2018 Season Preview: AL WEST

I’ll give you the who, what, when, where, and why’s with predictions coming when I finish with the divisions. Now for the AL WEST which holds the current champs, the odds on favorite to win the rookie of the year award and possibly the best player on the planet yet one could argue that it is the worst division in all of baseball.

Houston Astros: We start with the best. After years of tanking, all those 5 tool, first rounders started to pay off in the form of hardware. The leagues smallest player 2nd baseman Jose Altuve won the league’s biggest award in the AL MVP and the team won its first World Series 4 games to 3 over the LA Dodgers. The Astros had very little to do over the offseason because of the fact they have very young, controllable players at every position. Houston is now the rest of the league’s problem. They will be very good for the forseeable future.

Los Angeles Angels: They have the world’s best player in Mike Trout and the odds on favorite for the AL rookie of the year in Shohei Ohtani but they also have the league’s biggest albatross in Albert Pujols. This team was supposed to compete for the division every year, instead they’ve wasted most of Trout’s prime. The Angels did a lot of work this offseason to reverse that tends with upgrades in left, second base, third, first and DH along with Ohtani in the rotation and minor upgrades in the bullpen. They are a viable candidate for second in the division but not much else.

Oakland Athletics: Moneyball purgatory. This team is young but it’s virtually the only bright spot. They have room to grow and get better but you won’t find a player that scares any other team. Khris Davis might be the only player your average fan could name. It’ll take a Bob Melvin’s best year as manager just to manage a .500 squad in this weak division.

Seattle Mariners: Although 2017 was a step backwards from their previous season, management made numerous improvements to sure up the lineup and rotation. Mike Zunino finally made the leap from middling prospect to fully-fledged big leaguer. The addition of Mike Leake pushes others down in the rotation who were swinging above their weight. The emergence of Mitch Haniger has pushed Nelson Cruz into a full time DH which helps the defense as well. Injuries took it’s toll on the team last year but they could be the most improved team in the division this year.

Texas Rangers: The Rangers were another underperforming 2017 team losing 17 more games than the previous year. 2017 wasn’t a completely lost year though, the losing meant they could audition their prospects with without fear of losing ground in a divisional race. The team has a healthy mix of prospects and veterans. The only real concern is the rotation. After Hammels, the Rangers boast a who’s who of outcasts from other rotations. Matt Moore couldn’t hack it in San Fran, Doug Fister hasn’t stuck to a roster since his Detroit days and Bartolo Colon IS STILL PLAYING. If the rotation clicks it could be a good season but the one they that should worry every Rangers fan is that none of their prospects can dethrone this ragtag bunch.

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