Post by brewersgm on Jan 4, 2021 18:12:51 GMT -5
The AL west features some of the best starting pitching in the PBA. Per OSA, 5 of the top 20 pitchers in the league call the AL West their home. Unfortunately for most of the teams in the division this talent is only on two teams, the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. These teams remain the class of the division. The Astros and A's have faced GM chaos but each team has some pieces to build around as they work towards rebuilding. The Angels remain a bottom of the barrel team in the PBA, but for the first time in a long while actually made some moves this off-season. It should be a fun division to watch but it would be a major surprise if the Mariners or Rangers don't win the West.
1) Seattle Mariners
2024: 100-62, 1st place AL West. Lost Divisional Series 4-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Who They Were: Featuring an elite pitching staff and one of the most talented infields in the PBA the Mariners won 100 games and captured their second straight AL West title. Seattle had 4 starters that put up at least 4 WAR in Wo-Seok Ko, Tomoyuki Sugano, Jeifry Nunez, and Jhoan Duran. The team was 3 strikeouts away from having a trio of 200 K seasons from this group. The bullpen was terrific as well, closer Michael Lorenzen earned his 2nd straight AL Reliever of the Year award. First baseman Francisco DeJesus continued to be one of the best in the game with a 58 homer campaign and his fellow infielders Aramis Ademan and Lucius Fox provided strong defense up the middle to aid the pitching staff. Injuries and poor performance down the stretch, especially the key loss of Wo-Seok Ko, led to a quick Seattle exit in the ALDS to the eventual champion Blue Jays.
Offseason Review: Seattle's outfield was its one glaring weakness going into the offseason. CFer Jonathan Capellan was unable to recapture his 4 WAR rookie form, and RFer Seuly Matias fell off a cliff, leading to the team only getting 2.8 WAR total from their OF starters. The M's addressed this weakness with an aggressive trade for former Phillies LFer Brian C. Miller. Jhoan Duran was shipped to the Phillies in exchange, as Seattle dealt from their surplus to address a need. Seattle also signed Charlie Blackmon to an under the radar deal to address the OF as well. Unfortunately Blackmon tore his PCL and will be out at for at least the first 2 months of the season. The outfield is still not the team's strength but the addition of Miller should help the team to put up more respectable numbers.
Seattle also manged to shed a lot of bad money this offseason. The Chris Sale trade didn't work out for the team but they managed to get his remaining contract off their books by shipping him to the Marlins for a late first round pick, a 3rd round pick and a 4th round pick. A price more than worth it to dump potentially 50 million dollars of zero production. The Mariners also caught a break with the retirement of quad A SS Hayato Sakamoto. Sakamoto was signed to one of the worst contracts in the PBA and was only on the Mariners as part of a major deal with the Royals.
On the Farm: Seattle hasn't made a selection in the first round of the draft since 2021 and their farm ranking reflects this. It's one of the worst in the league, currently ranked 29th overall by OSA. Seattle has traded away a lot of draft capital to build their strong team and this year was no exception. It's not a totally barren system however. CF Pal Khan was brought over in the Duran-Miller trade as a nice developmental piece. SP Tomito Kawamoto, SS T.J. Hardman, and SS Isaac Paredes have very little service time and each looks to be a major league contributor this season. If Seattle wants to make deals as the season progresses they will likely be using these players as trade bait.
Best Case Scenario: A repeat of last year with a better end in October. Seattle still has the talent to win 100 games, capture the division, and then capture a World Series.
Worst Case Scenario: Miller is unable to repeat his prior season in Philadelphia and the loss of Duran weakens the rotation just enough that they end up in 2nd place to the Rangers. It's hard to see this team missing the playoffs in the AL, but it should be a very close division race between them and the Rangers.
Key Questions:
With Blackmon's injury news how do you plan to address the outfield in the short term?
Who do you see stepping up to fill Duran's shoes? You have a few guys who look like they can help, but which of them do you see as giving you the best chance to replace Duran's production?
