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2007 MLB Preview - American League West

American League West

LA Angels: They got bit early and often by the injury bug last season, losing starters at a handful of positions for an extended period of time, not to mention their staff ace Bartolo Colon going down with a rotator cuff injury for the majority of the season. But they found a few bright spots with their young prospects in Jered Weaver and Howie Kendrick, and even though there might not be a spot for them right now, Brandon Wood, Dallas MacPherson and Kendry Morales are available to step in to the starting lineup at any time. That’s a nice feeling to have on a team that is just starting to slide down the wrong side of the hill…

Biggest subplot this season?

Can they stay healthy enough to regain the form that brought them a ring in 2002?

Best player you should start looking out for?

Well, since Wood, MacPherson & Morales are all fairly well known, Howie Kendrick gets the nod. In limited duty in ’06 (267 at-bats), he hit .285 with 25 runs and 30 RBI. Not eye-popping numbers, but certainly enough contribution from a starting second baseman.

Biggest unseen roadblock?

Is that pitching staff for real? Jered Weaver was dominant in ’06 but he starts the year on the DL. Bartolo Colon has a long road back from rotator cuff surgery, and John Lackey played out of his mind last year. Could be tough to duplicate.

Oakland Athletics: Aside from the Tigers, the A’s had to be one of the biggest surprises in baseball last season. They made minimal free agent signings before the ‘06 campaign, with the biggest name being Frank Thomas. Naturally, in typical Billy “genius” Beane style, Thomas went out and had an MVP-caliber year… then promptly bolted for Toronto and their 2yr/$18M offer (I mean, wouldn’t you do the same thing?)

This year’s marquee free agent was Mike Piazza, brought in strictly to act as the team’s DH. And you know what? It’s probably going to work. Without a full workload behind the plate (he might see a little action as a backstop or at first base… probably in interleague play) Piazza should be able to focus solely on what he does best – mashing the ball. If he doesn’t put up a .280/30/100 without injury concerns, I’ll be stunned.

The loss of Barry Zito across the Bay to San Francisco would leave a gaping hole in the #1 spot in any other team’s rotation. But Beane has done such a phenomenal job stockpiling arms through trades and drafts that there’s always someone who can fill the void. Rich Harden & Dan Haren should be able to hold down the fort nicely. And, if not, I’m sure there’s a 6-team, 13 player deal already in the works in the GM’s secret lair…

Biggest subplot this season?

Who claims the pole position as the staff ace? And how long before the first home game sells out? May? July?

Best player you should start looking out for?

He’s never gotten a chance to play full-time, but this season, no one is competing for Dan Johnson’s job. With only 661 career ABs, he’s put up average numbers. But now that the job is his, look for him to steadily improve.

Biggest unseen roadblock?

Well, there’s plenty of off-field stuff to discuss with this team. From the new stadium to the utter lack of fan support, it wouldn’t be surprising if some of the players were unable to focus on just playing baseball.

Texas Rangers: They remained competitive for a long time last season, considering their two best hitters were in the tank for most of the first half of the year. Mark Teixeira snapped out of it later in the summer – Hank Blalock never came around.

They gave away the farm (or the farm system) to rent Carlos Lee for a couple of months before he went across the state to the Astros (and their ridiculous $100M offer…money well-saved Tom Hicks) leaving them with a mediocre rotation and a 35-year old Japanese imported closer.

However, they did win the right to gamble $10M on Eric Gagne’s arm returning to form and possibly providing them with a dominant force at the back end of their bullpen. Remember – he’s only 31. If he returns to even 80% of what he was in LA, the Rangers have a damned good relief pitchers, albeit at a very inflated rate.

Biggest subplot this season?

Can Hank Blalock regain the form that made him the heir apparent as the best third baseman in the American League (behind Eric Chavez and before A-Rod shifted ten steps to the right)?

Best player you should start looking out for?

Ian Kinsler. Broke into the league last season and put up some pretty solid numbers in a decent lineup. With Michael Young, Teixeira, Blalock and Brad Wilkerson hitting around him, he should improve on last season’s .286/14/55.

Biggest unseen roadblock?

Pitching. It’s not really unseen, since almost every team has the question, but the Rangers have nothing in their rotation outside of Kevin Millwood and possibly Vicente Padilla. Brandon McCarthy is young and could develop into a potential ace, but is probably another two years away.

Seattle Mariners: Or, as they’re known everywhere else in America, The Fightin’ Ichiros… Seriously – how many Mariners besides Ichiro can you name? Two? Three? None? The Mariners fell into the trap of wildly overbidding for two guys putting up monster numbers in contract years – Richie Sexon and Adrian Beltre – two seasons ago. Admittedly, their numbers were gaudy and alluring. But Seattle committed somewhere in the neighborhood of $100M to two guys who had never fulfilled their potential until the season before they became free agents. Really – that didn’t set off little red warning lights and bells?

Ichiro is still the star of this team, and by far its best player. But he’s up for a new contract after this, the final year of his 4yr/$44M deal from 2003, and if he leaves this team, the devastation to the Mariners would not only be on the field, but the off-field financial impact of losing one of the most Internationally-marketable stars in the league would set them back another five years. They need to lock him up, and they need to do it now.

If he puts up yet another overlooked season of .320/10/60 with 30+ steals, Seattle will find some serious competition for his services by more than one team. If he puts up a career year – say a line of .360/20/80 and 45+ steals, they’ll lose him to another bidder.

Biggest subplot this season?

See above. At what point do the Mariners have to seriously entertain offers for Ichiro in trade talks? 10-games back? 15? Because both are certainly reachable.

Best player you should start looking out for?

Jose Lopez. The 24 year old second baseman might lose his job to newly acquired Jose Vidro, but more than likely, the Mariners will play the youth. Lopez proves that he belonged in the bigs last season, and should get better as his at-bats increase.

Biggest unseen roadblock?

“King” Felix Hernandez… then what’s left of Jeff Weaver, Jarrod Washburn, and Miguel Batista. And Seattle wonders why they can’t field a winning team? Try adding one quality starter – just one! – to that rotation. They’d pick up 10-12 wins, easily. In the smallest division in baseball, 12 games could be the difference between the playoffs on the field or the playoffs on the TV.

Labels: 2007, American League, MLB, Preview, West

posted by Big D @ 2:19 PM