2019 MLB Season Preview: AL West
The AL West was an interesting division in 2018. The Astros finished on top once again, but the A’s and Mariners both had surprising years that saw Oakland win a Wild Card spot and Seattle in contention until late in the season. The Angels were probably the most intriguing team in the division with Ohtani’s debut as a two-way player and Trout being the best player in the game once again. The Rangers… well, they haven’t been all that good, but Adrian Beltre was still a heck of a player, and has made a good case for the Hall of Fame before hanging it up at the end of the season.
Houston Astros
Key Question: Will the loss of Dallas Keuchel (and Charlie Morton) be noticed?
The biggest strength for the Astros in 2018 was their pitching staff. Even though, as a team, the Astros were 6th in runs scored, they had the largest run differential in the Majors in 2018 in large part due to the fact that they held their opponents to only 534 runs (the Dodgers were second, giving up 610 runs on the season). When you give up only 3.29 runs/game and score 4.91, you are putting yourself in a great position to rack up the wins, and that is exactly what the Astros did in 2018 with 103 of them. Not as many as the Red Sox, but the worst team in the West was the Rangers, who won 20 more games than the Least in the East Orioles.
That being said, will the Astros miss Dallas Keuchel this season? Yes… and no. Keuchel is a good pitcher, even a great one at times. But when Verlander and Cole came on board, he immediately dropped to the #3 spot in their rotation. Of course, who wouldn’t want a former Cy Young winner in the #3 spot of their rotation? Well… apparently a lot of people, because as of this writing, he is still unemployed. Keuchel’s departure may cost the Astros a couple of games over the course of the season, but all in all, they are still looking at hitting the century mark in wins in 2019.
Oakland Athletics
Key Question: Can we expect to see more of the same from the 2019 A’s?
The Oakland A’s surprised a lot of people when they burst onto the scene in 2018 with 97 wins and a Wild Card spot. All season long, their rotation was a question (much like the Milwaukee Brewers), and all season long, they just kept winning ballgames (much like the Milwaukee Brewers). How did they do it? They just kept scoring runs, finishing 4th in total runs scored for the season.
The problems facing the A’s in 2019 are very similar. They don’t have a lot of great starting pitching. They managed to compete in spite of their rotation woes in 2018, but I have a hard time seeing them having as good of a season in 2019. Perhaps, with the increased emphasis we saw bullpen games last season, the A’s are on the forefront of something new in the game of baseball (along with the Brewers and Rays), but we’ll need to see a repeat before more teams start getting on board with it. And I don’t think we will this year.
Seattle Mariners
Key Question: Will the plethora of offseason moves bring the overall win total down?
The Mariners won 89 games last season. Given the firesale that happened in Seattle, trading away their best starter, best reliever and one of their best infielders, it’s hard to see how the Mariners can come close to that win total again in 2019. But stranger things have happened.
Los Angeles Angels
Key Question: Will Mike Trout finally get to play on a winning team in 2019?
Okay, that’s not an entirely fair question. The Angeles have not been terrible during Mike Trout’s tenure, which was extended when he signed a massive extension in March. But they haven’t been as good as you would think a team with the best player in the game would be. It goes to show that baseball is not a one-man show over the course of a season. Unfortunately, 2019 doesn’t look a whole lot better.
The Angels have struggled to put together a quality rotation for the last several years, and the one they put out in 2019 may be their best one in a while. That’s not to say that it’s going to be good; it’s just not going to be awful. Ohtani will not pitch in 2019 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but he will be hitting. Pujols, while declining from his days in St. Louis, is still a better hitter than most starters in baseball. Trout is so good that we forget to pay attention to what he is doing. We haven’t seen a player start his career this well since… Albert Pujols.
I think the Angels are poised to surprise some people, much like the Mariners and A’s did last season, but I don’t think it will be enough in the end.
Texas Rangers
Key Question: How ‘bout them Cowboys?
Maybe not a fair question, but have you seen this team? It’s already a long, hot summer in Arlington simply because it’s Texas, but it’s not going to get much better, especially when one of the biggest moves was signing Lance Lynn, who may have a bounce back season after a rough 2018, but is still not quite what he was during his good years in St. Louis. Besides… last time I remember him pitching in Texas, it wasn’t great…
I imagine it is not going to be long before the people in Dallas start to turn their attention to the Cowboys preseason practices. The good news is that there will be good seats available to watch the Rangers play, and you’ll probably have plenty of elbow room.
2019 Season Predictions
The Astros are the runaway winner in this division once again, as they are preparing themselves for another World Series run. The A’s and Angels look like they’ll be duking it out for second place, while the Mariners and Rangers simply exist this season. The problem is that three of these teams are good enough for the 80–85 win mark, which is going to prevent any of them from making the playoffs this year.
