The BRAVE and ROYAL family

The Braves made it to the playoffs, but were eliminated in a heartbreaking wildcard game. We will always remember the first wild card game as "The Infield Fly Game" and not Chipper's final game. The Royals on the other hand finished in third place and wanted to improve on that in 2013.

Chipper Jones leaves Turner Field to the Uptons

With Chipper Jones' departure the Braves made some very nice upgrades and changes. In the lineup they lost the speed demon of Michael Bourn but added the young and talented BJ Upton to man center field. They also traded away prospect Randal Delgado and utility man Martin Prado to get Chris Johnson and the other Upton, Justin. Here is what the revenge seeking Braves lineup will look like in 2013:

1. R. B. Upton CF   109 OPS+
2. R. Simmons SS     101 OPS+
3. L. Heyward RF    117 OPS+
4. R. J. Upton LF     107 OPS+
5. L. Freeman 1B     113 OPS+
6. R. Uggla 2B          98 OPS+
7. L. McCann C        87 OPS+
8. R. Johnson 3B      115 OPS+

The pitching rotation for the Braves is a bit weaker without Tommy Hanson, but it is still anchored by Tim Hudson and he has some nice support behind him. Kris Medlen came on the scene in 2012 and blew everyone away. The 5th spot may be a battle between Teheran and Minor, but for now I will just slot one of them in.

1. R. Tim Hudson 3.62 ERA
2. R. Kris Medlen 1.57 ERA
3. R. Brandon Beachy *2.00 ERA *81 IP
4. L. Paul Maholm 3.67 ERA
5. L. Mike Minor 4.12 ERA

The Braves have one of the best bullpens in baseball. With the flame throwing right handed closer, Craig Kimbrel coming in the 9th inning. They also acquired young hard throwing rich hander Jordan Walden. Also in the bullpen are lefties Johnny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty and right hander Christian Martinez who should repeat good years.

I project 92 wins for the Braves in 2013

Billy Butler, The king of the Royal monarchy tips his crown to
the fans

The Royals are planning on contesting the Tigers for the American League Central in 2013. They made some bug improvements to their team and should not be taken lightly in the upcoming season.

The young Royal lineup will have all of its pieces healthy for 2013 and should produce fairly well. Here is how it may look:

1. R. Escobar SS     98 OPS+
2. R. Cain CF          100 OPS+
3. L. Gordon LF      125 OPS+
4. R. Butler DH        140 OPS+
5. L. Hosmer 1B      82 OPS+
6. R. Perez C           117 OPS+
7. L. Moustakas 3B  93 OPS+
8. R. Francoeur RF   81 OPS+
9. L. Getz 2B            85 OPS

The major over hall for the Royals was the starting rotation. They added the big name, Big Game James Sheilds. The also added Ervin Santana, Jeremy Guthrie (mid season), and Wade Davis. This rotation is a great improvement for the Royals, here is how it should look:

1. R. James Shields 3.52 ERA
2. R. Jeremy Guthrie 4.76 ERA
3. R. Ervin Santana 5.16 ERA
4. R. Wade Davis *2.43 ERA *As reliever
5. L. Bruce Chen 5.07 ERA

The Royals have an excess of starters so you can assume the ones who don't make the rotation will either be put in the bullpen or the minor leagues. Speaking of the bullpen, closer Greg Holland had a pretty good year in 2012 and will like to repeat it in 2013. The other names in the bullpen are lefty Tim Collins, and righty Aaron Crow. An addition like Francisco Rodriguez or a gamble with Jose Valverde would be a good addition for the Royals.

I project 84 wins for the Royals in 2013.