The AL West was a confusing division this year from 3rd place up. The defending World Series champ had a strong hangover year, the leader for most of the year faded late and was left out of the playoffs, but in the end, it was the same story as usual.
Oakland A’s
Prediction: 5th
Actually: 4th
Player: JJ Bleday-Will he make the most of his opportunity?
It was a bittersweet year for Oakland, soon to be Las Vegas. The poor ownership persisted for one of the most storied franchises in MLB history. The team’s future plans are still up in the air, as they are set up to play in Sacramento in a minor league ballpark for two years until their stadium is finished (Assuming it is ever finished). The team was bad again, hurt by a big regression by rookie standout Zach Gelof. The A’s weren’t without stars, though. Vet DH Brent Rooker had his second straight 30-homer season. The journeyman has made himself a home in the A’s organization. Lawrence Butler came into his own in his sophomore season. The 24-year-old hit 22 homers en route to an .807 OPS, having two three-homer games. Oakland’s All-Star was reliever Mason Miller, an electric flamethrower who is one of the most fun relief pitchers to watch in the bigs. Bleday was a former top prospect with plus raw power, and although the numbers don’t show it, he was good. A 20-homer season from the former Marlins farmhand was a more than welcome sight, and it gives Bleday an open door for the rest of his career. While the team’s ownership isn’t in a great spot, it’s possible that the team’s trajectory is on the rise.
Team grade: B+
Player grade: B
Prediction grade: A-
Los Angeles Angels
Prediction: 4th
Actually: 5th
Player: Logan O’Hoppe- What will he do in a full season?
Hoo, boy. The Halos haven’t been relevant in about 10 years, and that didn’t change at all this year. In fact, it seems like they regressed even more. To be fair, any team is worse without Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese superstar went across town to LA this season (which worked out pretty well for him) and the Angels couldn’t rebound in free agency. One of the Angels’ biggest flaws is their habit of rushing prospects to the bigs before they’re ready, which continues to be an issue. Last year’s first-rounder Nolan Schanuel was brought up in ’23 and is still showing considerable signs of not being ready. LA’s flagship player, Mike Trout, homered in his first at-bat of the season…and the Angels didn’t score again in the game. That’s symbolic of how the team’s been for a long time. They’re still going backward. O’Hoppe had a fairly productive season for a catcher, hitting 20 homers with an OPS above .700. The Angels have a lot to do to right the ship, and it’s going to take a lot.
Team grade: D
Player grade: A-
Prediction grade: A
Seattle Mariners
Prediction: 3rd
Actually: 2nd
Player: Luke Raley-Can he sustain his success with the Rays?
“The Mariners are here-Oh, wait, never mind.” Seattle got off to a roaring start to the year and held tight to it for a while, holding the lead until mid-August when they coughed up to Houston, who did not give it back. Seattle was headed by an elite pitching staff courtesy of righties Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, and Bryce Miller, all of whom were well above average. Even their number 5 starter, Bryan Woo, was a reliable arm when healthy. So how could this team be stopped? Well, it was easily their bats in the way. The team could not hit. Their golden boy, Julio Rodriguez, was either hurt or slumping for most of the year. The M’s had a team batting average of .224. A bright spot was catcher Cal Raleigh, who hit for extreme power as a catcher while also winning the Platinum Glove in the AL. Only 2 players on their team had an average over .270. A surprise was outfielder Victor Robles, picked up off of waivers from the Nationals as they finally gave up on the former top prospect. Unfortunately for them, it was the exact wrong time. Robles hit .328 from June on when Seattle signed him and quickly became a fan favorite. The rest of the team just couldn’t get it going, even after trading for former Rookie of the Year and playoff hero Randy Arozarena at midseason. They held the lead in the AL West for most of the year but faded late and were overtaken by Houston. I took a liking to outfielder Luke Raley after he produced well for Tampa last season. Raley didn’t get the same opportunities in Seattle, however, and couldn’t get anything going for him.
Team grade: C
Player grade: D
Prediction grade: B+
Houston Astros
Prediction: 2nd
Actually: 1st
Player: Jose Abreu-Can he return to form?
Same old, same old. The Astros can’t seem to slow down, nearing their 10th year of dominance in the AL West. They got out to a slow start, with closer Josh Hader struggling early but returning to his prime dominance not long after. Star outfielder Kyle Tucker went down with an injury early on and came back late, not playing enough to make an impact. They struggled with injuries and players that didn’t look like themselves. This includes the former MVP Abreu, who was cut loose after getting off to a horrendous start. Jose Altuve was a bright spot as usual, catcher Yainer Diaz hovered around .300, and Yordan Alvarez hit for power as usual. Pitching-wise, ace Framber Valdez was solid as usual, and Ronel Blanco came out of nowhere, throwing a no-hitter in his first start of the year and never looking back, a consensus top-10 pitcher in the AL. Houston made their usual run to the playoffs but the ‘Stros got ambushed, falling to Detroit in two games. They’ll just have to see if they can retool and put together another run next season.
Team grade: B+
Player grade: F-
Prediction grade: B+
Texas Rangers
Prediction: 1st
Actually: 3rd
Player: Evan Carter-Is he Rookie of the Year?
World. Series. Hangover. There’s a case to be made for the injury bug harming the Rangers too much, but this was BAD, even for a team snakebitten by injury. Pitching prizes Max Scherzer and Jacob Degrom barely pitched, as did Tyler Mahle, another well-regarded pitcher. Former All-Star third baseman Josh Jung also missed over 100 games with injury. Carter also lost most of his season, playing 45 games. He’ll get an incomplete grade for this prediction. The Rangers that did play a lot were unimpressive. 3-time All-Star Marcus Semien had a down year, hitting .237. Shortstop Corey Seager had another solid year, but not his best, hitting .278 with 30 bombs. Another former All-Star, Adolis Garcia, was in the upper echelon in strikeouts as a hitter. Catcher Jonah Heim also had a down year, hitting .220 a year after an All-Star appearance. A standout was vet closer Kirby Yates, who saved 33 games, resurging his career after not doing much sans a dominant 2019. Long story short, Texas never got anything going. They started in the middle of the pack and were never able to climb in the standings. They stayed behind the leaders for the whole year.
Team grade: C-
Player grade: Incomplete
Prediction grade: D+
