Alanna Rizzo says Toronto will overtake the Yankees thanks to offensive depth and starting rotation quality.
The Toronto Blue Jays will unseat the New York Yankees as champions of the American League East, according to MLB Network host Alanna Rizzo.
Speaking as part of the network's "High Heat" program, Rizzo spoke to the depth of the Blue Jays line-up, as well as their starting pitching quality, as the reasons why the Jays will upend the Yankees.
The Blue Jays won 92 games a season ago, finishing seven games behind the Yankees in the division. The Blue Jays earned home-field advantage in the AL Wild Card round but were swept in two games by the Seattle Mariners.
Rizzo isn't wrong about the Blue Jays' strengths. The offense has all kinds of firepower with Vlad Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Matt Chapman, Alejandro Kirk and Bo Bichette. They also added right-left balance to the line-up by getting lefty Daulton Varsho in a trade with the Diamondbacks, and signing lefties Brandon Belt and Kevin Kiermaier in free agency.
Top to bottom, the Blue Jays may have the scariest line-up in all of baseball and it's easy to see why Rizzo thinks so highly of them.
The rotation also figures to be a strength as Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt make up a very solid 1-3, but if Rizzo's prediction is to be proven right, the Jays will need bounce back years from both Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi.
Berrios had a 5.23 ERA a season ago and Kikuchi had a 5.19 ERA. Both pitchers will have to improve if the Jays are to hit their ultimate goal.
Rizzo also predicted that the Chicago White Sox would win the American League Central this year after posting a disappointing 81-81 record in 2022.
The Blue Jays open up the season on Thursday at the Cardinals while the White Sox travel to Houston to play the defending champion Astros.