With the 2020 MLB season rapidly approaching, it’s time for the annual End of the Bench predictions. For added fun this year, we are going to include record projections as well! Today, we focus on the AL West.
Astros 100-62, AL West Champions
A’s 98-64, 1st Wild Card
Rangers 82-80
Angels 79-83
Mariners 70-92
The AL West is going to be a close race this season in terms of the top two teams. Ultimately though, I see the Astros coming out on top to secure a fourth consecutive AL West title. Putting aside the sign stealing scandal, which arguably will go down as the biggest scandal in sports history, the Astros still have one of the top offensive clubs in the game. The combination of Springer, Brantley, Altuve and Bregman is considered one of the best top of the orders in the league, if not the best. Following that with Correa, Gurriel and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez, the Astros will still be a very good team offensively with seemingly no losses on that front. Pitching wise, the Astros did lose Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley (who some may not realize made 33 starts for Houston last year) but still retain reigning Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and former winner Zack Greinke, although they are entering their age 37 and 36 season respectively. With the hopes that Lance McCullers, Jr. will return to the rotation after missing all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, that only leaves the final two spots in the rotation open for grabs. Many expect a guy like Brad Peacock will crack the rotation, who has 83 career starts to his resume. Houston may look towards two of their top pitching prospects in Jose Urquidy and Forest Whitley to step in this year and make an immediate impact. Although I do see them winning the division again, I don’t see them duplicating another 100 win season.
Yes, I see the Astros ultimately winning another division title, but the A’s are going to be a team to watch as they hope to knock off the Astros. Two back-to-back 97 win seasons in 2018 and 2019, I believe the A’s will only be better in 2020, especially due to the emergence of Marcus Semien at the plate. After an unbelievable, MVP caliber 8.1 WAR season last year, Semien hopes to continue that success and I don’t see how he can’t. Along with Semien, Oakland has two of the best at the corners in Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, as well as Ramon Laureano, Mark Cahna and Stephen Piscotty in the outfield left to right. Let’s also not forget slugger Khris Davis, who unfortunately did not match his .247 average he hit in each of the previous four seasons. On the mound, the A’s will look to Mike Fiers and Sean Manaea to be the anchors of the starting staff, as well as Frankie Montas who had an impressive first half before being hit with an 80 game PED suspension. Oakland will also look to have two of their young arms in Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk rounding out the rotation. Out of the pen, Liam Hendricks and Yusmeiro Petit will look to be one of the better 8th-9th inning combos in the league. Billy Beane for years has been able to put good, winning teams on the field but has yet to bring home a world championship. Let’s see how 2020 treats them.
The Rangers finished 2019 with a 78-84 record, good for 3rd in the AL West. I see another 3rd place finish in their future with a slightly better win-loss record. The offense will be led by slugger Joey Gallo, who although only appeared in 70 games last year, hit 22 home runs and increased his average significantly after batting .209 and .206 the previous two seasons. Texas hopes he can continue that over a full season. After Gallo, the Rangers also have Shin-Soo Choo, Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus as well as the addition of veteran Todd Frazier. What I like about the Rangers this year is their upgraded pitching staff. Mike Minor had an All Star year in 2019 and Lance Lynn put up better numbers than expected. Now, they have Corey Kluber at the helm, who is anticipated to have a bounce back 2020 after appearing in just 7 games for Cleveland last year. Texas also added Kyle Gibson, who had a very serviceable career in Minnesota. Like I said, a 3rd place finish seems to be in the cards for Texas but they look to have some good ball games in the new Globe Life Field this summer.
The Angels have the best player on the planet in Mike Trout but it still kills me to have to predict what appears to be another disappointing season in Anaheim. It’s a shame too because offensively they have what it takes to complete. After Trout, the Angels still have Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, Tommy La Stella and newly signed superstar and MVP caliber player Anthony Rendon. They also expect the young star prospect Jo Adell to grace the outfield at Angel Stadium. What kills them, however, is the lack of pitching. Owner Artie Moreno and GM Billy Eppler pushed hard to get Geritt Cole, who should have been their primary goal this offseason. It was a perfect fit, but Cole ended up signing with the Yankees. Sure, they used that money to get Rendon which is big, but pitching was the priority and they didn’t really address it. The rotation will include guys like Andrew Heaney, Julio Teheran (acquired via free agency), Dylan Bundy (acquired via trade with BAL) and Griffin Canning. There’s no current timetable for when Ohtani will return to the mound.
Then there are the Mariners, who are looking at a second consecutive 5th place finish in the AL West. Not much to say about Seattle heading into 2020. They have a few good young players in guys like Dan Vogelbach, Mallex Smith, Shed Long Jr. and J.P. Crawford as well as veterans Dee Gordan and Kyle Seager. Seattle’s best overall player is easily RF Mitch Haniger, who looks like he will miss the start of the season due to surgery with no timetable on his return. If there is one thing I do like about the Mariners, it’s the top of their rotation. For years, it was King Felix reigning over the starting staff but has not been a factor over the last several years. Now that he’s gone, Marco Gonzales steps in to fill his shoes as the appointed ace of the staff. Following him is Yusei Kikuchi, who hopes that his 5.46 ERA and 1.515 WHIP in 2019 was just first year jitters. I expect to see the 29 year old Japanese import to have a strong second season in the U.S. The arm I’m looking forward to seeing is Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn. Both young arms got a taste of the big leagues last year. With what looks like it will be a rebuilding year for Seattle anyways, I expect these two see plenty of starts in 2020. Of course, it will be strictly for their development as no way will the Mariners be competing for a division crown.
