Angels, Athletics, Mariners and Rangers: 2010 AL West Preview

Last year the Angels ran away with the division despite surprisingly strong season by both Seattle and Texas. This year sees both Seattle and Texas making strides toward a run for the division crown while the Angels have instead lost key pieces. This season could yield the most competitive AL West in years.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2009 Season: 97-65, 1^st in division, lost to New York Yankees in ALCS

The Angels find themselves this season without some of their key pieces from last season, not just that, but a few of them to rival teams! Chone Figgins is now with Seattle, Vladimir Guerrero is with Texas and John Lackey is with a playoff rival in Boston. The Angels have signed Hideki Matsui and Joel Pineiro to fill those losses as well as Fernando Rodney to bolster its bullpen, but this Angel team is likely not as strong as the one that played last season.

If so, the pitching probably won't be the reason for it. It is still quite strong even with the loss of John Lackey. Scott Kazmir, acquired from the Rays last season, could turn into the team's ace if he pitches like he did for Tampa Bay. Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana should have turned from developing prospects to established veterans now and they'll need to act like the former to establish this rotation that adds Joel Pineiro who had a strong 2009 with St. Louis. The Angels signed Tigers' former closer Fernando Rodney, despite already having Brian Fuentes who had 48 saves last year. Rodney had a strong season as Detroit's closer but was very inconsistent in previous middle relief stints. It's unknown if his performance last season was because of a contract year or his comfort in the closing role, or if he has turned the corner with his pitching.

World Series MVP Hideki Matsui headlines a new look Angels offense that is young at the bottom with Howie Kendrick and Brandon Wood expected to be in the lineup at season's start. With Figgins lost, Erick Aybar is hoped to be able to replicate Figgins' production at the leadoff spot, while the team's power now must come from Matsui, Torii Hunter and most importantly Kendry Morales, who had a breakout 2009 campaign with 34 home runs and a .304 average.

Oakland Athletics
2009 Season: 75-87, 4^th in division

Oakland has had a rough few seasons following their 2006 ALCS berth, some of it from injury and some more from the improved competition from the rest of the division. Billy Beane still hopes some of his moneyball magic is still around with the moves and deals he pulled off this offseason. Even so, with the Angels still around and Texas and Seattle improving, Oakland has a tough task ahead of them.

Perhaps the headline of the offseason for Oakland was the acquisition of Ben Sheets, who missed all of last season with an elbow injury. Sheets, who was Milwaukee's ace for many years until the injury, hopes to find his old form after not pitching for an extended period of time. Closer and AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey should have an interesting sophomore campaign one way or another as he leads an impressive Oakland bullpen, which will need to be stellar given the lack of depth in the starting end with only Sheets and Justin Duchscherer as proven commodities.

Oakland's lineup is not one dependent on power but rather one of speed. Leadoff hitter Rajai Davis, offseason add Coco Crisp as well as Mark Ellis are just a sample of some of Oakland's speed runners. This offense will need to rely on getting base hits, using their speed either in stretching singles to doubles or through stolen bases to get runners in scoring position, and then getting those runners in through whatever means necessary. Small ball is Oakland's game this year, and they have the tools that can make it work though there are some unknowns at the bottom of the order in Cliff Pennington and whomever starts at first base.

Seattle Mariners
2009 Season: 85-77, 3^rd in division

Seattle in recent years has been a team to defy its expectations. When many predict the Mariners do well, they tank and do poorly. When the Mariners are predicted to do poorly, they surprise and play well, as was the case last season. Due to that success, the Mariners have built around that success and have built a team many expect will compete for the division. Hopefully for the Mariners, those expectations won't be defied as well.

The pitching is led by Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, the latter acquired in a trade from Philadelphia. Lee has pitched wonderfully since his 2008 comeback, especially in the postseason with his tremendous pitching performance against the Yankees even though it just wasn't enough. Hernandez finally showed the promise Seattle had hoped with an impressive 2009 season that almost won him AL Cy Young honors. The bullpen is led again by closer David Aardsma who established himself as such last season and looks to do so again for a Seattle bullpen that is better than most.

The lineup can be potent at the top. Ichiro Suzuki should still get his 200+ hits this season, and with Chone Figgins behind him, Seattle should often have runners in position for Milton Bradley, Jose Lopez and Ken Griffey Jr to bring in. Bradley had a tumultuous year with the Cubs last season, and Seattle hopes he will be like he was with Texas in 2008 both on and off the field. The bottom of the lineup can also contribute to this offense, with Casey Kotchman and Jack Wilson being solid contributors in the past.

Texas Rangers
2009 Season: 87-75, 2^nd in division

Texas was in contention for both the division and the wild card for most of the season due largely in part to a pitching staff that was vastly improved compared to previous years. Over the offseason the Rangers have made a large number of moves in hopes that this new team can perform better than last year, though the distraction of manager Ron Washington's recent admission of cocaine use will be a unique factor in how well the Rangers play this season.

The pitching staff no longer has the services of Kevin Millwood who was a solid starter for them last season. In his place is Rich Harden, who lost his way somewhat last season with the Cubs and hasn't pitched a full season's worth of starts in five seasons. Colby Lewis, who was terrible his first few years in the majors then had two impressive years in the Japanese leagues, hopes to bring that success back with him to Texas as the Rangers have him pegged as the third starter behind Harden and Scott Feldman. Frank Francisco was alright in his first full year as Texas closer, having a high K/BB ratio but needs to work on allowing fewer actual hits. His aggressiveness is an asset for a closer though, and another year of closing should do both him and the Rangers well.

New to the lineup is Vladimir Guerrero, who has terrorized the Rangers in the past but now hopes to do the same to other teams. Ian Kinsler is one of the top second basemen in the league in terms of offensive production and those two following Michael Young and Josh Hamilton should give Texas an explosive offense. Chris Davis and Nelson Cruz had breakout years last season and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, while not as good offensively as most of the lineup, should be able to start full time at catcher now. Julio Borbon had 19 stolen bases in 46 games last season and should be a valuable leadoff hitter for Texas this upcoming season.