Among all the other divisions in the MLB, the American League West is arguably the most unpredictable and competitive one.
There are three teams—the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angeles— that are bound to make a strong push for the division title and ultimately the playoffs this upcoming season. But don’t count out the Seattle Mariners just yet, as they have a good mix of young talent and experience that can help them surprise many.
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2016 American League West Preview
Texas Rangers
2015 record: 88-74
Key additions: RHP Tony Barnette, RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, OF Justin Ruggiano
Key departures: OF Leonys Martin, 1B Mike Napoli, RHP Yovani Gallardo
Outlook: Under Jeff Banister’s first season as manager, the Texas Rangers managed to win the AL West division even without one of their ace hurlers in Yu Darvish, who was forced to miss the entire 2015 season due to an injured elbow. But now, his return would mean a lot for the team’s success this upcoming season.
Apart from his return, Texas’ roster has vastly improved overall and the pair of Prince Fielder and Rougned Odor, in particular, looks more than ready to start knocking some balls out of the park. Both players combined for 39 homers and 159 RBIs for the Rangers, who are priced at +250 to repeat as the division champions.
Also, the starting rotation’s looking in relatively good shape. Darvish, who is expected to return in May, and Cole Hamels provide the Rangers two premier starters that should be able to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.
Houston Astros
2015 record: 86-76
Key additions: RHP Ken Giles, RHP Doug Fister
Key departures: 1B Chris Carter, LHP Brett Oberholtzer, INF Jed Lowrie
Outlook: Needless to say, a lot will be expected out of the Houston Astros this season, and last year’s return to the playoffs after a 10-season drought is a big reason why. That said, the main goal for this club is to replicate that success.
In order to do so, the Astros need Dallas Keuchel, who is the AL Cy Young Award winner of the 2015 season, to give them another strong campaign. And besides him, they’ll need also Carlos Correa to mature further and provide Jose Altuve some solid help on offense.
One of the biggest concerns in Houston, though, will be their health. Two of their key players in Lance McCullers and Evan Gattis will miss the first few weeks of the upcoming season due to injury. It’ll be interesting to see as to how well the Astros, who have the odds of +150 to win their division, will fare without them.
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Los Angeles Angels
2015 record: 85-77
Key additions: 3B Yunel Escobar, SS Andrelton Simmons, RHP Al Alburquerque, OF Craig Gentry, C Geovany Sotto, OF Daniel Nava, INF Gregorio Petit, INF Cliff Pennington
Key departures: SS Erick Aybar, 3B David Freese, C Chris Iannetta, OF David Murphy, RHP Trevor Gott, INF Grant Green, OF Matt Joyce
Outlook: Any team that has the likes of Mike Trout, the former AL MVP, and Albert Pujols on their roster is going to be a serious threat no matter what. Those two combined for 81 homers and 185 RBIs last season and are bound to continue being the main pieces of this team.
Furthermore, the Halos no longer have to worry about the lack of depth in their lineup. Kole Calhoun and C.J. Cron are bound to continue getting better and make the team more lethal at the plate.
In regards to their rotation, though, the Angels need to really improve here if they want to make it to the postseason this time around. Jered Weaver’s slowly declining and the pressure is indeed on Garrett Richards to eventually solidify himself as the main starter for the team. Hector Santiago and Andrew Heaney are expected to eventually evolve into reliable pitchers. Los Angeles is priced at +400 to come out on top of the AL West.
Seattle Mariners
2015 record: 76-86
Key additions: 1B Adam Lind , C Chris Iannetta, C Steve Clevenger, 1B Dae-Ho Lee, OF Nori Aoki, OF Leonys Martin, RHP Joaquin Benoit, RHP Steve Cishek, RHP Ryan Cook, RHP Justin De Fratus, RHP Nathan Karns, LHP Wade Miley, RHP Evan Scribner, RHP Joe Wieland
Key departures: 1B Logan Morrison, SS Brad Miller, LHP Roenis Elias, OF Austin Jackson, DH Mark Trumbo, OF Dustin Ackley, RHP Carson Smith, LHP Joe Beimel
Outlook: Seattle hasn’t reached the postseason since 2001, which is the longest playoff drought in baseball right now. That could finally come to an end this 2016 season, as the Mariners made a lot of additions into their roster. And if it’s still not obvious, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz are going to be the main weapons on offense.
Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, meanwhile, headline the Mariner’s starting rotation and those two as well are going to play huge roles in this team. But one reason for concern is Seattle’s unproven supporting cast. The Mariners are priced at +375 to rise above the AL West.
Oakland Athletics
2015 record: 68-94
Key additions: INF Jed Lowrie, RHP Henderson Alvarez, RHP Ryan Madson, LHP Marc Rzepczynski, RHP John Axford, RHP Liam Hendriks, 1B Yonder Alonso, LHP Rich Hill, OF Khris Davis
Key departures: LHP Fernando Abad, LHP Drew Pomeranz, LHP/RHP Pat Venditte, RHP Evan Scribner, 1B Ike Davis, 1B Nate Freiman, OF Craig Gentry, LHP Barry Zito, 3B Brett Lawrie, RHP Jesse Chavez
Outlook:
A forgettable 2015 campaign has left a lot of Oakland fans in a bad mood, but the A’s might just be able to give their fan base a few reasons to smile this coming season. And that’s thanks to a handful of promising youngsters and new players on the roster.
Marcus Semien is starting to cement himself further as the starting shortstop for the team, while Billy Burns will try to build on his spectacular performance last year. Sonny Gray (14-7 with a 2.73 ERA in 2015) also took a step forward in the previous season, but he’s seemingly the only legitimate starter in the current rotation.
Speaking of which, it’ll be interesting to see if Jesse Hahn, who went 6-6 with a 3.35 ERA before going down with a season-ending elbow injury last year, and the newly-acquired Rich Hill are going to be able to provide the A’s some stability and a few more wins.
Also, the re-acquisition of Jed Lowrie should be able to help the A’s, who led the majors with 126 errors in 2015, defensely. Oakland is priced at +1,500 to rise above the AL West.
Writer’s Prediction
Houston wins the AL West with Los Angeles behind them in second place and the Mariners edge the Rangers for the third spot.
