American League West Preview -

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics were not a very good team in 2016. It should come as no surprise that we here at the Ranger Report don’t think they will be very good again in 2017. I do, however, think they will be better than they have been the last two seasons.

With the Rangers, Mariners and Astros all looking pretty good going into 2017, The Athletics will have a tough hill to climb to contend. It doesn’t mean that they can’t contend, 2012 and 2013 showed us that. Let’s take a look at the 2017 Oakland Athletics.

Pitching:

Starters-

Sonny Gray

Kendall Graveman

Sean Manaea

Jharel Cotton

Andrew Triggs

We know as Rangers fans that Gray is pretty good, but we really don’t know too much about the other four guys who are in the rotation. If Gray can stay healthy, then there is a chance that he will be the ace they need him to be. The rest of the rotation is a question mark, with Graveman having 57 games of MLB experience, Manaea has 25 games, Cotton 5 games and Triggs only 6. That means combined the two through four starters have only 93 games of MLB experience.

At the plate they are not built to compete with Seattle, Houston or Texas. They added Raja Davis and Matt Joyce, but that is not enough in my opinion to win or even compete in the West. They should finish somewhere around 68 wins and come in 5th place in the division.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

No more CJ Wilson in an Angels uniform! The Angels underperformed in 2016, with bats the likes of Mike Trout and Albert Pujlos, they should be winning games, right? They have a good offense, with Trout, Pujlos, Escobar, Kalhoun and others, but again it is not powerful enough to overcome the offense and pitching of the rest of the West.

The pitching staff will not leave any teams shaking in their boots either. The rotation looks like this:

Matt Shoemaker
Tyler Skaggs
Garrett Richards
Jesse Chavez
Ricky Nolasco

Shoemaker had a pretty decent 2016, going 9-13 with a 3.88 ERA. He is definitely the best of the bunch by the numbers. Huston Street is about to go on the DL, so that hurts them at the back end of the bullpen. I don’t see then winning many pitching duels, and the pen will most likely be their undoing. I have them at 73 wins and fourth place in the American League West.

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners really under-performed in 2016. We know they can knock the cover off the ball with hitters like Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager and Danny Valencia, and we know that King Felix Hernandez will be really good. But what about the rest of the pitching staff? The rotation looks like this:

Felix Hernandez
Hisashi Iwakuma
James Paxton
Ariel Miranda
Yovani Gallardo

Former Ranger Yovani Gallardo rounds out a rotation that does not have a lot of ML experience in the middle. Closer Edwin Diaz has 18 saves to his name, which isn’t always a bad thing. He is young and has electric stuff. If they can get to him with a lead, they have a chance of winning some games.

With all the talent they have I had a tough time picking them for third place, but until they prove that they are not going to under achieve, I can’t lift them above the Rangers and Astros. I think they will make it interesting for the two teams at the top in 2017 however, and I have them at 84 wins and in third place in the West.

Texas Rangers

I wouldn’t say I am buying into the Astros hype, but looking at everyone they added in the off-season, it is easy to see why they are the favorites going forward. The Rangers have won the west the past two seasons, and I think that streak could end in 2017.

The Rangers lost Derek Holland, Mitch Moreland, Carlos Beltran and Ian Desmond, and now they have demoted bull pen staple Keone Kela due to a non sports related incident.

The rotation is looking pretty solid, even if there are some question marks on the back end.

Yu Darvish
Martin Perez
Cole Hamels
A.J. Griffin
Dillon Gee

Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross could supplant Dillon Gee and A.J. Griffin when they are healthy, but for now the rotation looks pretty good, if Gee can pitch like he did in spring training. Darvish is in a contract year, so I expect him to have a great season to prove that he is worth a large contract in the future.

The addition of Mike Napoli should help the offense, and it should give Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor some better pitches to hit. The offense looks really good all the way around, and a full season with Jonathan Lucroy behind the plate should help as well.

The Rangers are looking good, and I believe that they are on equal footing with the Astros, but I think they will just fall short of their third straight division championship. I have the Rangers at 92 wins and second place in the American League West, with a Wild Card birth.

Houston Astros

The Astros are not going to lose 80% plus of games against the Rangers again, and that was the major difference in 2016. The Astros could not beat the Rangers. But the Astros spent some serious money and brought in some serious talent in 2017. The rotation, anchored by Dallas Keuchel, looks very good this season, and the offense is poised to be a serious problem for opponents.

Dallas Kuechel
Lance McCullers, Jr.
Charlie Morton
Joe Musgrove
Mike Fiers

The bull pen looks pretty good as well, with Ken Giles as the closer. We know the Astros are going to be able to hit. With Carlos Beltran, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Josh Reddick and George Springer, they should be a tough lineup.

I don’t think they will take the West by much, but I do believe that they will take the West. I have them at 94 wins and first place in the West.