MLB 2023 (AL West)

In the AL West, it's the same old story.  The Houston Astros are really good.  The Oakland A's are really bad.  And who knows with the other three teams!  The Angels have the two best players in the world and should be good, but aren't.  The Rangers spend money like it's nobody's business, yet they haven't been good either.  And the Mariners finally snapped North America's longest playoff drought last season!

So, what should we expect in 2023?  Frankly, I have no idea.  Houston will do its thing and run away with the division.  Oakland will play bad baseball in a mostly empty terrible, gigantic stadium and move one season closer to moving to Las Vegas.  And, if one of the other three teams gets its act together, they could easily make the playoffs.  Although, it's just as likely they'll find a way to finish 78-84.

I'm curious to see what the effect of fewer division games will be in the AL West, especially.  Houston's good enough that playing Oakland six less times shouldn't impact its win total too much.  The others had issues finishing above .500 even when they did play 19 games against the A's, though, so is it possible that they'll all end up winning less games this season?

Still, you've got to think that one of the three will manage to hang around the playoff race until the end.  We might even see a second AL West team in the postseason.  Three AL West playoff teams is even a possibility!  It's unlikely.  But it's possible.

1. Houston Astros: Only the Astros can lose a pitcher like Justin Verlander and be completely fine.  Houston has so much pitching depth that they threw a combined no-hitter in the World Series with their No. 4 starter on the mound...and the guy who started a combined no-hitter during the season in the bullpen!  So, yeah.  They'll be just fine without Verlander.  And they haven't had a lefty in the bullpen in like three years, so they're obviously fine there, too.

Lineup-wise, they've actually improved, too.  They replaced Yuli Gurriel with Jose Abreu, who gets plugged right into the middle of an already loaded lineup.  Losing Jose Altuve (who, by the way, could just as easily have broken his hand getting hit by a pitch in a Spring Training game) will hurt a little, but if there's any team that can weather that, it's the Astros.  That might actually make Altuve fresher when they get him back, too.  Because there's no question this team will be playing in October.  It would actually be a shock to not see them playing in a seventh consecutive ALCS.
Projected Lineup: Jeremy Pena-SS, Michael Brantley-LF, Alex Bregman-3B, Yordan Alvarez-DH, Jose Abreu-1B, Alex Tucker-RF, Chas McCormick-CF, Mauricio Dubon-2B, Martin Maldonado-C
Projected Rotation: Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier
Closer: Ryan Pressly
Projected Record: 102-60

2. Los Angeles Angels: During the World Baseball Classic, the $1 million question was asked multiple times.  How can a team with the two best players in the world repeatedly not only miss the playoffs, but finish under .500?  It's a valid question.  Because the Angels should be good.  Yet, Trout has played a grand total of THREE playoff games in his entire career--all losses to the Royals.  Nine years ago!  And the answer is because they don't spend their money wisely.  They got all-in on injury-prone free agent sluggers and completely forget about pitching, which is something you kinda need!

For a change, pitching was the thing they addressed during the offseason.  Tyler Anderson comes over from across town to be the No. 2 behind Ohtani, and No. 3 Patrick Sandoval started the WBC semifinal for Mexico.  Interestingly, all of their starting pitchers other than Ohtani are left-handed (and Ohtani hits lefty), and they'll be the key to the Angels' success.  As usual.  This team can be good as long as it gets good enough pitching.  Because we know what their offense can do!  And did I mention they have the two best players in the game at the moment?
Projected Lineup: Shohei Ohtani-DH, Mike Trout-CF, Anthony Rendon-3B, Jared Walsh-1B, Taylor Ward-LF, Hunter Renfroe-RF, Max Stassi-C, David Fletcher-2B, Luis Rengifo-SS
Projected Rotation: Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Jose Suarez, Tucker Davidson, Reid Detmers
Closer: Jimmy Herget
Projected Record: 87-75 (Wild Card 3)

3. Seattle Mariners: Seattle's playoff berth last season was a long time coming.  And it was the product of finally making enough of the right moves to put the right team together.  Now it's a matter of keeping it going.  Which they're plenty capable of doing.  The Mariners' lineup might actually be a little deeper this season with the additions of Teoscar Hernandez, A.J. Pollock and Kolten Wong to go along with the likes of Julio Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez and Ty France.  So they shouldn't have any problem with the bats.

