AL West

2013 AL West Preview: The Only Guarantee Is That the Astros Are In For a Long Season

 

Final Standings

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 92-70

Texas Rangers 86-76

Oakland Athletics 84-78

Seattle Mariners 73-89

Houston Astros 64-98

 

1.  Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (92-70)

The Angels are without a doubt the most complete offensive team in baseball. They have speed, gap hitters, power hitters, excellent bunters, you name it they have it. They can tailor their offense to fit any style and excel at it. One of the main reasons for this is the man at the top of the order, Mike Trout. Trout burst on to the scene last year in a big way, having one of, if not the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history. Many naysayers will tell you it was a fluke and his second year will be a major regression, but that my friends, is not the case at all. This man is for real and will have a major impact on the sport for years to come. He will be moving over to left field which many have complained about but Peter Bourjos in center is no downgrade at all. With the speed and ability to cover ground that those two have Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be able to save his prayers for another day. Add in the addition of Josh Hamilton, the man of God playing for the Angels and you have all the makings of a special season. All this talk and we still haven’t even gotten to one of the greatest players of all time in Albert Pujols. Pujols hit .285 with 30 homers and 105 RBI, which by his standards is an o.k. season. I expect him to come back and hit for a much better average and have a more typical Pujols season.

On the pitching front the Angels aren’t as otherworldly like on offense but this is a capable rotation of veterans and a bullpen with a lot of good parts. Jered Weaver is consistently one of the better pitchers in baseball, and coming off a 20 win season. Weaver has made a name for himself by being a master at mixing speeds and pitches which helps make up for his lack of being a hard thrower. C.J. Wilson will look to have a stronger season this year after a somewhat rough initial campaign with his new team. Tommy Hanson is the wildcard for this rotation. He’s struggled with injuries in his career but if he can stay healthy and pitch like he is capable of this team will be hoisting a trophy come October.

 

2.  Texas Rangers (86-76)

Texas certainly isn’t the same team they have been the last few years but there is still enough fire power and weaponry on this team to make some noise. They may not hit as many home runs as they have in the past even in the rocket launching air of Arlington, but they will still have a lineup of great hitters with tremendous experience. They added Lance Berkman and A.J. Pierzynski, two veterans with World Series experience who know how to get it done. Add them together with Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, and Ian Kinsler and this lineup is still in great shape. They also have the number one prospect in all of the game in Jurickson Profar. They would love to start him and it could still be a possibility but having Kinsler and Andrus as a double play combination while Profar adjusts to the majors isn’t a bad tradeoff.

The Rangers specialty this year is in the arms race. They have five good starters and plenty of arms in reserve in case of injury. With Nolan Ryan at the helm, he takes the mantra of never having enough pitching literally. Yu Darvish had a great rookie year last year but he will definitely have to lower the ERA a bit to maximize his effectiveness. Derek Holland is a good number two option and a top lefty starter, who needs to count his lucky stars that pitching has nothing to do with the ability to grow facial hair. Matt Harrison is coming off a season in which he was named an all-star, and he needs to be able to sustain that momentum and not be a one year wonder. The bullpen is headed up by one of the best closers and all around good guys of the game Joe Nathan. Nathan is a guy I’ve always had a rooting interest in since he is a local product and the fact that I was lucky enough to meet him one day outside of Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in Manhattan and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy. They may not be able to overtake the Angels, but if things break right for the Rangers, a wildcard spot should be a foregone conclusion.

 

3.      Oakland Athletics (84-78)

Oakland is a team that will have some questions to answer this season. They made a lot of moves in the off season to help strengthen the team and help bring them back to the playoffs where they made a shocking appearance last year after winning the division. However, I’m not so sure it’s going to happen this year. There are questions of sustainability on offense. Can Josh Reddick repeat the year he had last year? Like Baltimore, can they repeat the success they had in close games? The Athletics were the kings of the walk off win last year posting 15 in total. It is almost impossible to believe they will be that lucky this year but they are still a team with some good talent. Yoenis Cespedes can hit for power and is a good middle of the order run producer and John Jaso should be a good addition with the bat he brings.

Oakland, like Texas, is a team built on pitching. They have a calvary of arms as well and these guys are young and filled with promise. The Coliseum is one of the most pitcher friendly parks in the game so these pitchers don’t have to be afraid to let it rip and worry about fly balls turning into home runs like its Yankee Stadium. Dan Straily will start the year with the club but most likely be optioned once Bartolo Colon is eligible to return but I see Straily as the future ace of this staff. Guys like Tom Milone, Jarrod Parker, and A.J. Griffin had good seasons last year and will look to do just as well this year. The bullpen is another good one just like most of the division and all the arms in it have the capability to get big outs.

 

4.      Seattle Mariners (73-89)

Seattle will be an improved team but they just aren’t quite there yet.  Bringing the fences in and adding names like Kendrys Morales, Mike Morse, and Yankees legend Raul Ibanez will bring some much needed pop to this team but they still don’t have enough pieces to compete with the top offenses of the division. Jesus Montero and Kyle Seager are the other above average offensive players on the club and they should have good years, but when surrounded by offensive black holes like Brendan Ryan, Franklin Gutierrez, and Justin Smoak the waiting will need to continue in Seattle.

The one positive Seattle can look forward to every year is getting to watch Felix Hernandez pitch every five days. The man is on another level when it comes to pitching and although he does get hurt due to the lack of offense, Seattle can win 1-0 or 2-1 games when he is on the hill. The rest of the staff is nothing special at all and will also suffer, not just due to lack of offense but lack of ability to get big outs and pitch out of jams. The bullpen is good but if they are overworked because of the starters they will lose their edge and effectiveness pretty quickly.

 

5.      Houston Astros (64-98)

Earlier in my NL West Preview I stated the Rockies will be battling all season for the championship belt in the worst team in baseball race, well they can thank Andres Galarraga and Dante Bichette that the Astros exist. Making the switch to the American League with a total lack of firepower on offense and their best player standing 5’7” is bad enough, but when that switch places you in the AL West, there’s no hope. To go along with no offense, the Astros also have no pitching, and in no time the oranges at Minute Maid Park will be going bad. This team is so depressing I can’t even continue to write about them.