Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2012 20:36:45 GMT -5
Los Angeles Angels: Great hitting. Great pitching. The Angels are a standout AL team with hitters Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Kemp, Matt Holiday, Adrian Beltre, and Chase Utley. Tommy Hanson, Chris Carpenter, and ace Felix Hernandez are the front 3 of the excellent staff. Jordan Walden is the head of a good bullpen. Not great, but good. Without much cap room to work with at all, the roster looks to be almost final pre-FA. The minor leagues have some IFA talent, but I think the Angels time is now, not in 5 or 10 years.
Oakland Athletics: Unlike their divisional rival the Angels, the A’s do not look like they are close to contending this season. “Ace” Anibal Sanchez is a low-end number 2 or a 3 on most teams, and although they do have some good young pitchers they aren’t future aces. Andrew Bailey leads an average bullpen that is good enough to produce solid numbers, but not much else. Jayson Werth is at the top of a mediocre lineup with Furcal, Soriano, Jemile Weeks, and Gaby Sanchez. Even with $40 mil of cap space, don’t look at the A’s as a contender as of now. They definitely have some potential impact players in the minors, so look for some good things out of the farm.
Seattle Mariners: The problem with Seattle is that along with a below average team in all aspects, they manage to spend over $80 mil on it. The team’s best players are the likes of Javier Vasquez, AJ Burnett, Alex Rios, and Carlos Lee. There are no sure things in the farm. However, look for some impact players to come out of there in the future. They would have been able to make a bang in the draft, but don’t own their own pick. This is a team that may take years to fix.
Texas Rangers: The Rangers are loaded with young talent. Carlos Santana, Pedroia, and Ellsbury anchor the lineup. Josh Johnson, Greinke, Jaime Garcia and CJ Wilson are the stars in the stacked rotation. Putz, Ogando, and McGee are in the strong pen. They have enough money to potentially make a nice signing in FA as well. The farm is not very good but you never know. I wouldn’t be absolutely shocked to see a few good players from there.
AL WEST 2012 SEASON OVERVIEW: In the 4-team division, the Angels and Rangers have it nice. With a sub par A’s and a bad team in Seattle, if they can just beat out the other, they will find themselves in the playoffs this year. Look for the Rangers to win the division with the Angels in a very close 2nd. That is something that can definitely change. The 2 powerhouses are neck and neck. After that, look for the A’s to come in 3rd and the Mariner to finish last.
Oakland Athletics: Unlike their divisional rival the Angels, the A’s do not look like they are close to contending this season. “Ace” Anibal Sanchez is a low-end number 2 or a 3 on most teams, and although they do have some good young pitchers they aren’t future aces. Andrew Bailey leads an average bullpen that is good enough to produce solid numbers, but not much else. Jayson Werth is at the top of a mediocre lineup with Furcal, Soriano, Jemile Weeks, and Gaby Sanchez. Even with $40 mil of cap space, don’t look at the A’s as a contender as of now. They definitely have some potential impact players in the minors, so look for some good things out of the farm.
Seattle Mariners: The problem with Seattle is that along with a below average team in all aspects, they manage to spend over $80 mil on it. The team’s best players are the likes of Javier Vasquez, AJ Burnett, Alex Rios, and Carlos Lee. There are no sure things in the farm. However, look for some impact players to come out of there in the future. They would have been able to make a bang in the draft, but don’t own their own pick. This is a team that may take years to fix.
Texas Rangers: The Rangers are loaded with young talent. Carlos Santana, Pedroia, and Ellsbury anchor the lineup. Josh Johnson, Greinke, Jaime Garcia and CJ Wilson are the stars in the stacked rotation. Putz, Ogando, and McGee are in the strong pen. They have enough money to potentially make a nice signing in FA as well. The farm is not very good but you never know. I wouldn’t be absolutely shocked to see a few good players from there.
AL WEST 2012 SEASON OVERVIEW: In the 4-team division, the Angels and Rangers have it nice. With a sub par A’s and a bad team in Seattle, if they can just beat out the other, they will find themselves in the playoffs this year. Look for the Rangers to win the division with the Angels in a very close 2nd. That is something that can definitely change. The 2 powerhouses are neck and neck. After that, look for the A’s to come in 3rd and the Mariner to finish last.