnesota Twins have an unimpressive grade-point average of 2.17, yet it’s still the best GPA in the weak AL Central. Here is a quick summary for each team.
1. Minnesota Twins (2.17 GPA) — The Twins rank as the division’s offensive powerhouse, with a 2.60 GPA for that side of the game. They’re above average in four of the five batting categories. Mediocre pitching has been holding Minnesota down.
2. Cleveland Guardians (2.10 GPA) — The Guardians have exceeded expectations in a rebuilding year, thanks largely to their pitching. Four above-average grades have given them a nifty 2.87 GPA for that half of the game. But their hitting has been a disappointment.
3. Chicago White Sox (1.77 GPA) — The experts predicted that the Sox would win the division in a breeze, but that hasn’t happened. The blame primarily falls on an anemic offense, which receives a D and two F’s.
4. Kansas City Royals (0.87 GPA) — The Royals are saddled with the division’s worst pitching staff. It earns a D-plus for extra-base prevention and an F in each of the other four pitching categories.
5. Detroit Tigers (0.77 GPA) — How can the Tigers’ abysmal season best be summarized? By pointing out that Detroit gets F’s in half of its 10 categories, with a couple of D’s thrown in for good measure.
Scroll below to see the summaries for all five clubs in the AL Central. Next stop: the AL West, next Tuesday.
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1. Minnesota Twins
Overall GPA: 2.17 points.
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 2.60 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 1.73 points.
Run production: .116 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: C.)
Base production: .673 bases per out. (Grade: B-.)
Extra-base production: .158 isolated-power average. (Grade: B-.)
Contact hitting: .756 contact rate. (Grade: B-.)
Batting eye: .085 batting-eye rate. (Grade: B.)
Run prevention: .113 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: C.)
Base prevention: .666 bases allowed per out. (Grade: C-.)
Extra-base prevention: .161 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: D.)
Power pitching: .752 contact rate allowed. (Grade: C-.)
Control pitching: .078 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: C+.)
2. Cleveland Guardians
Overall GPA: 2.10 points.
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 1.33 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 2.87 points.
Run production: .110 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: D.)
Base production: .645 bases per out. (Grade: D+.)
Extra-base production: .129 isolated-power average. (Grade: F.)
Contact hitting: .799 contact rate. (Grade: A+.)
Batting eye: .068 batting-eye rate. (Grade: F.)
Run prevention: .107 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: B.)
Base prevention: .622 bases allowed per out. (Grade: B+.)
Extra-base prevention: .146 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: B.)
Power pitching: .747 contact rate allowed. (Grade: C.)
Control pitching: .074 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: B.)
3. Chicago White Sox
Overall GPA: 1.77 points.
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 1.27 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 2.27 points.
Run production: .114 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: C.)
Base production: .641 bases per out. (Grade: D.)
Extra-base production: .130 isolated-power average. (Grade: F.)
Contact hitting: .777 contact rate. (Grade: B+.)
Batting eye: .064 batting-eye rate. (Grade: F.)
Run prevention: .116 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: C.)
Base prevention: .656 bases allowed per out. (Grade: C.)
Extra-base prevention: .146 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: B.)
Power pitching: .736 contact rate allowed. (Grade: B.)
Control pitching: .085 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: D+.)
4. Kansas City Royals
Overall GPA: 0.87 points.
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 1.47 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 0.27 points.
Run production: .105 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: D-.)
Base production: .632 bases per out. (Grade: D.)
Extra-base production: .134 isolated-power average. (Grade: D-.)
Contact hitting: .760 contact rate. (Grade: B.)
Batting eye: .077 batting-eye rate. (Grade: C.)
Run prevention: .130 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: F.)
Base prevention: .743 bases allowed per out. (Grade: F.)
Extra-base prevention: .157 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: D+.)
Power pitching: .786 contact rate allowed. (Grade: F.)
Control pitching: .093 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: F.)
5. Detroit Tigers
Overall GPA: 0.77 points.
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 0.13 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 1.40 points.
Run production: .091 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: F.)
Base production: .545 bases per out. (Grade: F.)
Extra-base production: .112 isolated-power average. (Grade: F.)
Contact hitting: .735 contact rate. (Grade: D-.)
Batting eye: .064 batting-eye rate. (Grade: F.)
Run prevention: .120 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: D+.)
Base prevention: .667 bases allowed per out. (Grade: C-.)
Extra-base prevention: .149 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: C+.)
Power pitching: .781 contact rate allowed. (Grade: F.)
Control pitching: .081 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: C-.)