The 2010 Major League Baseball season begins on April 4th, with a Sunday Night Baseball match-up between the biggest rivals in sports. The defending champion New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox to kick off the new decade in baseball. The 2000’s saw 8 different World Series champions in 10 years, with only the Yankees and Red Sox with multiple titles. Will the 2010 American League be a battle at the top between these two rivals once again? Not exactly. There were many interesting offseason changes in the American League that will make for an exciting, competitive season. A division-by-division preview will come later. Here are my early, quick predictions for the 2010 American League.

AL EAST - Yanks lead best division in baseball. No wildcard winner due to competitiveness. Rays young players becoming stars (Longoria, Upton, Price). Red Sox drop to 3rd despite stacked rotation. Orioles will be much improved offensively.

1. New York Yankees (98-64) - Star power in lineup, rotation, and bullpen
2. Tampa Bay Rays (87-75) - Longoria stars, Upton’s season will determine team’s fate
3. Boston Red Sox (85-77) - Great rotation. Upgrade in defense, dropoff in power
4. Baltimore Orioles (80-82) - On the rise. Great young players, but awful rotation
5. Toronto Blue Jays (69-93) - Best players? Ricky Romero, Aaron Hill, and Adam Lind

AL CENTRAL - Likely to see surprises in this division. I still like Mauer and the Twins to take home the division, but it will be competitive. Tigers traded away 2 of their best players. Royals on the rise, Indians going nowhere. White Sox are team to watch.

1. Minnesota Twins (88-74) - Made some key additions (Hudson, Hardy, Thome)
2. Chicago White Sox (83-79) - First full year for Jake Peavy, Alex Rios
3. Detroit Tigers (79-83) - Lost 1 important Jackson (Edwin), added another (Austin)
4. Kansas City Royals (76-86) - Greinke-led youth movement seeing improved results
5. Cleveland Indians (65-97) - Had Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia just 2 years ago. No longer

AL WEST - All teams will be competitive. Angels run at the top comes to an end, but great pitching staff will win the wildcard. Welcome the Seattle Mariners, new division champs. Rangers on the rise but come up short again. A’s have a bright future.

1. Seattle Mariners (90-72) - No power bat worries me. But Cliff Lee, King Felix, wow
2. *L.A. Angels (88-74) - Typical Angel offense, new-look solid pitching staff = wildcard
3. Texas Rangers (81-81) - Poor staff, Rich Harden must stay healthy. Love the offense
4. Oakland Athletics (71-91) - Very, very young. Will not score enough runs

AL MVP - Will be very tough to overtake Mauer, but Evan Longoria will do it
1. Evan Longoria (TB) - .300, 40 HR, 130 RBI, 15 steals, solid defense for Rays
2. Joe Mauer (MIN) - .340, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 1.000 OPS as a catcher
3. Miguel Cabrera (DET) - .300, 35 HR, 120 RBI, will carry Tigers offense
4. Ichiro (SEA) - .360, 10 HR, 75 RBI, 120 runs, 40 SB, motivated on good team
5. Robinson Cano (NYY) - Not A-Rod, Jeter, Teixiera but Cano’s year. .320, 25, 95, 100 runs

AL Cy Young - King Felix able to steal throne from Greinke
1. Felix Hernandez (SEA) - 19 wins, sub-3.00 ERA, strikeout leader for West champs
2. Zach Greinke (KC) - 18 wins, sub-2.80 ERA, high K’s, still dominant
3. Jon Lester (BOS) - Sox ace eats innings, high K’s, 19 wins
4. Cliff Lee (SEA) - 20+ wins, most innings pitched, high K’s for resurgent Seattle
5. CC Sabathia (NYY) - Workhorse with another big year. 20 wins, 3.3 ERA

AL Rookie of the Year - Always tough to predict, and fun to watch
1. Austin Jackson (DET) - Wish he was still a Yankee. Five-tool future star centerfielder
2. Neftali Feliz (TEX) - Live arm for Rangers bullpen. If he ends up starting, could win award
3. Brett Wallace (TOR) - May win the Blue Jays starting 3rd base role

PLAYOFFS - Yankees defeat Angels, Mariners defeat Twins
WINNER - Yankees defeat Mariners in 6 games for AL Championship once again

Be on the lookout for my division-by-division blog previews as we get closer to Opening Day, which will preview each division and team individually. For now, also check out my National League predictions.