2) Texas Rangers
2024: 96-66, 2nd place AL West, Defeated the Detroit Tigers in the AL WC Game, Lost Divisional Series 4-1 to the Kansas City Royals.
Who They Were: The Rangers bounced back from a down year in 2023 to make the playoffs in 2024. Marcus Stroman had an 8 WAR year and won the Cy Young award. He's been on the best pitchers in the PBA for a long time but 2024 was surprisingly his first time winning the Cy Young. Noah Syndergaard stayed relatively healthy and was a big addition to the pitching staff pitching to a 1.94 ERA. This duo is/was the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Ozzie Albies and Francisco Mejia continued to be the stars on the offensive end although Mejia had his worst season as pro. The team won a tight wild card game over the Tigers, but an injury to Stroman doomed their chances against the Royals who made short work of them in the ALDS.
Offseason Review: Texas lost quite a bit to free agency. Sonny Gray was a great third starter for the team, but he will now be pitching in Minnesota. OFer Ender Inciarte was one of the best bargain bin signings of last off-season and he too will not be returning. Infielders Rougned Odor and Anthony Rendon also left the team. To replace the Inciarte Texas traded draft picks to Baltimore to acquire Trent Clark. Nick Senzel was signed to man 3rd base and Christian Bethancourt was signed to be the new backup catcher. Texas is confident in SP Esteban Valadez to step up and fill the loss of Gray. Valadez is still working on his changeup, but as that pitch comes along he could evolve into one the best young starting pitchers in the league.
On the Farm: Texas does not have much of a system. They are only the 23rd best farm in the league per OSA. SP Aaron Wallace is the lone OSA top 100 prospect and he looks at least a year away from contributing to the major league team. There are some other interesting pitching prospects as well but most are years away. CF Jason Crabbe could provide the team some depth in the OF, he's in AAA and might make it to big league team at some point this year. Still it's hard to see Texas making major changes to improve this season without having to include major league players or future draft picks.
Best Case Scenario: Syndergaard stays healthy and Valadez breaks out. Along with Stroman this gives the Rangers one of the best rotations in the league and the team is able to win 90+ games on the road to a division title. The rotation also stays healthy in the playoffs and carries the team to the World Series.
Worst Case Scenario: Texas is one of the oldest teams in the league and Syndergaard's health has been a dice-roll historically. If he has issues, and Father Time catches up with a few of Texas's key vets, then this team could slip to 2nd in the division and miss the playoffs.
Key Questions:
The team has given Esteban Valadez a vote of confidence as the third starter this season. What do you hope to see from the young pitcher this year?
Nick Senzel and Trent Clark were the two main additions to your team this off-season, what is it about those players that made you target them specifically?
3) Houston Astros
2024: 74-88, 3rd place AL West
Who They Were: The Astros were a bad team but they have one of the more overlooked groups of young talent. Ichisake Ochiai is a name to watch. He could blossom into one of the better RFers in the league. He put up 2 WAR in less than full season last year and looks like he should crush right-handed pitching going forward. Ajani Dimanche is a great young 1B who possesses a rare combination of power and patience. Jorge "deGrominator" Cotto is a talented lefty that the team could look to build a rotation around. The issue for this team has been GM chaos. With no clear plan being put forward the team regressed from the 84 game season they put up in 2023.
Offseason Review: The Astros have made exactly one move the entire offseason so hopefully the team isn't trending towards more GM turnover. They traded pitching prospect Joe Dyck to the Brewers for utility IF prospect Jean Carlos Carmona.
On the Farm: Houston has a middle of the pack farm system held up by former 1st overall pick Jeff Morrison. Morrison's development hasn't been managed very well and as a result he is still quite far from the majors. Outside of Morrison the team has one other top 100 prospect in SP Aaron Smith who is also years away. Luis Detres is another name to keep an eye on but he is still in rookie ball. Don't expect the Astros farm to contribute too much to the major league team this season.
Best Case Scenario: Even without many moves the team should be improved from last year as the team's nucleus of young players develops. There is enough talent here to possible crack 80 wins
Worst Case Scenario: More of the same from the Astros, an uninspiring season of 70 something wins and a 3rd place finish in the division. This team seems to have a very small difference between it's ceiling and floor.
