Spring is here and so is baseball. The season opened mid-March with the LA Dodgers sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series. Now, the rest of the league has started. The Dodgers spent the most money a year ago and they walked away with a World Series crown. Much of the same happened this past offseason, but baseball is a funny sport. Having the best team in baseball doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to win the title. That’s more important than ever to remember as we enter a new year with exciting new rosters and a bounty of young talent rising to the top. Here is our 2025 AL West preview.
What Happened in 2024:
This was a tight race, an ugly battle, and ultimately a war that was once again won by the Astros. Houston started the year ice cold before finding their footing and reaching nearly 90 wins. The odd part of it all was watching them trip over themselves in the playoffs and fall to Detroit. Seattle was a close second, fighting behind them and trying to earn a spot but 85 wins wasn’t even good enough to clinch a wild card spot. The Rangers had a disappointing year after their World Series run. The A’s took a massive step forward by staying competitive down the step and then an even bigger step when they hit the road for Sacramento. The Angels were well…the Angels. Nothing really more to say there.
Best Players to Watch:
Astros – Yordan Alvarez – He is one of the last remaining blue-chip Astros players on this roster as they’ve lost nearly their entire core.
Rangers – Wyatt Langford – He drove in over 70 RBIs in his rookie season and lived up to the hype, he will be a middle of the order bat in Texas for a while.
Mariners – Logan Gilbert – He is the ace of a very impressive Mariners rotation, he strikes out a high rate of guys at 9.2/k per nine.
Athletics – Lawrence Butler – He got the huge extension for the A’s this offseason which was shocking but warranted with his 22 home runs in limited action.
Angels – Mike Trout – The Angles are forever doomed, but there is no real way to pencil in another name here. It’s shocking Trout is still with the team to begin with as they tank year after year.
Biggest Addition and Subtraction:
Not a lot of big adds in the division but the Astros made a nice move when signing Christian Walker. The former Dbacks first baseman was a pillar of the infield in Arizona for years, with a reliable glove and a bat that will hit upwards of 20 home runs.
The biggest subtraction here was the Astros core getting ripped apart. They refused to pay Alex Bregman market value as he bolted for Boston, but the bigger loss is Kyle Tucker who might be in the top three of all outfielders. They traded him to Chicago.
Division Winner:
Mariners, 88-73 – The Mariners will FINALLY win the division and take the crown. This is a make it or break it year in Seattle but their young pitching guides them to a win.