Cleveland (91-71): The Indians dominated the AL Central, going 48-27 against the other four teams, and finished 13 games ahead of the second-place Twins. They are well set up for the AL Division Series against Houston with starters, Corey Kluber (20-7, 2.89 ERA), Carlos Carrasco (231 strikeouts, 3.38 ERA), Trevor Bauer (221 strikeouts) and Mike Clevinger (3.02 ERA) in the stable.
Detroit (64-98): Avoiding 100 losses seemed to be seemed to be the Tigers' lone accomplishment, but first-year manager Ron Gardenhire said: "Our record doesn't indicate how many games we've been in. We've had chances to win … That's called the learning process of figuring out how to win those games." Losing star first baseman Miguel Cabrera in June because of a ruptured biceps didn't help.
Chicago (62-100): Manager Rick Renteria suffered through another rebuilding season, admitting, "It's been a lot of ups, a lot of downs — probably more downs than ups." The White Sox lost 100 games for the first time since 1970; they struck out a major league record 1,594 times; and Michael Kopech, the team's No. 1 pitching prospect, had Tommy John surgery after a brief major league stint.
Kansas City (58-104): The Royals had the majors' second-worst record to Baltimore, but like Gardenhire, manager Ned Yost put a positive spin on it. "I think we're making progress," said Yost, who will remain in the job he has held since May 2010. "I like the fact that the kids made the big jump like they did." Kansas City might have an ace in waiting in 23-year-old righthander Brad Keller.
