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American League West betting preview: Can Rangers hold off Astros, Angels?
Can the Rangers defend their AL West crown from the rising Astros and perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout?
The Rangers rode one of the hottest second halves to claim last season's American League West crown away from the Astros. Can Texas hold off the hotshot youngsters of Houston and arguably baseball best player in Mike Trout and the Angels to defend their division title?
Houston Astros (2015: 86-76, -278 units, 73-80-9 O/U)
Division odds: +140
Season win total: 88.5
Why bet the Astros: After close to a decade of losing, the Astros had a winning season last year and made the playoff for the first time since 2005. The winning should be here to stay as the days of rebuilding are gone as Houston boasts one of the best all-around players in the game in Carlos Correa and has a great one-two punch at the top of the rotation. The Astros have a new closer in Ken Giles to head the best bullpen in baseball.
Why not bet the Astros: The Astros have the pieces to make another playoff run but the division is tougher this season. Houston led the American League in strikeouts, whiffing 1,392 times but was second in home runs so it is all or nothing. While the top of the rotation is one of the best, the backend is susceptible to inconsistencies. Houston had several players that had its best years ever so a repeat of those may be tough.
Season win total pick: Under 88.5 Wins
Los Angeles Angels (2015: 85-77, +230 units, 76-78-8 O/U)
Division odds: +485
Season win total: 80.5
Why bet the Angels: The Angels have one of the best players in baseball in Mike Trout and he can put a lot on his shoulders, both offensively and defensively. The starting rotation has a bunch of young arms that have already found success so replacing Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson if needed will not be a problem. The bullpen is adequate with the strength being the setup/closer duo of Joe Smith and Huston Street.
Why not bet the Angels: While Trout is awesome, he could not carry enough of the offense so there needs to be production elsewhere. Albert Pujols is not getting any younger and the lower part of the lineup did not improve at all. Injuries have hurt the starters at different times so there is no guarantee they will be in full health. To compete, Los Angeles has to have a big year from the starters which could be too much to ask.
Season win total pick: Over 80.5 Wins
Oakland Athletics (2015: 68-94, -2,942 units, 86-66-10 O/U)
Division odds: +1200
Season win total: 75.5
Why bet the Athletics: Oakland won just 68 games last season and while the total is higher this year, this is the one team in baseball that can overachieve with the best of them. It was basically a fire sale prior to 2015 and the chemistry just was not there but a year later should improve that. Sonny Gray is one of the top starters in baseball and they improved their bullpen in the offseason after finishing with the highest ERA in the A.L.
Why not bet the Athletics: Even though improvements to the pen were made, it may not be enough to get significantly better. After Sonny Gray, there is no sure second starter which shows the lack of quality depth. Oakland had a huge decrease in runs scored from 2014 and the biggest addition to help was Khris Davis which is not saying a lot. While everyone else in the West has gotten better, Oakland has fallen the other way.
Season win total pick: Under 75.5 Wins
Seattle Mariners (2015: 76-86, -2,056 units, 79-76-7 O/U)
Division odds: +360
Season win total: 82.5
Why bet the Mariners: Expectations have been high over the last few years for the Mariners and they have disappointed. They brought in a new GM and he made a lot of moves in the offense to improve a shaky offense and a very poor bullpen. Robinson Cano had a great second half and can hopefully carry that over. Felix Hernandez is still the king and he has a decent group behind him with a very high ceiling.
Why not bet the Mariners: While changes were done to improve the team, sometimes change can hurt early on and Seattle could fall into a hole and not be able to recover. Hernandez, despite winning 18 games last season, had his highest ERA since 2007 and the bullpen behind him did not help matters. The 4.15 ERA was 25th in the league and they blew 24 saves so improvements need to be massive.
Season win total pick: Under 82.5 Wins
Texas Rangers (2015: 88-74, +2,955 units, 72-80-10 O/U)
Division odds: +300
Season win total: 83.5
Why bet the Rangers: It was an incredible turnaround last season as on August 13th, the Rangers were a game under .500 but went 32-17 down the stretch to overtake the Astros. Now they have Cole Hamels for an entire season and get Yu Darvish back from Tommy John surgery which makes the top of the rotation dangerous. The offense finished third in baseball in runs scored so the production should be there again.
Why not bet the Rangers: Texas went from worst to first so was it a fluke ending or has it improved this much? After taking a 2-0 lead against Toronto in the A.L. Divisional Series, they lost three straight which may be hard to recover from. Darvish will not be back until mid-May so it will up to bottom half of the rotation to pick up the slack. Texas will not be sneaking up on anybody this season.
