We're going from one coast to the other, as we swap leagues again and preview the AL West today.
Last year: 95-67 (1st in AL West), 10 wins above COAS Prediction; Lost in ALDS
Two straight years the Rangers have won the AL West and proceeded to get bounced by Toronto in the ALDS. This year, I figure they're going to be back in the mix once again for the best record in the American League. They boast as good of a top two in the rotation as anyone has with Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels, and their lineup is such a good one. Jurickson Profar is expected to be an everyday guy after playing in 92 games last year, and the team added Mike Napoli to go with trade deadline acquisition Jonathan Lucroy to make this lineup one of the deadlier ones in baseball. There's no reason why the Rangers can't threaten for a pennant this year.
2017 Prediction: 96-66
Last year: 86-76 (2nd in AL West), 3 wins above COAS Prediction; Missed playoffs
Seattle has fallen just short of the playoffs each of the last two seasons, and should be scary good this year. Felix Hernandez leads a strong rotation that is bolstered with the addition of Yovani Gallardo. I'm a little concerned with some of the youth here; Mitch Haniger had a cup of coffee with Arizona last year, but is projected to be the starting right fielder, and Dan Vogelbach, former Cubs superprospect that was blocked, is the projected first baseman, which should be fine. If the youth produces around the established stars here, the Mariners will finally get over the hump and into the postseason. And let's be honest, the image of King Felix's Court going nuts in the Wild Card Game in Seattle is fantastic.
2017 Prediction: 90-72, Wild Card
Last year: 84-78 (3rd in AL West), 6 wins below COAS Prediction; Missed playoffs
The Astros were a sexy pick last year, but struggled despite finishing with a winning record. Part of the problem was Dallas Keuchel falling off his Cy Young pace from 2015. If he regresses back towards his relative career averages in a lot of his categories, he may not be Cy Young caliber again, but he'll be one of the better pitchers in baseball, which he'll need to be, given that the rest of the rotation is okay, but not great. The lineup boasts a great blend of youth (Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and George Springer) and veterans (Nori Aoki, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann), so this team will be good again. I just don't think, given the talent at the top of the division, that they'll have quite enough to be a playoff team.
2017 Prediction: 84-78
Last year: 74-88 (4th in AL West), 4 wins below COAS Prediction; Missed playoffs
It's a pretty similar story with these guys. The rotation isn't anything to write home about, though Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker should be pretty good. The Halos also added Luis Valbuena to play first, and his bat should be a nice addition. Albert Pujols continues to do Albert Pujols things at the plate, and Mike Trout is the reigning MVP. Unfortunately, there's just not enough talent around Trout to really make this team anything special. Trout continues to amaze, but he can't carry this team alone.
2017 Prediction: 71-91
Last year: 69-93 (5th in AL West), 6 wins above COAS Prediction; Missed playoffs
Not much has changes here, either. Oakland made a few offseason moves, picking up Trevor Plouffe and near-World Series hero Rajai Davis to help out the clubhouse, but there's way too much youth elsewhere on this roster. Sonny Gray will begin the season on the disabled list, which doesn't help matters either, especially since the rest of the rotation is unproven. It's going to be another long year by the Bay, and the least we can hope for is some sort of stadium improvement to the dump that is the Coliseum.
2017 Prediction: 64-98
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