Key Questions:
Will there be any additional off-season moves?
You put SS Dansby Swanson on the block several times this off-season. Is he still someone you are looking to move and have you had any progress towards moving him?
4) Oakland Athletics
2024: 70-92, 4th place AL West
Who They Were: The A's were a bad team weighed down by two bad contracts their small market cannot afford. OFer Byron Buxton and SP Jose Berrios were and remain albatross A's. OFer Adam Haseley and SP AJ Puk were the teams two best players, but the supporting cast was very weak outside of catcher Nick Thurman and rookie phenom Juan Castoreno. The pitching staff was especially horrid pitching to a 5.01 ERA.
Offseason Review: The A's went through 3 GMs in one offseason, but despite that they are in better shape than this time last year. They have managed to dig themselves out of a very bad financial hole, even though Buxton and Berrios remain on the team. It was bit of disjointed approach. One A's GM elected to trade Haseley and the next has elected to keep Puk, signing him to a nice extension. The team is still full of holes and won't be competing this year, but it's hard to argue that this wasn't a good off-season for the team. The A's brought in some interesting prospects while shedding salary and brought in T.J. Collett. Collett should be a solid addition to a team starved for talent.
On the Farm: Financial restrictions have kept the team from being able to sign draft picks, they have elected to trade their picks for prospects instead. The approach hasn't really worked out as the team's farm ranks only 25th in the league. Dave Roberts is the only top 100 prospect for the club, and he came via the last time they could afford to sign their picks. Roberts has the potential to make the team's rotation this year. With how bad the pitching was last year, Roberts would likely represent an upgrade. OFer John Woodard is the team's best hitting prospect. He had a strong season at Single A Beloit and looks to be two years away from making the big league club.
Best Case Scenario: Some of the younger A's learn to hit and CFer Juan Castoreno emerges as one of the best players in the PBA. His talent helps carry the roster to 74 wins.
Worst Case Scenario: The A's are bad but they aren't bad enough to be last in their division. The team is unable to replace Haseley's bat and drops to a 65 win team.
Key Questions:
Now that the team has the money to sign draft picks will we see a return to building up the farm? Or do you think the trading picks for prospects approach can be effective?
Between Jeter Downs, Tim Borden, and Miguel Hiraldo your team has some interesting young IFers, although none of them has hit at the ML level yet. What are you hoping to see from this group this season?
5) Los Angeles Angels
2024: 45-117, 5th place AL West.
Who They Were: A sub-replacement level team that failed to break 50 wins. There are a few AAA teams in the league that likely would have put up more of a fight. The hitters were worth -2.2 WAR collectively (and had 3 players who individually had -2 WAR seasons), and the pitchers were worth -1.3. Kaleb Cowart, Jack Pries, and Cristhian Adames are no longer on PBA rosters and shouldn't be ever again. Special shout out to Adames agent who helped his client make 45 million over the last three years in exchange for a grand total of -2.3 WAR. Patrick Leonard was the team's best player. The former Royal hit 52 homers.
Offseason Review: The Angels had one of their most active offseasons in a long time. They made moves to attempt to improve the team. They added the most WAR of any team this offseason thanks to the loss of horrible players and free agent signings. 2B Willy Adames, LFer Christian Yelich, and SP Archie Bradley are on board to try and help this team break replacement level. The team is finally free of bad players who accepted the Q.O. and has some money to play with going forward.
On the Farm: The Angels snagged two top 100 prospects in last year's draft. At first overall they picked the pride of Wakefield High School, Luis Acosta. Acosta is a firstbaseman with huge power potential. In the 2nd round the Angels picked pitcher Jeff Steed, a college arm who has potential to be a wormkiller as a SP. But there is really nothing much else at the lower levels for the Angels so the farm only ranks 24th overall. With money to sign picks in the upcoming draft the farm should definitely improve going forward.
Best Case Scenario: The Angels might just win 60 games.
