Opening Day is less than a week away. Which means I really need to get moving on my baseball previews! Today we wrap up the American League with a look at the AL West, a division that's incredibly strong at the top, and one where the defending World Series champs will need to be on their game if they want to repeat.
I think this is going to be a really good year in the AL West. The Astros, of course, won the World Series last season, and they might even be better this year. But so are the Angels and Mariners. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see an AL West squad playing in the Wild Card Game. As for catching Houston, that's a different story.
1. Houston Astros -- What can they do for an encore? Will they have the same type of World Series hangover that plagued the Cubs for the first half of last season? Will they indeed be even better? The spotlight's on them now. Everyone knows how good the Astros are. So the pressure will likely be amped up a little bit. Especially because for, as good as Houston was last season, this year's bunch does appear to be stronger. The World Series lineup returns in tact (Yuli Gurriel will miss a month to start the season), and their starting pitching, which was considered their one "weakness" was bolstered by the addition of Gerrit Cole, giving them as potent a 1-2-3 as any team in baseball. And let's not forget, they'll have a full season of Justin Verlander, as well. Verlander, who was a completely different pitcher in Houston than he had been in Detroit. Simply put, anything less than an ALCS rematch with the Yankees would be a major disappointment. And the Astros know that.
Projected Lineup: George Springer-CF, Alex Bregman-3B, Jose Altuve-2B, Carlos Correa-SS, Yuli Gurriel-1B, Marwin Gonzalez-LF, Josh Reddick-RF, Evan Gattis-DH, Brian McCann-C
Projected Rotation: Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Gerrit Cole, Lance McCullers Jr., Charlie Morton
Closer: Ken Giles
Projected Record: 92-70
2. Los Angeles Angels -- They won the Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes, which means a whole lot of eyeballs will be watching the Angels for reasons other than Mike Trout this season. And Ohtani (who strangely isn't listed on the Angels' 40-man) is quickly learning that this whole dual pitcher/hitter thing isn't quite as easy as he thought it would be. He's struggled both at the plate and on the mound in Spring Training, which could put Mike Scioscia in an incredibly uncomfortable situation should it continue. Throw in the fact that Ohtani will DH on his hitting days, and that means Albert Pujols will have to play first base semi-regularly. Will he stay healthy? Regardless, all credit to the Angels for going all-in once they secured Ohtani. They added Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton, two quality veteran bats. And they got Zack Cozart to agree to a move to third base, a position that's been a black hole in Anaheim for the past couple seasons. Suddenly, there's less pressure on Trout to be THE man. The last time things were like that was in 2014, when they won 98 games. I don't think they'll win that many, but 90's possible. Which should have them in the wild card mix all season.
Projected Lineup: Ian Kinsler-2B, Kole Calhoun-RF, Mike Trout-CF, Albert Pujols-DH, Justin Upton-LF, Luis Valbuena-1B, Zack Cozart-3B, Andrelton Simmons-SS, Martin Maldonado-C
Projected Rotation: Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker
Closer: Jim Johnson
Projected Record: 89-73 (Wild Card)
3. Seattle Mariners -- Once again, the Mariners find themselves in the same quagmire. They have one of the best pitchers in the game in Felix Hernandez and some offensive stars in Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. Yet they always end up around .500 and outside of the playoff discussion. I wouldn't be surprised if that happens again. Because for all the strides the Mariners have made with their lineup, their pitching behind King Felix is still their Achilles heel. And speaking of that lineup, they definitely did some interesting things during the offseason. The first was getting Dee Gordon, the first guy to get liberated from the Marlins (and sent literally as far away from Miami as possible). That's not the interesting part. His move to center field, a position he's never played before, is. I'm curious to see how it works out. Especially since they don't really have another choice for where to play Gordon with Cano entrenched at second. The second curious signing is Ichiro's return. I love that he's back in Seattle. Bookends his Hall of Fame career the same way Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Mariners reunion was. But, I didn't realize they were signing him to be the everyday left fielder (at least until Ben Gamel gets back). Granted, he was behind Giancarlo, Yelich and Ozuna, but he was essentially a pinch hitter in Miami. At this point in his career can he still be an everyday outfielder? If it works out, the Mariners could be in the conversation until September. If not, they might be sellers at the deadline.