Season win total pick: Over 83.5 Wins
Can the Rangers defend their AL West crown from the rising Astros and perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout?
The Rangers rode one of the hottest second halves to claim last season's American League West crown away from the Astros. Can Texas hold off the hotshot youngsters of Houston and arguably baseball best player in Mike Trout and the Angels to defend their division title?
Houston Astros (2015: 86-76, -278 units, 73-80-9 O/U)
Division odds: +140
Season win total: 88.5
Why bet the Astros: After close to a decade of losing, the Astros had a winning season last year and made the playoff for the first time since 2005. The winning should be here to stay as the days of rebuilding are gone as Houston boasts one of the best all-around players in the game in Carlos Correa and has a great one-two punch at the top of the rotation. The Astros have a new closer in Ken Giles to head the best bullpen in baseball.
Why not bet the Astros: The Astros have the pieces to make another playoff run but the division is tougher this season. Houston led the American League in strikeouts, whiffing 1,392 times but was second in home runs so it is all or nothing. While the top of the rotation is one of the best, the backend is susceptible to inconsistencies. Houston had several players that had its best years ever so a repeat of those may be tough.
Season win total pick: Under 88.5 Wins
Los Angeles Angels (2015: 85-77, +230 units, 76-78-8 O/U)
Division odds: +485
Season win total: 80.5
Why bet the Angels: The Angels have one of the best players in baseball in Mike Trout and he can put a lot on his shoulders, both offensively and defensively. The starting rotation has a bunch of young arms that have already found success so replacing Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson if needed will not be a problem. The bullpen is adequate with the strength being the setup/closer duo of Joe Smith and Huston Street.
Why not bet the Angels: While Trout is awesome, he could not carry enough of the offense so there needs to be production elsewhere. Albert Pujols is not getting any younger and the lower part of the lineup did not improve at all. Injuries have hurt the starters at different times so there is no guarantee they will be in full health. To compete, Los Angeles has to have a big year from the starters which could be too much to ask.
Season win total pick: Over 80.5 Wins
Oakland Athletics (2015: 68-94, -2,942 units, 86-66-10 O/U)
Division odds: +1200
Season win total: 75.5
Why bet the Athletics: Oakland won just 68 games last season and while the total is higher this year, this is the one team in baseball that can overachieve with the best of them. It was basically a fire sale prior to 2015 and the chemistry just was not there but a year later should improve that. Sonny Gray is one of the top starters in baseball and they improved their bullpen in the offseason after finishing with the highest ERA in the A.L.
Why not bet the Athletics: Even though improvements to the pen were made, it may not be enough to get significantly better. After Sonny Gray, there is no sure second starter which shows the lack of quality depth. Oakland had a huge decrease in runs scored from 2014 and the biggest addition to help was Khris Davis which is not saying a lot. While everyone else in the West has gotten better, Oakland has fallen the other way.
Season win total pick: Under 75.5 Wins
Seattle Mariners (2015: 76-86, -2,056 units, 79-76-7 O/U)
Division odds: +360
Season win total: 82.5
Why bet the Mariners: Expectations have been high over the last few years for the Mariners and they have disappointed. They brought in a new GM and he made a lot of moves in the offense to improve a shaky offense and a very poor bullpen. Robinson Cano had a great second half and can hopefully carry that over. Felix Hernandez is still the king and he has a decent group behind him with a very high ceiling.
Why not bet the Mariners: While changes were done to improve the team, sometimes change can hurt early on and Seattle could fall into a hole and not be able to recover. Hernandez, despite winning 18 games last season, had his highest ERA since 2007 and the bullpen behind him did not help matters. The 4.15 ERA was 25th in the league and they blew 24 saves so improvements need to be massive.
Season win total pick: Under 82.5 Wins
Texas Rangers (2015: 88-74, +2,955 units, 72-80-10 O/U)
Division odds: +300
Season win total: 83.5
Why bet the Rangers: It was an incredible turnaround last season as on August 13th, the Rangers were a game under .500 but went 32-17 down the stretch to overtake the Astros. Now they have Cole Hamels for an entire season and get Yu Darvish back from Tommy John surgery which makes the top of the rotation dangerous. The offense finished third in baseball in runs scored so the production should be there again.
Why not bet the Rangers: Texas went from worst to first so was it a fluke ending or has it improved this much? After taking a 2-0 lead against Toronto in the A.L. Divisional Series, they lost three straight which may be hard to recover from. Darvish will not be back until mid-May so it will up to bottom half of the rotation to pick up the slack. Texas will not be sneaking up on anybody this season.
Season win total pick: Over 83.5 Wins