Worst Case Scenario: The Angels are still one of the worst teams in the league and will probably have a hard time winning more than 55 games.
Key Questions:
You brought in 3 big free agents, but the team still has a lot of holes. Could we see any of them dealt this year to help build up the farm?
How exciting is it to have money for draft picks again? Acosta and Steed are a nice start but there is still a lot of work to do.
2024: 100-62, 1st place AL West. Lost Divisional Series 4-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Who They Were: Featuring an elite pitching staff and one of the most talented infields in the PBA the Mariners won 100 games and captured their second straight AL West title. Seattle had 4 starters that put up at least 4 WAR in Wo-Seok Ko, Tomoyuki Sugano, Jeifry Nunez, and Jhoan Duran. The team was 3 strikeouts away from having a trio of 200 K seasons from this group. The bullpen was terrific as well, closer Michael Lorenzen earned his 2nd straight AL Reliever of the Year award. First baseman Francisco DeJesus continued to be one of the best in the game with a 58 homer campaign and his fellow infielders Aramis Ademan and Lucius Fox provided strong defense up the middle to aid the pitching staff. Injuries and poor performance down the stretch, especially the key loss of Wo-Seok Ko, led to a quick Seattle exit in the ALDS to the eventual champion Blue Jays.
Offseason Review: Seattle's outfield was its one glaring weakness going into the offseason. CFer Jonathan Capellan was unable to recapture his 4 WAR rookie form, and RFer Seuly Matias fell off a cliff, leading to the team only getting 2.8 WAR total from their OF starters. The M's addressed this weakness with an aggressive trade for former Phillies LFer Brian C. Miller. Jhoan Duran was shipped to the Phillies in exchange, as Seattle dealt from their surplus to address a need. Seattle also signed Charlie Blackmon to an under the radar deal to address the OF as well. Unfortunately Blackmon tore his PCL and will be out at for at least the first 2 months of the season. The outfield is still not the team's strength but the addition of Miller should help the team to put up more respectable numbers.
Seattle also manged to shed a lot of bad money this offseason. The Chris Sale trade didn't work out for the team but they managed to get his remaining contract off their books by shipping him to the Marlins for a late first round pick, a 3rd round pick and a 4th round pick. A price more than worth it to dump potentially 50 million dollars of zero production. The Mariners also caught a break with the retirement of quad A SS Hayato Sakamoto. Sakamoto was signed to one of the worst contracts in the PBA and was only on the Mariners as part of a major deal with the Royals.
On the Farm: Seattle hasn't made a selection in the first round of the draft since 2021 and their farm ranking reflects this. It's one of the worst in the league, currently ranked 29th overall by OSA. Seattle has traded away a lot of draft capital to build their strong team and this year was no exception. It's not a totally barren system however. CF Pal Khan was brought over in the Duran-Miller trade as a nice developmental piece. SP Tomito Kawamoto, SS T.J. Hardman, and SS Isaac Paredes have very little service time and each looks to be a major league contributor this season. If Seattle wants to make deals as the season progresses they will likely be using these players as trade bait.
Best Case Scenario: A repeat of last year with a better end in October. Seattle still has the talent to win 100 games, capture the division, and then capture a World Series.
Worst Case Scenario: Miller is unable to repeat his prior season in Philadelphia and the loss of Duran weakens the rotation just enough that they end up in 2nd place to the Rangers. It's hard to see this team missing the playoffs in the AL, but it should be a very close division race between them and the Rangers.
Key Questions:
With Blackmon's injury news how do you plan to address the outfield in the short term?
Who do you see stepping up to fill Duran's shoes? You have a few guys who look like they can help, but which of them do you see as giving you the best chance to replace Duran's production?
2) Texas Rangers
2024: 96-66, 2nd place AL West, Defeated the Detroit Tigers in the AL WC Game, Lost Divisional Series 4-1 to the Kansas City Royals.