Projected Lineup: Dee Gordon-CF, Jean Segura-SS, Robinson Cano-2B, Nelson Cruz-DH, Kyle Seager-3B, Ryon Healy-1B, Mitch Haniger-RF, Mike Zunino-C, Ichiro Suzuki-LF
Projected Rotation: Felix Hernandez, James Paxton, Mike Leake, Marco Gonzalez, Erasmo Ramirez
Closer: Edwin Diaz
Projected Record: 83-79
4. Texas Rangers -- Remember when Texas was far-and-away the best team in this division? It wasn't actually that long ago. Yet it seems like ages. Now they're not even the best team in Texas. Things have changed that quickly in the AL West. Yet, I still think the Rangers could be a sleeper team in 2018. Injuries were really the thing that derailed them, so if they stay healthy, a playoff return isn't that much of a stretch. But this Rangers team doesn't have Yu Darvish, and they need more pitchers than just Cole Hamels to contend. Their bullpen is pathetic, too, so I can see a lot of leads getting blown and a lot of 8-6 losses. They will score plenty of runs. Enough to balance out the deficiencies on the mound? I don't think so. Adrian Beltre's a Hall of Famer. The names around him in the lineup are not. And, I'm sorry, but Shin-Soo Choo should not be the starting DH for any Major League team. They do have a bunch of young studs. Joey Gallo has the makings of a star, and I love Nomar Mazara. They don't have any depth, though, so one injury and they're sunk. Which is exactly what happened last year.
Projected Lineup: Delino DeShields, Jr.-CF, Shin-Soo Choo-DH, Adrian Beltre-3B, Joey Gallo-1B, Roughned Odor-2B, Elvis Andrus-SS, Nomar Mazara-RF, Ryan Rua-LF, Robinson Chirinos-C
Projected Rotation: Cole Hamels, Doug Fister, Matt Moore, Mike Minor, Martin Perez
Closer: Tim Lincecum
Projected Record: 81-81
5. Oakland Athletics -- Every time I say the A's are going to suck, they end up winning 90 games and making the playoffs. But I just don't see how with this team. They don't even have that ace pitcher anymore now that Sonny Gray is wearing pinstripes. The key piece that they got from the Yankees in that trade was Dustin Fowler, who projects to be Oakland's starting center fielder. I wish him nothing but the best after the horror of his Major League debut last season, when he tore up his knee in the bottom of the first in a game in Chicago and was lost for the season before ever even getting to bat. In Oakland, he'll get plenty of at-bats. He's not the only newcomer in the Oakland oufield, either. Stephen Piscotty asked the Cardinals to trade him to the A's so he could be near his ailing mother, and he'll be one of the focal points of the lineup, which also boasts plenty of youth. You'd have to think some of those guys might be auditioning for other teams over the first four months of the season. Because the A's definitely have the makings of sellers at the deadline. Especially in a loaded AL West.
Projected Lineup: Marcus Semien-SS, Jed Lowrie-2B, Matt Joyce-LF, Khris Davis-DH, Stephen Piscotty-RF, Matt Olson-1B, Matt Chapman-3B, Dustin Fowler-CF, Bruce Maxwell-C
Projected Rotation: Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea, Paul Blackburn, Daniel Mengden, Andrew Triggs
Closer: Blake Treinen
Projected Record: 68-94
So, my AL playoff field consists of the Yankees, Indians and Astros as division winners, with the Angels hosting the Red Sox in the Wild Card Game. With Chris Sale pitching, Boston wins that game, setting up a Division Series between the rivals. The Yankees are the superior team, though, so they advance to meet the Astros. And in the ALCS rematch, I think the same thing happens again. I've got the Astros defending their pennant.
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