2017 American League West Preview: A Three Team Race
Southside Showdown previews each division in the American League. Next up, the AL West. Which team will win the West in 2017?
The 2016 American League West champion Texas Rangers will have a hard time repeating in 2017. While the Oakland Athletics and the Anaheim Angels (spoiler alert) will fight for a fourth place spot in the division, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners will be breathing down the Rangers next all season long. Does Texas have what it takes to win back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 2010-2011 season?
While the Rangers are looking to repeat as American League West division champions, which team will give Texas a hard time in 2017? Can the Astros break through and win the AL West? Will the Mariners finally be able to break its long playoff drought? Which team will finish in last place, the Athletics or Angels?
#5 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
When you have a two-time American League MVP winner and a future Hall of Fame first base man/designated hitter in the middle of your order, you should be poised to contend right? Wrong. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols have provided much of the offense for the Angels the past four seasons. Complimentary hitters such as Kole Calhoun and Cameron Maybin are nice pieces at the top of the order, but after the first four spots in the order the Angels lineup becomes very thin.
The lineup being the least of their worries however as their starting rotation has battled injuries and poor performance as of late. Ace Garrett Richards tore his UCL last season and it is unaware how he will pitch off of that. Longtime Angels’ Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson have departed, which leaves sub-par starters Matt Shoemaker, Ricky Nolasco, Tyler Skaggs, and Bud Norris to fill in. Anaheim’s bullpen on top of that may be one of the worst in baseball.
Closer Cam Bedrosian came off a great 2016, but the men building the bridge to the 9th inning will be a season long struggle. Even if the Angels receive another MVP like performance from Trout and a great bounce back campaign from Richards, the Angels still lack the supporting cast to finish anywhere higher than fifth.
#4 Oakland Athletics
Just three seasons ago, the Athletics had come off a heart-breaking loss to the future World Series champion Kansas City Royals. General Manager Billy Beane had seen enough and traded away every possible asset you could think of. The A’s have had the worst winning percentage in the American League over the past two seasons (.423) but appear to be on the rise. Kinda.
Oakland’s ace Sonny Gray will start the 2017 season on the disabled list which will prolong his chance at a bounce back season. The rest of the Athletics rotation features young starters Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea, and Jharel Cotton who look to be promising young starters. Oakland’s bullpen is without a doubt their strong suit.
A veteran based bullpen featuring Ryan Madson, Santiago Casilla, John Axford, and Sean Doolittle will carry a heavy load of innings throughout the 2017 campaign as Oakland’s rotation does not have a single innings eater; besides a healthy Gray. Oakland’s lineup will not impress anyone in 2017, but rookie third baseman Ryon Healy is trying to turn many heads this season and put the “Swingin'” back in the Swingin’ A’s.
Although better days do appear to be on the horizon, A’s longtime manager Bob Melvin will have to endure another long and head-scratching season at O.Co Colosseum.
#3 Houston Astros
This is where the list takes a turn for the better. Houston possibly has the best core group out of any team within the A.L. West. A group of hitters consisting of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman will carry Houston all season long. Newly acquired veterans Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann provide stability and much added power to an already impressive Houston team.
The only reason why I cannot place this team any higher than third is their lack of staring pitching. 2015 A.L. Cy Young award winner Dallas Keuchel had a rough 2016 season and it is hard to determine which version we’ll see in 2017. Lance McCullers has all the makings of an ace, but staying healthy has been an issue for the 23-year-old right hander.
Mike Fiers, Charlie Morton, and Joe Musgrove fill out the rest of a rotation that can simply be summed up as a giant question mark. Houston’s bullpen should be strong all year long as fireballer Ken Giles looks to continue thesuccess he found in the second half of last season. If the Astros starting staff can stay healthy, and Keuchel can revert back to his 2015 self, the Astros could be in place to win their first division title since 2001.
#2 Texas Rangers
No there will not be a repeat in Texas in 2017. Texas may possibly be the best all-around team in the A.L. West, but once again, the top half of this division is possibly the most top heavy in all of baseball. A full season of catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and Mike Napoli back in his third stint with Texas will bolster an already impressive lineup.
A blend of youth and veteran experience from Texas’s starting lineup provides so much depth one through nine. It is very hard to find any holes with this Texas team but if their had to be one it would be keeping their players healthy. The loss of their ace, Yu Darvish, all of last season did not seem to phase them too much until the playoffs kicked in.
They will need him, Martin Perez, and A.J. Griffin to make 25-30 starts in order for them to remain in the thick of things going into September. The Rangers bullpen does not consist of any elite relief pitchers, but a group of pitchers that have blazing fastballs that can tally up the strikeouts. A deep lineup, a talented rotation, and an underrated bullpen, but keeping all of those players on the field will be the make for the Rangers in 2017.
#1 Seattle Mariners
The team with the longest postseason drought in baseball resides in Seattle. Since their magical 116 win season back in 2001, Seattle has had a hard time sniffing postseason contention. 2017 will be the year the drought ends. Headed by still one of the best in the game Felix Hernandez, and backed by Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton,Yovani Gallardo and newly acquired southpaw Drew Smyly, Seattle has built one of the stronger rotations in the American League.
From the division rival Angels to Seattle’s front office, general manager Jerry DiPoto wasted no time revitalizing the Mariners. through an abundance of trades and free agent signings, DiPoto has put together a team that is in dire need of postseason baseball. The 3-4-5 of Seattle’s lineup with Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, and Kyle Seager strikes fear in the heart of any opposing pitcher. Combine that with new speed merchants Jean Segura and Jarrod Dyson at the top of the M’s lineup, and you have a team that will put some crooked numbers up on any scoreboard.
Next: Bold Predictions for Upcoming Season
23 year old closer Edwin Diaz came up last season with the Mariners and struck out 88 batters in 51.2 innings of work. It is a small sample size, but you can argue he has already emerged himself as one of the top closers and filthiest pitchers in the game. This Seattle team has every possible piece of talent that it takes to win a division. Congratulations Seattle, brace yourselves for an exciting summer that will cultivate in you ending one of the more infamous streaks in baseball.