Team Previews
Athletics
The (Sacramento) Athletics have been overshadowed this offseason by their biggest move, and they’d probably like to keep it that way. They have young talent to be excited about, but we’ll have to see if the rotation can stay healthy and pull enough weight to make a move in the division before the A’s start selling off that talent.
Houston Astros
The Astros once again refuse to keep their best guys around, with Bregman, Tucker, Verlander, Pressly, and more littered around the country. They’ll scrap together what crumbs they can in the lineup, but there’s quite a deep bin of pitching to look out for. Despite how many big names they’ve dumped, it’s not all junk left over for the Astros, and if the Rangers or Mariners choke again, they won’t let a playoff opportunity go to waste.
Los Angeles Angels
Not a lot going on at the moment. Or any moment. Mike Trout is still around, when he’s healthy (he stayed around a 17% barrel rate last year even though he faced under 600 pitches). The gaping holes in the Angels’ system just become clearer as the years go on. Could they have done more with Trout and Ohtani? Someone else could’ve.
Seattle Mariners
Any year could be the Mariners’ year, and yet it never quite happens. A lack of offseason action almost seems like a positive in this division, especially with lots of their pitching (opponent wOBA was well below average at only .283 in 2024) and Julio Rodriguez carrying over. But none of that will stop a frustrating offense from bringing the Mariners down like any other recent year. Take the shots you get.
Texas Rangers
The only way to go is up for the Rangers, and they could go quite a long way up. They seemed to lose direction in 2024, but have a great core offense and rotation if they stay healthier in 2025. If the offense can get back to where they were, maybe the Rangers won’t have to rely too much on their bullpen…
Division Awards Predictions
AL West Winner: Rangers. The Mariners have the potential to make it a contest, but let’s see what they can do with it.
AL West MVP: Julio Rodriguez. A great Julio season will stand out more than anyone on the Rangers, but they’ll surely also make a good case.
AL West Cy Young: Logan Gilbert. Would feel weird not picking a Mariner for a potential AL West Cy Young win.
AL West Rookie of the Year: The long-awaited Leiter-Rocker duo will definitely make headlines, so I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them collects the votes. The Astros want me to say Cam Smith and I won’t.
AL West Reliever of the Year: Some pretty great candidates, but Mason Miller stands out with huge whiff and chase rates in 2024.