AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Indians

2017: 102-60, first place, lost to Yankees in ALDS.

This season: The Indians are poised to possibly end a championship drought approaching its 70th anniversary. Who to watch: Corey Kluber leads arguably baseball’s strongest rotation. 1B Yonder Alonso must help the offense offset the losses of 1B Carlos Santana and OF Jay Bruce.

Minnesota Twins

2017: 85-77, second place, lost to Yankees in wild-card game. This season: The Twins have the talent and spunk to be in the playoff mix.

Who to watch: The Twins were already on the upswing with their 25-and-under core of RHP Jose Berrios, OF Byron Buxton, 3B Miguel Sano, OF Eddie Rosario and OF Max Kepler. Then they traded for RHP Jake Odorizzi and signed DH Logan Morrison and RHP Lance Lynn.

Kansas City Royals

2017: 80-82, third place.

This season: Too many holes — in the lineup and on the pitching staff — for the Royals to be considered contenders. Who to watch: With free agents 3B Mike Moustakas and SS Alcides Escobar both returning, the Royals have a fighting chance to stay competitive into July.

Chicago White Sox

2017: 67-95, fourth place.

This season: The White Sox are generating plenty of buzz. That’s because they’re loaded with promising young players. Who to watch: 2B Yoan Moncada and hard-throwing pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez showed promise in the majors last season.

Detroit Tigers

2017: 64-98, fifth place.

This season: The biggest suspense might revolve around how GM Al Avila approaches the next few steps in the rebuild. Who to watch: RHP Michael Fulmer, SS Jose Iglesias and OF Nicholas Castellanos should all have some trade value, but each of them is young enough to be useful to the Tigers.