AL West Roundup- Where Do The Los Angeles Angels Fit?
By Jeff Henning
The AL West Could Be As Deep As It’s Ever Been In 2016
The Los Angeles Angels entered 2015 with plenty of aspirations for something greater. In 2014, they held the leagues best record and were merely on the rise with reigning AL MVP Mike Trout. The team was unable to recapture the magic of the prior season and 2015 would become a heartbreaker in a lot of ways. Somehow, even through the front office meltdown and the Josh Hamilton trade, the Angels barely missed out on the playoffs. The AL West has gotten a lot deeper and may be one of the toughest divisions in baseball going forward.
The reigning AL West champion Texas Rangers head into 2016 eyeing a potential run at the World Series. After acquiring ace pitcher Cole Hamels from the Phillies, the Rangers boast the AL’s best one-two punch with a healthy Yu Darvish. Prince Fielder posted his best season as a Ranger last year and 1B Mitch Moreland emerged as an offensive weapon for the Texas club. The Rangers finished 2015 with an 88-74 record scoring 751 runs total, by far the best of any team in the AL West. If Fielder can remain consistent, alongside future H-O-F Adrian Beltre, the Rangers have a strong case to repeat as division champs.
AL West runners-up and last year’s southern sweetheart the Houston Astros have to be considered the scariest team in the West as we enter 2016. ROY Carlos Correa is a superstar in the making alongside other All-Star caliber players in Jose Altuve and George Springer. Reigning AL Cy Young and world’s greatest beard award winner Dallas Keuchel also resides in Houston. The Astros spent some time in 1st place last season but if that happens this year it won’t be nearly as surprising as it was last year.
The 3rd place Los Angeles Angels will look to rebound from a tough 2015. Offseason trade acquisition Andrelton Simmons will immediately raise the profile of the Halo’s defense. Young hurlers Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney will lead a deep Angels pitching rotation into 2016. All-Star Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker, Jered Weaver, and C.J. Wilson all look to produce quality innings for this incredibly deep staff. Prospect Tyler Skaggs looks like he’ll be able to return to live pitching sometime in June or July.
The biggest question marks for this Angels team remain at the plate, however. The Angels were the worst ranked team in terms of offensive production from left field last season, and there has been little to improve the position going forward. Albert Pujols is on schedule to return to on-field baseball activities in late March but it will remain to be seen how much of an impact Pujols will have in 2016. Although the team got increased production from Kole Calhoun and late season production from C.J. Cron, there’s no true second threat to pair with Mike Trout.
The 4th place Seattle Mariners took a step back in 2015. Even after signing free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz, the Mariners were unable to take that crucial next step. This offseason, the Mariners hired ex-Angels GM Jerry DiPoto to be their new GM. Perhaps a front office with a background in analytics can really get this team off the ground and into the playoffs for the 1st time since 2001, the ‘new’ longest MLB playoff draught. The Mariners should be closer to their 2014 form than their 2015 version but that still might not be enough to end the now 15 year playoff draught.
Finishing dead last in the AL West in 2015 was the Oakland Athletics, a team that absolutely no one thought would be in the cellar of the division. Unfortunately, when you trade away an eventual MVP and get very little back in return for said player, your team is unlikely to succeed. Although this team truly wasn’t as bad as their record stated for the most of the season, they were still pretty awful. Only the Mariners had a worse run differential in the AL West than the Athletics, just one of the many effects when one trades away Josh Donaldson. Having said all of that, if there’s one person who can take a team from worst to first in one season, its Billy Beane. Also important not to forget their Cy Young caliber pitcher in Sonny Gray.