Divisional preview: American League Central

With Cy Young-type starters and a punishing lineup, the Detroit Tigers have been the best team in the American League Central - if not the entire league - for four consecutive years.

But that's all changing.

The Tigers have taken a step back, especially with their rotation.

The Kansas City Royals, defending AL champions, are without pitcher James Shields, but they added power bats to a strong bullpen, speedy lineup and tight defense. The Chicago White Sox added to their rotation, lineup and bullpen, so they could challenge.

Cleveland has what could be the best collection of power arms and could wind up in the postseason for a second time in three seasons. Minnesota has turned the corner with more pitching, a talented core of prospects and a new manager, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, who replaces Ron Gardenhire.

The Indians will win the division followed by the Royals, White Sox, Tigers and Twins.

Here's the rundown:

Cleveland: The Indians are coming off consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2000-2001. They made the playoffs in 2013 and didn't in 2014, but this year, optimism is running high. That's because they have a young and deep pitching staff that had a 2.95 ERA after the All-Star break last season and finished at 3.56, sixth-best in the AL. ... The Indians rotation is led by Cory Kluber, the 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner, a four-pitch pitcher who is out to prove last season's 18 wins, 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts were for real. There's also Carlos Carrasco, 28, who had a 1.70 ERA in the second half and at times pitched better than Kluber down the stretch. Trevor Bauer (3.97) and Danny Salazar (3.48) are also in the rotation. ... The Indians' question is offense - they set a big-league record with 1,450 strikeouts in 2014 - and manager Terry Francona needs a tighter defense. ... First baseman Brandon Moss, coming back from October hip surgery, was added for power. He hit .234-25-81 for Oakland last season. Lonnie Chisenhall is a .280 hitter with double-figure home-run potential at third base. Second baseman Jason Kipnis needs a bounceback season (.240). Catcher Yan Gomes is a solid defensive catcher who might hit .280 and make his first All-Star team. ... Outfielders Michael Bourn (hamstring) and Nick Swisher (knees) need to be healthy, although Swisher is going to have to get used to being a bench player. The Indians could use Bourn's running game, but his stolen base production has declined in the last two seasons. Cleveland's best hitter is left fielder Michael Brantley, a line drive hitter who posted .327-20-97 with 23 stolen bases last season.

Kansas City: The Royals, who last season won the AL pennant for the first time since 1985, will have to find replacements for pitcher Shields, outfielder Nori Aoki and DH Billy Butler if they plan to return. The Royals, who finished last in the majors with 95 home runs last season, will depend on same tools that got them to the World Series, meaning they'll bank on daring base running, tight defense and a lights-out bullpen. ... The Royals will replace Butler (Oakland) and Aoki (San Francisco) with Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios, guys who have good power numbers in the past but will want to prove that they aren't on the decline. Morales, who has hit as many as 34 home runs in a season, and Rios, who hit four for Texas last season, will have their work cut out for them in spacious Kauffman Stadium. There's a reason the Royals' franchise record for single-season home runs is 36, by Steve Balboni in 1985. ... Outfielder Lorenzo Cain could be on his way to an All-Star season assuming he stays healthy and plays 150 games. ... Salvador Perez hit 19 home runs last season and is one of the best defensive catchers in the game. The Royals will try to keep him fresh by giving him regular rest. ... The top three in the rotation are Yordano Ventura, 23, who pitched 200-plus innings last season; Danny Duffy, a lefty with a history of injuries; and former Oriole Jeremy Guthrie, who could also hit 200 innings. The rotation also the experience of Jason Vargas and Edinson Volquez, who had 3.01 ERA for Pittsburgh last season. Ventura has a little build and gives maximum effort with a fastball in the high 90s, meaning he could be a candidate for an elbow injury. Volquez and Vargas are proven veterans who will each be in the 3.80-4.00 range for ERA. ... The back of the bullpen, with Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis setting up closer Greg Holland, combined for a 1.28 ERA last season. The Royals have the best bullpen in baseball, but is it likely they will repeat last season?

