Astros projected to take American League West crown

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Spring training hasn't officially opened yet, but one prognosticator has the Houston Astros pegged as the team to beat in the American League West.

Baseball Prospectus' preseason PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test) rankings have the Astros projected to finish first in the AL West with an 87-75 record.

That would be good for the fifth-best record in the AL, according to PECOTA.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland are projected to take the AL East and Central, respectively, with Boston and Toronto the two wild cards.

Meanwhile, PECOTA defending World Series champion Kansas City going 76-86 and finishing last in the Central.

In the National League, the Mets (East), Cubs (Central) and Dodgers (West) are the projected division winners, with St. Louis and San Francisco the wild cards. Los Angeles' projected 94-68 record is the best in MLB.

Of course, PECOTA's preseason projections have been known to be off, at least in the Astros case.

Last year, they were projected to finish last in the AL West at 77-85. Instead, they went 86-76, took the AL wild card game at New York and pushed eventual champion Kansas City to the distance before losing the ALDS in five games.

Click through the gallery to see the 2016 World Series odds from OddsShark.