On the pitching front, though, is where they really need to replicate their 2022 success.  Luis Castillo proved to be the ace they needed down the stretch after acquiring him from Cincinnati, and Robbie Ray is two years removed from winning the Cy Young in Toronto.  His first season with the Mariners wasn't great, though.  Logan Gilbert and George Kirby were actually much better.  But that's just it.  Can Gilbert and Kirby be just as good or better this season?
Projected Lineup: Jose Rodrigez-CF, Kolten Wong-2B, Eugenio Suarez-3B, Ty France-1B, Teoscar Hernandez-DH, Jarred Kelenic-RF, Cal Raleigh-C, A.J. Pollock-LF, J.P. Crawford-SS
Projected Rotation: Luis Castillo, Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Marco Gonzalez
Closer: Paul Sewald
Projected Record: 83-79

4. Texas Rangers: Signing Jacob deGrom was a huge coup on paper.  Everyone just assumed he'd re-sign with the Mets, only for him to ink a five-year deal with Texas.  However, deGrom is so injury prone that the contract is such a massive risk that, frankly, doesn't seem like it'll pan out.  If it does, and deGrom pitches like the guy who was the best in the sport for a while, then the Rangers might be in decent shape.  If it doesn't and he misses a ton of starts, then they'll miss the playoffs once again.

Even with deGrom, though, I'm not sure the Rangers are good enough to be a playoff team.  They've got so much invested in Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, but don't really have enough around them.  Which means Texas will need a lot of things to go right to have a chance.  Playing in the AL West certainly gives them an opportunity.  Because there are just as many question marks surrounding the Angels and Mariners.  On paper, I can't say the Rangers are better than either of them, though.  I see Texas as a .500 team, but not much more than that.
Projected Lineup: Marcus Semien-2B, Leodys Taveras-CF, Corey Seager-SS, Adolis Garcia-RF, Nathaniel Lowe-1B, Mitch Garver-DH, Jonah Heim-C, Josh Jung-3B, Bubba Thompson-LF
Projected Rotation: Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, Jon Gray, Martin Perez, Nathan Eovaldi
Closer: Ian Kennedy
Projected Record: 80-82

5. Oakland Athletics: Let's be real here.  It's far more likely that Oakland will lose 100 games than be anywhere near .500, let alone in the playoff conversation.  I don't even think they'll have that much competition for the worst record in baseball (although, that wouldn't guarantee them the No. 1 pick now that there's a lottery).  I wish I could say something a little more optimistic, but I just can't.  The A's are not a good team.  There really isn't any way to sugarcoat it.

Paul Blackburn was Oakland's All*Star last year, and it seems probable that he'll be in a different uniform by the end of the season.  Because you know there'll be a pitching-needy contender who'll be in the market for a quality back-of-the-rotation starter.  They don't really have anybody else a contender might want/need at the trade deadline.  Maybe Jesus Aguliar if they're looking for a power-hitting first baseman/DH.  I can't see them moving any of their young guys, though.  That'll be the core of the team in a few years.  It's really just a matter of if that team will be playing its home games in Oakland or Las Vegas.  The quality of the team this season won't help get that new ballpark in Oakland built, though.  Because the cavernous Oakland Coliseum will be practically empty most nights.
Projected Lineup: Cristian Pache-CF, Tony Kemp-LF, Jesus Aguilar-1B, Jace Peterson-3B, Shea Langeliers-DH, Seth Brown-RF, Aledmys Diaz-SS, Tyler Wade-2B, Manny Pina-C
Projected Rotation: Paul Blackburn, James Kaprielian, JP Sears, Adam Oller, Ken Waldichuk
Closer: Dany Jimenez
Projected Record: 57-105