MLB Network analyst Al Leiter predicts the players and teams to watch this season (and reveals why he never wears his World Series rings).

by Blaine McEvoy

How will the off-season’s three biggest moves — Jose Reyes from the Mets to the Marlins, Albert Pujols from the Cardinals to the Angels, and Prince Fielder from the Brewers to the Tigers — affect the league?
The only one that’s going to be interesting to watch is Prince Fielder. He had a hell of a year last year, so I can see why [Tigers’ general manager Dave] Dombrowski and [team owner Mike] Illitch went out and signed the next best option after Albert [Pujols]. Based on the names that you just said, there’s no doubting that the balance of power has swung even greater towards the American League. Anytime you get superstars that are division-changing players — and fans know Prince is a division changer and Albert is a league changer — it makes things much more difficult for perennial powers like the Yankees and Red Sox to repeat what they’ve done.

What clubs will be contenders in the post-season this year?
The Angels. Not only do they have Albert, but they’ve got a hell of a pitching staff, too. Adding C. J. Wilson was completely legitimate, and their bullpen is strong with Jordan Walden. Looking at the American League Central, nobody competes with the Tigers. Nobody. Kansas City will be fun to watch as their young players continue developing, but Detroit should run away with the division. And then the Yankees. Everyone is rightfully talking about the decision to trade Jesus Montero. But when you have a 23-year-old and you’re not sure where you’re going to play him — and you can get an arm like you can in Pineda — are you kidding? Yankees fans may not know this kid yet, but he’s going to be fantastic.

As a lifelong Yankees fan, that’s music to my ears.
This guy’s legit — a potential star front-end pitcher. The first couple times I watched him, the ball just exploded out of his hand at 95 or 100 miles per hour. He has two legitimate off-speed pitches, and he’s been working on a changeup, too. It’s impressive.

But does he have the stamina and arm strength to go the distance?
I’ve got his numbers in front of me right now, and the biggest thing that pops out is 133 hits in 171 innings. That’s off the charts. You get a guy in the Major League with anything slightly under one hit a per inning and you know they’ve got some stuff.

Speaking of American League pitchers, what do you make of new Texas Ranger Yu Darvish?
I like him a lot. I saw him in the last World Baseball Classic and I’ve been studying his video, too. He doesn’t throw 100, but I like his delivery, and he’s got good braking stuff, too. I think what [Texas Rangers CEO and president] Nolan Ryan was impressed about most was that most Japanese pitchers are not his size. Yu is 6’5”. So the fact that he doesn’t have the normal build impressed Nolan for longevity reasons. I’m not sure whether he’s an ace yet, but I would say he’s a top two starter on a playoff-contending team. The only concern, with any Japanese guy, is their regimen. They work their butts off over there, but they only pitch once a week. How he’ll adjust to five-days rest remains to be seen. But who knows? When you look at what he was able to do in Japan, it was complete domination.

Is Nolan Ryan the smartest front-office man in baseball?
I don’t know how Nolan operates. But the fact is, it’s Nolan Ryan. When he walks into a room, everybody sits up. It’s refreshing to have a great Hall of Fame strikeout pitcher not just in an advisory role, but in a significant position. And to balance that with a smart general manager like John Daniels, I think that’s great. Again, I don’t know how they operate, but how can you argue with two consecutive World Series appearances?

What kind of work does Theo Epstein have ahead of him in Chicago?
He has his work cut out for him, doesn’t he? But he has the blessing of the ownership. I’m sure he told them it’s a three to five-year plan — at least three. In that case, he has an opportunity to get some of his draft picks to be a part of a winning team. Theo is also with a club that will let him go out and sign two or three key free agents when the time calls for it. But we’ll see. He did a heck of a job in Boston.

And that’s an excellent transition to the AL East. I want to ask you about Bobby Valentine and his arrival in Boston. Much was made last season about that clubhouse falling apart under former manager Terry Francona. What can Bobby bring to that organization?
I like Terry a lot, and I think without question he did a fantastic job. In sports, and maybe even in life, everybody runs their course. Terry said it best when he said there needs to be a new voice. And he’s right: as much as the players liked Terry, things got stale. Sometimes you just have to get rid of the old bread. But I think Bobby’s going to be great. I really do. I’ll tell you this: of all the managers I had — and I had some great ones — Bobby V. was a guy who always had everything in control. He’s a manager who knows the Xs and Os. When you become one of his players, he cares about you, he wants to know about your wife and your kids and your mom and your dad. And Bobby knows that you need that. As a player, what else do you want?

Do you see any fault with how contracts are structured in the modern game?
I think fault is the wrong word. It’s just the way it is. I’m a believer that if there is an owner that is willing to pay for a player, then to that owner it’s not crazy. I don’t think there’s an owner out there that looks at a guy and says, “hey, I like you, I’m going to overpay you by one hundred million dollars just because you’re a good guy.” The game is a year-round sport today. Players have their own conditioning coach, their own nutritionist, and they have batting cages in their homes. Because of that, owners are a little bit more secure in giving guys another year or two more than they probably would like to. The designated hitter helps, and it’s interesting that almost all of these long-term contracts are going through the American League. An AL club can say, “hey, the last three years, we just see him as a DH.” And if production is down, that’s okay, because by then, they’ll have a DH who bats .270 with 20 home runs.

Earlier you mentioned the Royals as a team to watch this season. What aspect of their game most impresses you?
I like their hitting more than I like their pitching. But let’s face it — you’ve got to pitch. They’re in the AL Central, and the other teams didn’t do much of anything to make themselves better this off-season. They have some guys they can look forward to as well. I was so happy to see Alex Gordon become a legitimate player last season. The pressure he felt coming in from Nebraska resembled George Brett. Eric Hosmer is absolutely going to be a legitimate player. Billy Butler — I like him too. Mike Moustakas finally showed at the end of last year that he’s the guy they’ve been waiting for. They have stuff to lean on, but pitching, that will ultimately be the difference as to why they won’t do what Tampa Bay did in 2008.

What does it feel like to have a World Series ring on your finger?
It’s not wearing one right now.

It’s not an everyday accessory?
No, no, no. God no. I’d feel stupid wearing it. You know what? I had some great moments. I think about what I dreamed as a kid, and I accomplished way more than I ever thought I would. I was in some of the biggest games that this sport has to offer, and it’s a great feeling to have those memories with the Blue Jays, Marlins, and Mets. You want to establish yourself as a Major League player, you want to make the post season, you want to get to a World Series, and you want to win a World Series. I did all of that — a few times.