The American League West should be a very interesting race this year. Did the Los Angeles Angels do enough to get over the hump? Can the Texas Rangers get back to the post season? Can the Oakland A's with their 3rd AL West title in a row? We shall see. Vegas Odds have the Angels listed as favorites to win the AL West this year. Below are each teams odds for winning the National League Central, National League Pennant and World Series. Teams are in order of how I see them finishing.
Last year the Los Angeles Angels were most people’s pick to win the World Series, especially with the high priced talent they brought in, including Albert Pujols, but it just didn’t work out like they wanted and they finished with a 74-88 record on the year. This year they made more off-season moves and I look for them to have a bounce back year.This team is loaded again on offense, but will Pujols and Hamilton have bounce back years and will the aging Ibanez continue to produce at a good clip this year. He doesn’t hit for average much, but the power is still there and he is a good clutch hitter. Even with the questions I see this as an offense that will be feared and they will have to step up because other than Wilson and Weaver, the pitching staff is very weak. An improved bullpen will certainly help, but unless they somehow get another solid starter of two it may be their pitching that holds them back from winning it all. Still I see them in a dogfight all year for the AL West crown and thanks to their offense they should do just enough to win the AL West. Vegas odds have the Angels as the favorites to win the AL West at +200. They are also +1000 to win the AL Pennant and +1800 to win the World Series.
Last year the Texas Rangers won 91 games and made it to the Wildcard play-in game. They failed to win that game and now have made some big moves in in hopes of getting back to playing some October baseball. The Texas Rangers have added some more pop to their lineup and with Choo leading off I’m sure there will be plenty of chances to drive him in as he is an on-base machine. And then in the number two hole is a guy that stole 42 bases. This offense will put a ton of pressure on opposing pitchers, with a very nice combination of speed and power. The pitching staff will suffer in the early part of the year, but they will do enough to keep them in the race, while the bullpen will have another strong season. The Rangers are once again contenders in the AL West, but I feel that the Angels have just a bit more and thus Texas should finish second in this improving division. Vegas odds have the Rangers at +225 to win the AL West, +800 to win the AL Pennant and +1800 to win the World Series.
In 2012 the Oakland A’s surprised everyone by winning the AL West and last year the won 96 games on their way to their 2nd AL west title in a row. Getting 3 in a row will be hard as the Rangers, Mariners and Angels area all improved teams. The A’s are pretty much a mirror image of last year’s team, as they offense will produce about the same amount, while the pitching should finish about where they did a year ago. Other than grabbing Johnson, the A’s had pretty much a quiet offseason, while the Rangers and Angles have been adding the pieces necessary to overtake this team in the AL West. Oakland will have another solid year, but they best they can hope for is a wildcard berth, because they won’t overtake the Angels or the Rangers in the West. Vegas odds have Oakland at +240 to win the AL West, +1200 to win the AL Pennant and +2000 to win the World Series.
The Seattle Mariners suffered through a miserable 71-91 season a year ago, but they made moves in the offense that have them pointing in the right direction. Robinson Cano was a huge signing for them, but is it enough for them to challenge for a wildcard berth this year? The Seattle Mariners made some strides, especially on offense and now they will put up some runs to go along with all the homers they will hit. The question for this team is the injury riddled starting rotation that really has just King Felix and no one else. That rotation may just put them in such a hole in the AL West that they won’t be able to climb out of even when their rotation gets healthy. They won’t finish in the basement of this division (Thanks to Houston), but I can’t see them moving into the top three either. 4th place at best here. Vegas odds have the Mariners listed as +600 to win the AL West, +1700 to win the NL pennant and +3500 to win the World Series.
The Houston Astros were clearly the worst team in the league last year, as they won just 51 games all season. Houston has now lost 106, 107 and 111 the last 3 years respectively. Will it get better this year? Maybe, but not by much. Ok this team will be bad again, but they are making some solid moves that points them in the direction, so they should be a bit more competitive this year, especially with the overhauled rotation and bullpen. The pitching will be much better this year and they should score a few more run as well. Still, this team has way to much ground to make up to think that an Improved Houston will make much noise this year. A few more rebuilding years are in order for this team, but they will play harder this year and be more competitive. Vegas odds have the Astros at +9000 to win the AL West, +17500 to win the AL West and +35000 to win the World Series.
Info gathered from FoxSports.com and CBSSports.com
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