2024 MLB Season Preview: A.L. West

SmallDog Dan

March 27

With the MLB season fast approaching, I thought it was a good idea to give my full predictions for each and every team. Usually, when I do this, I get about halfway done and stop writing because of burnout. Last year, I had a better idea to prewrite the blogs so I wouldn't stop halfway between the teams on the blogs, but that did not work. I got nowhere close and only wrote about eight teams. I'm going to do something different this time. Instead of writing one blog about my predictions, I'm going to write a division-by-division breakdown. I really enjoy the art of baseball, and I think my ideas are ALWAYS right. After I write the six blogs about the divisions, I will write a blog about my World Series team and the bets I like.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE OTHER DIVISION BLOGS

So, with that, let's break down the AL West. The last division left to write about it should be another good race within the top three. There is a case to be made that Seattle, Houston, and Texas can all win the division. They all had pretty decent offseasons, but let's not say too much now. Let's get into the blog.

1st Place: Houston Astros:

Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:

Signed LHP Josh Hader: 5 years $95M
Signed C Victor Caratini: 2 years $12M
Lost RHP Hector Neris to Chicago (NL): 1 year $9M
Lost RHP Phil Maton: 1 year $6.5M
Lost C Martin Maldonado: 1 year $4.25M
Lost RHP Ryne Stanek: 1 year $4M
Acquired RHP Dylan Coleman from Kansas City for a prospect
Acquired 1B Trey Cabbage from Los Angeles (AL) for a prospect

Projected Lineup:
C: Yanier Diaz
1B: Jose Abreu
2B: Jose Altuve
3B: Alex Bregman
SS: Jeremy Pena
LF: Chas McCormick
CF: Jake Myers
RF: Kyle Tucker
DH: Yordan Alvarez

Projected Rotation:
LHP Framber Valdez
RHP Christian Javier
RHP Hunter Brown
RHP Ronel Blanco
RHP JP France

Offseason Grade: B+

There shouldn't be much shock here, as the team that won the division six of the last seven times will do it once again. It's hard to go against this Astros team. They are getting older, but they still play like one of the best teams in the MLB. The biggest question mark at the start of the season is how the loss of Justin Verlander will affect the team. Verlander will miss some time, but they should be fine with his absence. The offense alone is fantastic, and the bullpen got so much better with the addition of Josh Hadder. Ryne Stanek was a significant loss, but they were able to replace Stanek, who was a late-game pitcher, with Ryan Pressly. Pressly has been such a good closer the past couple of seasons, it feels like a cheat code to replace him with Josh Hader and move him down to a setup spot. The Astros will be amazing once again and I have them finishing with the best record in the American League.

2nd Place: Texas Rangers (2nd Wild Card Team)

Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:

Lost LHP Jordan Montgomery to Arizona: 1 year $25M
Lost C Mitch Garver to Seattle: 2 years $24M
Signed RHP Tyler Mahle: 2 years $22M
Lost LHP Aroldis Chapman to Pittsburgh: 1 year $10.5M
Signed RHP David Robertson: 1 year $10M
Lost LHP Martin Perez to Pittsburgh: 1 year $8M
Lost RHP Chris Stratton to Kansas City: 2 years $8M
Lost RHP Will Smith to Kansas City: 1 year $5M
Signed RHP Michael Lorenzen: 1 year $4.5M
Signed RHP Kirby Yates: 1 year $4.5M
Lost C Austin Hedges to Cleveland: 1 year $4M
Signed C Andrew Kinzer: 1 year $1.825M
Resigned Travis Jankowski: 1 year $1.7M
Acquired RHP Daniel Duarte from Cincinnati for cash

Still Free Agents:

RHP Matt Bush
LHP Brett Martin

Projected Lineup:
C: Jonah Heim
1B: Jared Walsh
2B: Marcus Semien
3B: Josh Jung
SS: Corey Seager
LF: Evan Carter
CF: Leody Taveras
RF: Alodis Garcia
DH: Wyatt Langford

Projected Rotation:
RHP Nathan Eovaldi
RHP Jon Gray
LHP Andrew Heaney
RHP Dane Dunning
LHP Cody Bradford

Offseason Grade: C-

The Rangers could have done more this offseason. They let Jordan Montgomery walk as he heads to Arizona, Max Scherzer will start the season on the injured list, and Jacob deGrom will miss most of the 2024 season. Texas will have to depend on Eovaldi, who is still a good pitcher, as well as Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney. I think Texas will have a slow start to the season but pick things up once key players like Scherzer or Nathaniel Lowe return. Because of that slow start, Houston will take a good lead in the division, and Texas will have to go through the playoffs and attempt to win another championship through the Wild Card.

