2011 American League West Preview

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MLB Divisional Previews – 2011 AL West

The champions of the American League came from the AL West last year, and the Texas Rangers are looking to make it back to the World Series again this year.  They won the division pretty easily last year, but don’t expect the same in 2011.  Just about everyone in the American League West made some solid moves to get them into contention.  Before we get into our 2011 previews for the AL West, let’s see how things finished out last year.

2010 AL West Final Standings
Team Win Loss
Rangers 91 71
A’s 81 81
Angels 80 82
Mariners 61 101

 

2011 Texas Rangers Preview

2011 Tex Rangers Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 C. Wilson
SP2 C. Lewis
SP3 B. Webb
SP4 T. Hunter
SP5 D. Holland
Catcher M. Napoli
First Base M. Moreland
Second Base I. Kinsler
Third Base A. Beltre
Shortstop E. Andrus
Left Field J. Hamilton
Center Field J. Borbon
Right Field N. Cruz
Designated Hitter M. Young

The Rangers won a relatively weak AL West last year, but surprised everyone by making it to the World Series.  The Rangers have had a bit of offseason drama with Michael Young after asking him to switch positions for like the 10th time in his career.  They wanted to make room for Elvis Andrus who is on our list of best young shortstops, but the signing of Beltre at third base meant that Young was asked to move to first.  For now Young will end up as the projected Opening Day DH, but who knows what will happen.  The pitching rotation will feature C. J. Wilson and a fresh-off-surgery Brandon Webb who could prove to be a big acquisition for the Rangers. The outfield is anchored by Josh Hamilton in left.  Julio Borbon is in his third year and should be ready to blossom. Nelson Cruz in right field gives the Rangers lineup some added power.  The infield is solid both offensively and defensively.  This Rangers team in 2011 won’t be any worse than they were last year, but I definitely think that the rest of the AL West division has started to catch up.  Head out to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to see Texas defend their AL Pennant in person.

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2011 Oakland A’s Preview

2011 Oak Athletics Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 D. Braden
SP2 B. Anderson
SP3 G. Gonzalez
SP4 T. Cahill
SP5 B. McCarthy
Catcher K. Suzuki
First Base D. Barton
Second Base M. Ellis
Third Base K. Kouzmanoff
Shortstop C. Pennington
Left Field J. Willingham
Center Field C. Crisp
Right Field D. DeJesus
Designated Hitter H. Matsui

The Oakland Athletics finished right at .500 last year but got some good pieces in the offseason to help push them to a winning record.  The A’s picked up Hideki Matsui in the offseason from the Angels and should be asked to DH since the outfield is already set.  David DeJesus takes over in right field and will bring some consistency to the lineup, although he won’t hit for power.  Kurt Suzuki continues behind the plate and has really come into his own the past couple of seasons – the A’s know he has a bright future. The infield is pretty vanilla, with no big names at any of the positions, but they should provide solid defense for the pitching staff who will need it.  Dallas Braden was one of a few pitchers to throw a perfect game last year, but that was about the high point of his season as he finished with a losing record.  He will be followed in the rotation by Gio Gonzales who will look to build upon a solid season and who I personally think should be the opening day starter.  The A’s made a couple of moves to help them contend for the 2011 AL West title, but the pitching is still an issue in my mind, along with too many gaps in the lineup offensively.  Either way, watching the Oakland A’s should be a blast this year, so get your tickets early.

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2011 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Preview

2011 LA Angels Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 J. Weaver
SP2 D. Haren
SP3 E. Santana
SP4 J. Pineiro
SP5 S. Kazmir
Catcher J. Mathis
First Base K. Morales
Second Base H. Kendrick
Third Base M. Izturis
Shortstop E. Aybar
Left Field V. Wells
Center Field P. Bourjos
Right Field T. Hunter
Designated Hitter B. Abreu

The Angels have been used to winning the American League West the past few years, so imagine their surprise when they finished with a losing record and third in the division.  They decided to take things seriously and picked up Vernon Wells in the offseason who should add quite a bit of power to the lineup and veteran leadership to the clubhouse.  Torii Hunter (Yes, Two “I’s”) moves over to right in order to make room for Peter Bourjos to handle the full time center field duties.  Bourjos only played in 22 games last year for the Angels, so it will be interesting to see how this move plays off.  Bobby Abreu will share time in the outfield, but will primarily handle the Designated Hitter duties.  The 2011 Angels feature one of the most interesting starting rotations in baseball in my opinion.  Four out of the five starters in the rotation have all posted 13 or more wins at some point in their career, meaning they have the potential to be big game pitchers – whether they all decide to show up this year or not is what makes this rotation so interesting.  If the pitching performs 75% as well as they are capable of, this team should be in contention for the 2011 American League West title.  If not, then expect them back in third – or lower.  The infield is a solid group of players who won’t blow you away at the plate, but won’t kill you on defense either.  In other words, this team is built around the power they picked up in the outfield and the pitching they hope can perform.  Angel Stadium in Anaheim is one of my favorite ballparks in the country.  If you are in town at the same time as the Angels, I would recommend seeing a game.

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2011 Seattle Mariners Preview

2011 Seattle Mariners Projected Starters
Position Name
SP1 F. Hernandez
SP2 J. Vargas
SP3 D. Fister
SP4 E. Bedard
SP5 M. Pineda
Catcher M. Olivo
First Base J. Smoak
Second Base B. Ryan
Third Base C. Figgins
Shortstop J. Wilson
Left Field M. Saunders
Center Field F. Gutierrez
Right Field I. Suzuki
Designated Hitter J. Cust

The Mariners finished last in the AL West despite having the 9th highest MLB payroll in all of baseball last year.  They picked up some players from within the division to help them compete this year and it will be interesting to see if they made enough moves to get them out of the American League West cellar in 2011.  Starting with the pitching rotation, Felix Hernandez is of course at the top of the list.  He is one of the best young starting pitchers in the game of baseball today.  He is backed up by Jason Vargas (who grew up around the corner from me) and has really improved as a pitcher since coming to Seattle 2 years ago.  Jack Cust is the DH who they picked up from Oakland in the offseason. Despite having a down year last year, Cust can still mash the ball and is expected to have a bounce-back year in 2011.  A couple of second year Mariners make up the left side of the infield with Chone Figgins and Jack Wilson.  They are solid defensively and bring a veteran work ethic to the plate.  Seattle’s outfield features one of the game’s best players in Ichiro Suzuki.  He is brilliant at the plate, on the bases, and in the field.  I’m not a Mariners fan, but I love watching Ichiro play.  In my opinion, this team didn’t do enough to make a serious run at the American League West division in 2011, but they should improve their record from last year.  Safeco Field is an amazing place to watch ball, so grab your friends & family and head on down the park to catch some Mariner’s baseball this season.

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The Rest of Our 2011 MLB Previews