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We continue our MLB 2017 division rankings with the American League West.
We are halfway home as we continue our MLB 2017 division rankings. We’ve already looked at the AL East and Central, and today we are going to take a look at what could be a wild, wild American League West.
The Oakland Athletics could be interesting if a couple of their younger pitchers take the next step and Sonny Gray returns to his former self.
The Seattle Mariners are going to need name-tags during Spring Training with all the moves Jerry Dipoto has made this offseason. The core of Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Nelson Cruz is still there, along with the addition of Jean Segura.
The Angels still have Mike Trout, so they are MLB.tv-worthy all year long because of that. GM Billy Eppler has added some quality pieces in Luis Valbuena, Cameron Maybin and Danny Espinosa, but there are a ton of pitching questions.
The Texas Rangers have lost a lot of offense this offseason with Ian Desmond and Carlos Beltran. Can young players like Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo step up to ease that loss or will they add someone like Mike Napoli or Chris Carter, who are free agents?
Houston is going to be a problem in the AL West. Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel for a full season along with the additions of Beltran, Josh Reddick and Brian McCann this offseason. Do they have enough arms to get them back to the playoffs, though?
Let’s go around the West to see who will win this.
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Starting Pitching
5. Angels – A ton of questions in the Angels rotation, though if they get some positive answers, the team could be interesting. Are Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker healthy? How deep can Tyler Skaggs go into the season? He only pitched 49 innings after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Daniel Wright, Jesse Chavez and Alex Meyer will compete for time there as well.
4. A’s – Sonny Gray had food poisoning right before his first start of the season and never really got back on track. The rest of the rotation is made up of young guys looking to make an impact on the club. Sean Manaea and Jharel Cotton could be part of the rotation moving forward. Kendall Graveman should be the team’s number-two starter. After that, Jesse Hahn, Andrew Triggs and Daniel Mengden could be a part of it.
3. Astros – Dallas Keuchel went from Cy Young to Cy struggled/injured in 2016. Lance McCullers was injured last season as well, but has excellent stuff when healthy. Collin McHugh had his third straight double-digit win season (although his ERA has gone up each of the last three years). Charlie Morton and Mike Fiers should fill out the rotation. Look for Joe Musgrove as well.
2. Rangers – Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels are an excellent 1-2 at the top of the rotation. Right up there among the best. Martin Perez still hasn’t taken that next step. What can Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and A.J. Griffin give them at the back end?
1. Mariners – Felix Hernandez is looking to rebound after an injury-plagued season. Hisashi Iwakuma is steady when healthy. Can James Paxton build on his 2016 season? Drew Smyly and Yovani Gallardo are now in the fold to finish off the rotation with Ariel Miranda and Chris Heston as depth.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Bullpen:
5. Angels – Cam Bedrosian is an interesting piece. They have to hope Huston Street and Andrew Bailey have anything left to help Bedrosian.
4. Mariners – Edwin Diaz has electric stuff and Nick Vincent is a pretty good setup guy. The rest of the bullpen they have to hope on. Steve Cishek and Evan Scribner from the right side and free agent pickup Mark Rzepczysnki from the left.
3. Rangers – Sam Dyson had a pretty good year closing. Matt Bush has great stuff, but will he be stretched out as a starter? Is Jeremy Jeffress back? How about Tanner Scheppers and Keone Kela?
2. A’s – Ryan Dull is their best reliever and I think will emerge as their closer at some point in 2017. They have plenty of depth in Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle, John Axford and free agent pickup Santiago Casilla.
1. Astros – Ken Giles seemed to get himself together a bit after a rough start. His June through August was excellent and I think he ran out of gas. Will Harris and Luke Gregerson are an excellent setup tandem along with Tony Sipp and Chris Devenski.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Infield
5. A’s – They added Trevor Plouffe this offseason in free agency. He’s at third for now, but with Ryon Healy and Matt Chapman waiting, I think he may get more time at first unless something finally clicks for Yonder Alonso. Marcus Semien has a nice power bat but no glove at short. Jed Lowrie is a nice piece to have.
4. Angels – Extreme infield makeover is now finished after two years. Andrelton Simmons and Danny Espinosa are going to turn some exciting double plays up the middle. Yunel Escobar will man third while newly-signed Luis Valbuena will provide some pop at first with Albert Pujols no longer really able to play the field.
3. Rangers – All Adrian Beltre does is hit and play excellent third base and it won’t stop. Elvis Andrus rebounded offensively. Rougned Odor packs power with his bat and fists (just ask Jose Bautista). Who’s on first? Ryan Rua? Jurickson Profar? Joey Gallo? Will they reunite with Mike Napoli?
2. Astros – Alex Bregman will get to man third from day one. Carlos Correa is already a star as is Jose Altuve at second. Will Yulieski Gurriel seize control of first or will it go to Tyler White, Colin Moran or A.J. Reed?
1. Mariners – Robinson Cano looked like his old self last season. Kyle Seager continues to be underrated. They added Jean Segura who looked like he got his swing back after a rough stretch in Milwaukee both personally and professionally. Can Danny Valencia and Dan Vogelbach do enough at first?
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Outfield
5. Mariners – They are going to need their infield to be excellent, because I’m not sure what they are going to get out of their outfield. Nelson Cruz will be the DH which will help the defense but can Jarrod Dyson, Leonys Martin, Ben Gamel and Mitch Haniger provide enough offense?
4. A’s – Khris Davis has a ton of power and may be one of the best players people don’t know about. Rajai Davis and Matt Joyce were added via free agency. Can Rajai be good enough defensively day-in and day-out in center?
3. Rangers – Nomar Mazara emerged as a rookie and it looks like the Rangers have a keeper in left. Can they get anything out of Shin-Soo Choo in right? Which Carlos Gomez is playing? The All-Star or the guy cut by the Astros last season?
2. Astros – The Nori Aoki/Carlos Beltran/Evan Gattis combo should be just fine in left. George Springer will be moving to center (without Tal’s Hill) and Josh Reddick in right will hopefully be more comfortable than he was in L.A.
1. Angels – Mike Trout is the best player on the planet. Kind of helps. Kole Calhoun is pretty good in right and they added Cameron Maybin in left and Ben Revere in free agency. Not a lot of balls are going to drop in the outfield.
Kenny Karst-USA TODAY Sports
Division Prediction
Let’s see where everyone stands. Remember, the lower the score the better.
5. A’s (15 points)
5. Angels (15 points)
3. Rangers (11 points)
2. Mariners (9 points)
1. Astros (8 points)
This division is going to be close, with three points separating the top three clubs. The A’s lack of starting pitching and the Angels’ lack of a bullpen will hurt them in the end. The Rangers have a lot of questions in the back end of their rotation, bullpen and offense with a lot losses this offseason.
The Mariners are going to be a squad to watch with a solid rotation and four top offensive players.
In the end, I think the Astros’ offense and bullpen will be too much. I think they will get enough starting pitching and add another by the deadline and beat the Mariners for the division.
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