3rd Place: Seattle Mariners

Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:

Signed C Mitch Garver: 2 years $24M
Lost LF Teoscar Hernandez: 1 year $23.5M
Lost C Tom Murphy to San Francisco: 2 years $8.25M
Signed RHP Ryne Stanek: 1 year $4M
Signed RHP Austin Voth: 1 year $1.24M
Acquired RF Mitch Haniger and RHP Anthony DeSclafani from Giants for LHP Robbie Ray
Acquired 2B Jorge Polanco from Twins for RHP Justin Topa, RHP Anthony DeSclafani, OF Gabriel Gonzalez and RHP Darren Bowen
Acquired OF Luke Raley from Tampa Bay for SS José Caballero
Acquired RHP Gregory Santos from Chicago (AL) for RHP Prelander Berroa, a prospect, and the No. 69 draft pick in the 2024 draft
Acquired RHP Carlos Vargas and C Seby Zavala from Arizona for 3B Eugenio Suárez
Acquired 3B Luis Urias from Boston for RHP Isaiah Campbell
Acquired RHP Jackson Kowar and a prospect from Atlanta for LF Jarred Kelenic, LHP Marco Gonzales, and 1B Evan White

Still Free Agents:

INF Tommy La Stella

Projected Lineup:
C: Cal Raleigh
1B: Ty France
2B: Jorge Polanco
3B: Josh Rojas
SS: JP Crawford
LF: Dominic Canzone
CF: Julio Rodriguez
RF: Mitch Haniger
DH: Mitch Garver

Projected Rotation:
RHP Luis Castillo
RHP George Kirby
RHP Logan Gilbert
RHP Bryce Miller
RHP Emerson Hancock

Offseason Grade: B+

The Mariners had an outstanding offseason. I like all the moves they made, getting rid of the bad contracts they had on payroll, getting rid of many of the strike-out hitters, and adding a good piece in Jorge Polanco. Their home run number may drop, but it shouldn't be too much of a hindrance. My only negative is that I wish they had done more for the pitching rotation. Castillo, Kirby, and Gilbert are a good 1-2-3 combo, but it gets a little questionable after that. I understand Miller and Hancock are still young, but I would've preferred a veteran to be in one of their places. The Mariners should be a really good team, but they will just miss the playoffs. I have the Blue Jays getting in over them because I believe they have the better team all around. It will come down to the last couple of games of the season, but I believe Toronto will take the final Wild Carp spot—sorry, Mariners fans.

4th Place: Los Angeles Angels

Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:

Lost RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani to Los Angeles (NL): 10 years $700M
Signed RHP Robert Stephenson: 3 years $33M
Signed LHP Matt Moore: 1 year $9M
Signed RHP Luis Garcia: 1 year $4.25M
Lost OF Ranfal Grichuk: 1 year $2M
Lost 3B Mike Moustakas to Chicago (AL): 1 year $2M
Signed RHP Jose Cisnero: 1 year $1.75M
Signed RHP Adam Cimber: 1 year $1.65M
Lost 3B Gio Urshela: 1 year $1.5M
Signed RHP Zach Plesac: 1 year $1M
Signed LHP Adam Kolarek: 1 year $900K
Signed CF Aaron Hicks: 1 year $740K

Still Free Agents:

LHP Aaron Loup

Projected Lineup:
C: Logan O'Hoppe
1B: Nolan Schanuel
2B: Brandon Drury
3B: Anthony Rendon
SS: Zach Neto
LF: Taylor Ward
CF: Mike Trout
RF: Mickey Moniak
DH: Aaron Hicks

Projected Rotation:
LHP Patrick Sandoval
RHP Griffin Canning
LHP Reid Detmers
RHP Chase Silseth
LHP Tyler Anderson

Offseason Grade: F

I give the Angels an F because they had a generational talent, and now he plays for the cross-town team. Such loser shit, and now Mike Trout, another generational talent, is by himself, most likely to never win a championship. The good thing for the Angles is that they signed six relief pitchers. That shows they are real serious! The Angels will once again be mediocre and be at the bottom of the AL West.

5th Place: Oakland Athletics

Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:

Signed LHP Alex Woods: 1 year $8.5M
Signed 3B JD Davis: 1 year $2.5M
Signed LHP Scott Alexander: 1 year $2.25M
Signed RHP Trevor Gott: 1 year $1.5M
Lost 2B Tony Kemp to Baltimore: 1 year $1M
Acquired RHP Ross Stripling from Giants for

Still Free Agents:

C Manny Pina
RHP Jeurys Familia
RHP Drew Rucinski

Projected Lineup:
C: Shea Langeliers
1B: Ryan Noda
2B: Zack Gelof
3B: JD Davis
SS: Nick Allen
LF: Seth Brown
CF: JJ Bleday
RF: Lawrence Butler
DH: Brent Rooker

Projected Rotation:
LHP Alex Wood
RHP Ross Stripling
LHP JP Sears
RHP Paul Blackburn
RHP Joe Boyle

Offseason Grade: D-

The A's suck. They have a payroll of 47 million dollars. The fact the MLB allows this shit is embarrassing.