Will the Angels production finally catch up to their spending and take a division that they have been under performing in since their Super Slugger Spending Spree began with the signing of Albert Pujols for the 2012 season? Or will Oakland continue to over play (yes that is correct) their budget and steal the title out from under the two deep pockets of the AL West?
Los Angeles Angels – Each off-season the Angels front office has chased the biggest bat they could buy in 2012 they added Albert Pujols (who has produced far from his STL numbers) and the following season they added Josh Hamilton (who also fell short of his Texas numbers), this season they could not find the best bat (he went to rival Seattle) so they grabbed two bats in David Freese and Raul Ibanez. Freese’s bat is not all that dangerous lately, but when you consider how far down the lineup he will hit a lifetime .286 hitter in the 7 or 8 spot is pretty competitive, his real strength will be the defense he provides alongside Eric Aybar.
Don’t find concern that the first mention of Mike Trout is this far down, his play is so consistent and far beyond his years there is not reason to say much about him other than, superb. Arguably the best all around player in baseball and he is still only 22 years old, wait until he hits his prime.
How confident should it make your team feel to have a 17 game winner as their second starter? A typical first defense is that C.J. Wilson has never pitched to 17 wins before and probably won’t do it again. Well his previous three seasons were 16, 15 and 13, while 17 may be the highest it is certainly not far from the norm in his earlier years as a starter. He is 33 and may have pitched his best season, even in decline to get two more 15 win seasons is good production.
Jered Weaver is going to be expected to rebound from an off-year and some injury and return to his ace form. Even if he can’t win 18 or 20 games again, two pitchers at the top of the rotation winning plus 15 games is a sure way to win the AL West.
Mike Trout is young, but Hamilton and Pujols are not getting any younger and their numbers may be indicating a decline. The biggest problem for the Angels is winning now. If the Halos don’t win this year and the Big Two become heavy contracts with declining production it will be impossible for the team to move them for pieces that they can use to entice Trout to stay once his contract is eligible for free agency. Already a superstar at 22 he will want to win and when he hits free agency at 26, four seasons including 2014, will the Angels have tools that will encourage the center fielder to sign with his ball club.
Oakland A’s – How the A’s keep finding a way to win is beyond comprehension. Once the secrets of Moneyball we spilled first in a bestselling book and then in a movie you would think more teams would take the sabermetrics approach that Billy Beane perfected into a winning ball club on a cellar dwellers budget. While many teams have used those tactics to better analyse a top talent and what he can offer in win value the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodger, Angels and company still chose to sign top outfield options and not Josh Reddick. Though it was surprising to see Oakland deal Jamile Weeks for Jim Johnson, it was even more surprising that the Orioles made the move, maybe they were just as stunned and traded in a moment of confusion. Or Baltimore sees a value in Weeks that is worth giving up a 50 save guy, in any case closers are highly over rated and I don’t think Johnson will actually add wins, as his job is to come in when they are winning and not lose.
As usual the A’s rotation is strong and the offense is a mish mash of guys who will patchwork together just enough runs for the team to win enough games/ to be in the hunt. This year the Angels may have the right blend of talent to win the West and Oakland will be to far back in the Wild Card to make their annual one and done playoff series.
Yoenis Cespedes became a household name after the hitting clinic he put on during the Home Run Derby in 2013, his bat in another in a long line of Cuban reliability. If Cespedes played on a team with players that could consistently get on base in front of him and a strong hitter to protect him in the line up than he would be as popular outside of Oakland as he is in the shadow of the old Colosseum.
Texas Rangers – Trading Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder will prove to be a giant mistake for the Rangers in the coming seasons with Fielder likely to be unable to keep playing the field due to weight issues, Adrian Beltre aging and needing that experience in the infield. It’s understandable that star in the making Jurickson Profar is dying to move into his natural position, but current star Kinsler offered security and a compromise should have been reached to move someone around to the corner.
Hitting and offense will not be the Rangers problem, it will be stopping the other team from out scoring the heavy offense that recent additions Alex Rios and Shin Soo Choo will lend to make Texas one of the top 10 scoring teams in baseball.
Beyond Yu Darvish the Rangers don’t have a pitcher that could do better than 5 starter on most squads. Following Darvish the 4 other starters amassed a paltry 21 wins among themselves in 2013. Winning will not come easily for this team if the offense even struggles in the smallest of ways.
Houston Astros – The Astros may struggle to approach .500% this year but they are moving in the right direction and their farm is so packed with talent that is just beginning to blossom that in a few years this may be the new bottomless pit of talent that Tampa Bay has become in the East.
The offense will need a few years to really mature and get use to winning, but Jose Altuve and Jason Castro’s talent will be great veteran leadership for guys only a few years younger.
The addition of Nolan Ryan as an adviser to the club can only benefit the young guns in the Astros staff who may pitch harder just knowing one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history is watching and maybe willing to give them a few tips in their hungry learning years.
Jarred Cosart is pitching near the bottom of the rotation but by this time next year this will be his spot after what will be a huge season for the 23-year old right hander. Look for a season similar to any ace in the AL West from Cosart with at minimum 15 wins and 170 strikeouts with a sub-3.00 ERA and a very strong K/BB ratio.
Seattle Mariners – Many people thought when Jay-z announce he would not only become an agent, but also signed Robinson Cano as his first client that New York would see a hometown deal and Cano would stay in NYC and Jay-Z would be undersold trying to please his city and the team he publicly has supported over the years.
Jay-Z may have used this player and situation to send a message about how serious he intends to be and that he will walk a client right out of his own city and forget what logo he wears on his hat. I question that regardless of what the Yankees offered Cano if Jay-Z would have found a matching deal else where to send a message to players and teams that he will play hardball with the biggest clubs.
Jay-Z’s quest for respect came at a huge cost for Cano, he went from a major market, the likelihood to captain the Bombers, a yearly contender to win, fans who worshiped him and media that respected him for a team that has a beautiful skyline and a sure-thing to never make the World Series before his playing days conclude. Expect Cano to be trying to find baseball media that will listen (because all the media is falling the football club) and beg for a way out by 2015.
Note: He is already complaining he needs another bat [HERE]. This isn’t New York, Robinson, the Mariners can’t just go out and buy what you want… even if you do need it.
Adding one of 2014’s biggest free agents won’t fix Seattle’s problems. Instead of losing 2-6 in a game they now will contend and lose 4-6. But as much offense as they added you also have to remember they lost Raul Ibenez. At 41 you have to agree age was a factor and he really didn’t have much left in the tank, but you still have to consider that is 29 HR and 65 RBIs that they lost, so the addition of Cano to the offense is not really as significant as a number without replacing Ibanez’s production. Seattle is a great city and has amazing fans, but the ownership is just not bringing in the players it needs to compete with the core of the American League that they deserve.
Seattle has three of the best young pitchers in the league with Felix Hernandez the king of the hill at only 27 years old. Complimenting Hernandez the Mariners rotation features Hisashi Iwakuma, who may actually prove to be a better pitcher after his breakout last year in 2013, but until Iwakuma constantly out performs The King the ace of the club will belong to the big Venezuelan. A little healthy competition between teammates could turn into a three-way race if Taijuan Walker is every bit as good as the scouts believe and as effective as Walker pitched in September during his late call up.
While Seattle may feature three absolutely striking ace contenders, the problem lies in the rest of the staff. The two games and relief innings that these players can’t pitch is not dominating enough to keep the game within reach of a pitiful offense and a distancing race in the standing.
Destination: OCTOBER 