On to the American League West, another division that seems fairly difficult to predict this season.



1. Houston Astros (88-74)

Considering the plethora of young talent on the Astros’ roster, they were bound to go from laughing-stocks to legitimate contenders sooner rather than later. Remember that Sports Illustrated cover that declared them 2017 World Series champs ? Well, they might not have been far off. Houston broke out and then some in 2015, led by AL Cy Young award winner Dallas Keuchel and a scary lineup that included 21-year-old phenom Carlos Correa, George Springer, and Jose Altuve. 2016 should be no different as on paper they’re one of the most balanced teams in baseball.

2. Texas Rangers (86-76) 2 GB

Just like in 2015, the Astros will have their hands full with the Rangers this year. Texas greatly outperformed all expectations by winning the division, especially since they lost their ace Yu Darvish for the season to Tommy John surgery. Darvish is expected to return to the rotation in mid-May, which means he’ll join Cole Hamels to form one of the top 1-2 punches in the league. The rest of the pitching staff will need to hold up their end of the bargain, and the offense will need to be among the best in baseball once again (third in runs scored in 2015) if they’re to repeat as AL West champs.

3. Seattle Mariners (82-80) 6 GB

Before each season, I seem to overrate the Mariners more than I overrate most teams. I might be doing that again here by putting them ahead of the Angels, but I really believe they’re far better than their 76-86 record last year suggests. Seattle sputtered to end their 2015 campaign, going 2-8 in their last 10 games while Los Angeles finished 7-3. Robinson Cano’s putrid first half of the season didn’t help much either. They’ll need Cano to be strong out the gate this time around, and the guys following King Felix in the rotation (namely Taijuan Walker and Wade Miley) will need to step up in a big way if the Mariners are to make any noise.

4. Los Angeles Angels (81-81) 7 GB

The Angels had a strong finish to their 2015 season, but it was too little too late as they failed to overtake the Astros or Rangers and clinch a postseason berth. Despite having Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the lineup, they still finished toward the bottom of the pack in run production and did little to fix that this offseason besides acquiring Yunel Escobar in a trade with the Nationals. L.A. also improved their infield by snagging the best defensive shortstop in baseball, Andrelton Simmons, in a trade with the Braves. Those moves certainly don’t hurt, but there still are question marks everywhere including the rotation. They’re led by Garrett Richards, who is outstanding, but after him is where things get iffy. The pitching actually wasn’t TOO bad in 2015, but it’s really tough for me to be optimistic about 35-year-old C.J. Wilson, Mr. 85 mile-per-hour fastball Jered Weaver, OK number-four starter Hector Santiago, and promising though still unproven youngster Andrew Heaney. In my mind, the Angels could finish with anywhere from 75 to 90 wins, but I’ll bet on it being on the lower end of that range.

5. Oakland Athletics (74-88) 14 GB

Oakland has a potential Cy Young award candidate in Sonny Gray. Other than that, there isn’t much to excite A’s fans heading into 2016. I don’t believe they’ll be as terrible as they were a season ago when they finished 68-94, but another last place finish in the division is likely. Optimists might say additions of Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie, and Yonder Alonso could make things interesting this year, but I still don’t see that giving Oakland enough of a boost to surpass their division foes.

That wraps up the American League projections. If you missed the AL East and/or AL Central , be sure to check those out.