2014 was a very interesting season in the AL West. A team the Rangers, that was looked at a competitor early on in the season has a dismal year plagued by injuries en route to a last place finish and the second worst record in all of baseball. The Astros were bad as expected but they showed flashes of their upside for the future with a few young stars emerging. The Mariners after their surprise signing of Robinson Cano this offseason were competitive finishing in third and only one game out of the Wild Card game. The Athletics who got off a very hot start fell off in the second half blowing a big division lead and winding up losing in the Wild Card game. The Angels who finished with the best record in baseball were a pleasant surprise as father time has not been kind to many of their star players.
Post Season Recap: AL West
Texas Rangers
The 2014 season was one to forget for the Texas Rangers as they struggled mightily losing several key players for large portions of the season. Their offense struggled with power ranking in the bottom ten in HRs and ISO, which measures extra base hits. However, they did not struggle to get hits as their batting average ranked in the top ten among all MLB teams. Adrian Beltre was once again among the stars of the team hitting .324 but like the rest of the team struggling in the power department hitting 19 HRs while he had hit over 30 in the past three seasons. Shin-Soo Choo struggled through the season hitting well below his career batting average and only stealing three bases. Leonys Martin improved upon his 2013 season increasing his average yet again up to .274. Prince Fielder who they traded for prior to the season missed most of the year with a neck injury and hopes to return back to form in 2015. Another player who missed all of the year was Jurickson Profar who they hope can build on 2013 and live up to his top prospect billing. Two places they need to improve are in RF and at DH. Michael Choice is the current in house option in right and he struggled in 2014. They will likely be players in free agency for players to fill that role. Mitch Moreland is currently penciled in at the DH spot and his track record has been rather ineffective meaning a potential reunion with Nelson Cruz could be in order if he does not resign with the Orioles. The rotation will return Yu Darvish and Derek Holland and will hopefully get back Matt Harrison and Martin Perez who both have proven effective when healthy. The fifth starter is up in the air but likely will be Nick Tepesch if the other four options are healthy. Neftali Feliz will likely regain control of the closers role if he is healthy where he formerly thrived. If everyone is healthy the Rangers could be looking at a bounce back 2015 campaign.
Houston Astros
In 2014 several young Astro players took a step forward. Jose Altuve lead the American League in steals with 56 and lead all of the MLB in AVG hitting .341 and hits with 225. Chris Carter had a big season mashing 37 HRs but living up to his billing as a true HR or strikeout kind of player striking out over 30% of the time. Uber prospect George Springer was a midseason call-up and while his power did not disappoint-20 HRs in 78 games- he struck-out 33% of the time a number that must be lowered if he is to have the MLB impact he is believed to have. The Astros are hoping for a bounce back season from catcher Jason Castro as he struggled in 2014 after a breakout 2013 season. The team has several holes especially at third base where Matt Dominguez was among the worst in baseball and as SS where incumbent Jose Villar had an up and down season. Their starters provided a few surprises mainly in the forms of Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh both of whom pitched to sub-3 ERAs. Scott Feldman who is a solid but not game changing option will likely be the third starter with Brett Oberholtzer and Brad Peacock, young but average arms filling out the rotation. The Astros are still a few years away from competing but the foundation of young talent is obviously there to build upon.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners in 2014 were a surprise team of sorts. After making a big move to sign Robinson Cano in the offseason the offense was slightly below average on the year with a wRC+ of 93 and scoring the 19th most runs in the league. The pitching was a strength posting the second lowest ERA in all of baseball only beat by the Nationals vaunted staff. The bullpen was the best in baseball according to ERA. The offense was lead by the continued breakout of third baseman Corey Seager, who posted a wRC+ of 126 and lead the team with 25 homers. Robinson Cano continued to be a valuable asset at the plate leading the team in hitting although he struggled in the power department only hitting 14 homers. The pitching staff was bolstered by yet another strong season from Felix Hernandez who finished second in the Cy Young voting. Hisashi Iwakuma was strong yet again with an ERA of 3.52 despite missing part of the season due to injury. Young starters Roenis Ellias and James Paxton both showed well in stretches and could be potential rotation pieces to build around. Chris Young was excellent en route to winning Comeback Player of the Year but he is a Free Agent this offseason and with young top prospect Taijuan Walker likely to take over in the rotation next season he will unlikely be resigned. Looking ahead to next season the Mariners will likely need to sign a SS and could be players for Hanley Ramirez but could likely look for a cheaper alternative possibly trading for Alexei Ramirez. They also need to find a viable DH as that projects to be a huge hole in next years lineup. The Mariners have a solid base to build upon and will once again compete for a playoff spot next season.