Who They Were: The Rangers bounced back from a down year in 2023 to make the playoffs in 2024. Marcus Stroman had an 8 WAR year and won the Cy Young award. He's been on the best pitchers in the PBA for a long time but 2024 was surprisingly his first time winning the Cy Young. Noah Syndergaard stayed relatively healthy and was a big addition to the pitching staff pitching to a 1.94 ERA. This duo is/was the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Ozzie Albies and Francisco Mejia continued to be the stars on the offensive end although Mejia had his worst season as pro. The team won a tight wild card game over the Tigers, but an injury to Stroman doomed their chances against the Royals who made short work of them in the ALDS.
Offseason Review: Texas lost quite a bit to free agency. Sonny Gray was a great third starter for the team, but he will now be pitching in Minnesota. OFer Ender Inciarte was one of the best bargain bin signings of last off-season and he too will not be returning. Infielders Rougned Odor and Anthony Rendon also left the team. To replace the Inciarte Texas traded draft picks to Baltimore to acquire Trent Clark. Nick Senzel was signed to man 3rd base and Christian Bethancourt was signed to be the new backup catcher. Texas is confident in SP Esteban Valadez to step up and fill the loss of Gray. Valadez is still working on his changeup, but as that pitch comes along he could evolve into one the best young starting pitchers in the league.
On the Farm: Texas does not have much of a system. They are only the 23rd best farm in the league per OSA. SP Aaron Wallace is the lone OSA top 100 prospect and he looks at least a year away from contributing to the major league team. There are some other interesting pitching prospects as well but most are years away. CF Jason Crabbe could provide the team some depth in the OF, he's in AAA and might make it to big league team at some point this year. Still it's hard to see Texas making major changes to improve this season without having to include major league players or future draft picks.
Best Case Scenario: Syndergaard stays healthy and Valadez breaks out. Along with Stroman this gives the Rangers one of the best rotations in the league and the team is able to win 90+ games on the road to a division title. The rotation also stays healthy in the playoffs and carries the team to the World Series.
Worst Case Scenario: Texas is one of the oldest teams in the league and Syndergaard's health has been a dice-roll historically. If he has issues, and Father Time catches up with a few of Texas's key vets, then this team could slip to 2nd in the division and miss the playoffs.
Key Questions:
The team has given Esteban Valadez a vote of confidence as the third starter this season. What do you hope to see from the young pitcher this year?
Nick Senzel and Trent Clark were the two main additions to your team this off-season, what is it about those players that made you target them specifically?
2024: 74-88, 3rd place AL West
Who They Were: The Astros were a bad team but they have one of the more overlooked groups of young talent. Ichisake Ochiai is a name to watch. He could blossom into one of the better RFers in the league. He put up 2 WAR in less than full season last year and looks like he should crush right-handed pitching going forward. Ajani Dimanche is a great young 1B who possesses a rare combination of power and patience. Jorge "deGrominator" Cotto is a talented lefty that the team could look to build a rotation around. The issue for this team has been GM chaos. With no clear plan being put forward the team regressed from the 84 game season they put up in 2023.
Offseason Review: The Astros have made exactly one move the entire offseason so hopefully the team isn't trending towards more GM turnover. They traded pitching prospect Joe Dyck to the Brewers for utility IF prospect Jean Carlos Carmona.
On the Farm: Houston has a middle of the pack farm system held up by former 1st overall pick Jeff Morrison. Morrison's development hasn't been managed very well and as a result he is still quite far from the majors. Outside of Morrison the team has one other top 100 prospect in SP Aaron Smith who is also years away. Luis Detres is another name to keep an eye on but he is still in rookie ball. Don't expect the Astros farm to contribute too much to the major league team this season.
Best Case Scenario: Even without many moves the team should be improved from last year as the team's nucleus of young players develops. There is enough talent here to possible crack 80 wins
Worst Case Scenario: More of the same from the Astros, an uninspiring season of 70 something wins and a 3rd place finish in the division. This team seems to have a very small difference between it's ceiling and floor.
Key Questions:
Will there be any additional off-season moves?
You put SS Dansby Swanson on the block several times this off-season. Is he still someone you are looking to move and have you had any progress towards moving him?