Chicago: After finishing a combined 47 games out of first place over the last two seasons, the White Sox are trying to become contenders quickly. ... They added closer David Robertson (39 saves for the Yankees last season) and setup lefty Zach Duke to a bullpen that was unreliable last season. Former Nat Adam LaRoche, a left-handed bat with 25-home run power, will DH and sometimes play first in his first full season in the American League. Switch-hitting Melky Cabrera, who will hit in the .290 range, is the new left fielder and lifelong Sox fan Jeff Samardzija, who had a 2.99 ERA for the Cubs and Oakland last season, joins Cy Young candidate Chris Sale (2.17 ERA) and Jose Quintana (3.32) at the top of the rotation. Quintana tends to get overlooked, but he's an accomplished pitcher. ... The back of the rotation, with John Danks and Hector Noesi, has its questions. Danks has been injured and is coming off one good month last season. Noesi is a journeyman. ... The White Sox have a speedy catalyst leading off, center fielder Adam Eaton, who hit .300 last season with a .362 on-base percentage, 15 steals and 10 triples. LaRoche, who is returning to the team his father played for, will support the AL's top rookie, first baseman Jose Abreu (.317-36-107), in the order. ... The White Sox signed Eaton to a long-term contract in spring training and now have a core of young players signed for several years, including Abreu, Sale and Quintana.

Detroit: After four consecutive first-place division titles, the Tigers are on the verge of losing control of the AL Central. It doesn't help that their once dominant rotation has been dismantled - Doug Fister and Max Scherzer are with the Nats, Rick Porcello is with Boston and Drew Smyly is with Tampa Bay. At 32, Justin Verlander, after eight consecutive seasons of 200-plus innings, is at a crossroads: He was injured last season and coming off his worst performance, but can he get back to dominating with his fastball or will he start the transition of pitching more to contact? Verlander had a 4.54 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP last season, highest for each statistic in his career. Verlander, who had triceps problems during spring training, has been replaced as the Tigers' opening day starter by lefty David Price, who averages nine strikeouts and 1.4 walks per nine innings. It's the first time some one not named Verlander has started on opening day for the Tigers since Jeremy Bonderman had the honor in 2007. Verlander, Price and Anibal Sanchez, who had two stints on the disabled list last season, lead the rotation. After that, it is Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon. The Tigers are relying on a 40-year-old closer, Joe Nathan, who had a 4.81 ERA last season. ... Outfielder Yeonis Cespedes, who hit 22 home runs combined for Oakland and Boston, joins two possible MVP candidates, Miguel Cabrera (.313-25-99) and Victor Martinez (.335-32-103) in the lineup, but can the Tigers outscore the pitching issues that they have?

Minnesota: The Twins won the division in 2010, but since then, they've had four consecutive seasons of 90-plus losses. ... This season seems to be where they turn the corner. They are improved, but so has the division competition. ... The rotation added Ervin Santana (14 wins, 3.95 ERA in 2014) to Phil Hughes (16 wins, 3.52 ERA), Kyle Gibson (13 wins, 4.41) and Ricky Nolasco. Hughes struck out 11.6 batters for every one walk last season. Santana is a durable flyball pitcher who should do well in Target Field. Gibson is a sinkerball pitcher coming off a successful first season. The Twins are attributing Nolasco's miserable season in 2014 to injuries. Former Nats lefty Tom Milone is the No. 5 starter and former Nat Kurt Suzuki is the catcher. ... Another key is the health of first baseman Joe Mauer, who hit .277 last season for an offense that finished fifth in the AL in runs scored. The Twins would like to see Mauer's power return, but he's morphed into a singles and doubles hitter. Still, if he hit .320, it'd make a big difference. ... Infielders Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier are emerging and could each hit 20 home runs. ... The Twins are growing a good nucleus of young players with shortstop Danny Santana, DH Kennys Vargas outfielder Byron Buxton and third baseman Miguel Sano. Buxton and Sano have a chance to be in the big leagues by midseason. ...Torii Hunter returns to the Twins to give them the same advice he got from Kirby Puckett when Hunter started his career in Minnesota. Hunter will likely give the Twins a .275 average with 15 home runs. ... The closer is Glen Perkins, who has excellent command of a mid-90s fastball and a sweeping slider.