Oakland Athletics
2014 was an up and down season for the Athletics as they lead baseball in wins in the first half and ranked 21st in wins in the second half. The biggest issue was their run scoring as they were second in the league in the first half and ranked thirteenth in the second half. This could mainly be due to their offseason trade of Yoenis Cespedes who still finished the season third on the team in RBI despite being traded at the deadline. Josh Donaldson was a leader once again continuing his breakout. His average dropped but he was still an elite run producer driving in 98 runs. Their pitching staff was key to their successes as Scott Kazmir and Sonny Gray both had great seasons. Kazmir continued his comeback and won 15 games. Sonny Gray emerged as one of the better young arms in baseball finishing the season with a 3.05 ERA in over 200 innings. Jeff Samardzijia pitched effectively after the trade and will return to their rotation next season likely competing for the top spot with Gray. For 2015 they need to find a replacement at SS and could try to resign Jed Lowrie who played well there in 2014 if the price is right. DH is another hole but the team is already rumored to have signed Billy Butler to fill that role and that would be an upgrade over their current in house options. They will also need to find potentially one more starter as the fourth spot could go to Jesse Chavez who preformed well in that role early in 2014. With Jon Lester unlikely to be resigned they will likely need one more middle to back end of the rotation arm in order to compete once again in 2015. Many key players will be returning again in 2015 and as long as the offense returns to their first half form they will remain among the best teams in baseball.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Angels were a surprise team as many of their key contributors are aging and one player in particular had a bounce back season as Albert Pujols drove in over 100 runs and hit 28 homers. Mike Trout won the MVP award despite hitting below .300 for the first time in his career however, he supplemented that hitting a career high in HRs with 36. Trout continues to be the best player and planet and aging curves only project him to get better. Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick both had solid offensive seasons. Kendrick has been underrated most of his career despite being one of the better offensive second basemen in the game. The rotation was a strength with Garrett Richards having a breakout season with his 2.65 ERA before getting injured and missing the end of the season. Matt Shoemaker was a great find as the rookie finished second in ROY voting with a 3.04 ERA and 16 wins. Jared Weaver was solid yet again and C.J Wilson had a down season by his career standards and both will return in 2015. Fifth starter will be a question mark and Hector Santiago is the current frontrunner for the position unless they can find a better option. The bullpen struggled at times but the midseason trade for Huston Street was a move made looking to the future as he will be the full time closer adding stability to a position that was a weakness in 2014. They need to find a DH for 2015 as incumbent C.J. Cron does not seem like a viable option based off his limited action in 2014. If their aging stars including Josh Hamilton can preform like the player the Angels payed for they will likely find themselves atop what is quickly becoming the best division in the American League.
LOOKING AHEAD
The division will likely be won by either the Angels, Athletics, or Mariners as these three teams are among the best in the league. The Mariners are the least likely of the teams but that could change if they were to sign Hanley this offseason. The Athletics can not be counted out due to their solid all around team and good starting pitching. The Angels are hoping for the same production for Pujols and if Richards returns to the bonafide ace he was before his injury they should once again run away with the division. The Rangers could make a run but they currently have too many holes that need fixing and will need a big offseason to have a chance at a playoff run. The Astros are still a few years away despite their solid young core.
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