2024: 70-92, 4th place AL West
Who They Were: The A's were a bad team weighed down by two bad contracts their small market cannot afford. OFer Byron Buxton and SP Jose Berrios were and remain albatross A's. OFer Adam Haseley and SP AJ Puk were the teams two best players, but the supporting cast was very weak outside of catcher Nick Thurman and rookie phenom Juan Castoreno. The pitching staff was especially horrid pitching to a 5.01 ERA.
Offseason Review: The A's went through 3 GMs in one offseason, but despite that they are in better shape than this time last year. They have managed to dig themselves out of a very bad financial hole, even though Buxton and Berrios remain on the team. It was bit of disjointed approach. One A's GM elected to trade Haseley and the next has elected to keep Puk, signing him to a nice extension. The team is still full of holes and won't be competing this year, but it's hard to argue that this wasn't a good off-season for the team. The A's brought in some interesting prospects while shedding salary and brought in T.J. Collett. Collett should be a solid addition to a team starved for talent.
On the Farm: Financial restrictions have kept the team from being able to sign draft picks, they have elected to trade their picks for prospects instead. The approach hasn't really worked out as the team's farm ranks only 25th in the league. Dave Roberts is the only top 100 prospect for the club, and he came via the last time they could afford to sign their picks. Roberts has the potential to make the team's rotation this year. With how bad the pitching was last year, Roberts would likely represent an upgrade. OFer John Woodard is the team's best hitting prospect. He had a strong season at Single A Beloit and looks to be two years away from making the big league club.
Best Case Scenario: Some of the younger A's learn to hit and CFer Juan Castoreno emerges as one of the best players in the PBA. His talent helps carry the roster to 74 wins.
Worst Case Scenario: The A's are bad but they aren't bad enough to be last in their division. The team is unable to replace Haseley's bat and drops to a 65 win team.
Key Questions:
Now that the team has the money to sign draft picks will we see a return to building up the farm? Or do you think the trading picks for prospects approach can be effective?
Between Jeter Downs, Tim Borden, and Miguel Hiraldo your team has some interesting young IFers, although none of them has hit at the ML level yet. What are you hoping to see from this group this season?
5) Los Angeles Angels
2024: 45-117, 5th place AL West.
Who They Were: A sub-replacement level team that failed to break 50 wins. There are a few AAA teams in the league that likely would have put up more of a fight. The hitters were worth -2.2 WAR collectively (and had 3 players who individually had -2 WAR seasons), and the pitchers were worth -1.3. Kaleb Cowart, Jack Pries, and Cristhian Adames are no longer on PBA rosters and shouldn't be ever again. Special shout out to Adames agent who helped his client make 45 million over the last three years in exchange for a grand total of -2.3 WAR. Patrick Leonard was the team's best player. The former Royal hit 52 homers.
Offseason Review: The Angels had one of their most active offseasons in a long time. They made moves to attempt to improve the team. They added the most WAR of any team this offseason thanks to the loss of horrible players and free agent signings. 2B Willy Adames, LFer Christian Yelich, and SP Archie Bradley are on board to try and help this team break replacement level. The team is finally free of bad players who accepted the Q.O. and has some money to play with going forward.
On the Farm: The Angels snagged two top 100 prospects in last year's draft. At first overall they picked the pride of Wakefield High School, Luis Acosta. Acosta is a firstbaseman with huge power potential. In the 2nd round the Angels picked pitcher Jeff Steed, a college arm who has potential to be a wormkiller as a SP. But there is really nothing much else at the lower levels for the Angels so the farm only ranks 24th overall. With money to sign picks in the upcoming draft the farm should definitely improve going forward.
Best Case Scenario: The Angels might just win 60 games.
Worst Case Scenario: The Angels are still one of the worst teams in the league and will probably have a hard time winning more than 55 games.
Key Questions:
You brought in 3 big free agents, but the team still has a lot of holes. Could we see any of them dealt this year to help build up the farm?
How exciting is it to have money for draft picks again? Acosta and Steed are a nice start but there is still a lot of work to do.
