My AL West Preview

1. Los Angeles Angels - The Angels right now are the best team in this division. They have some great hitting as well as great pitching. They acquired the biggest piece offensively in the off-season in Josh Hamilton. This Angels team has two of the best hitters in baseball with Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton as well as one of the best young hitters in the game today in Mike Trout. In addition to that, they have guys like Mark Trumbo, Howie Kendrick, Chris Iannetta, Peter Bourjos, Vernon Wells, and Albert Callaspo all of which are great bats to help protect the Big 3 in Pujols, Hamilton, and Trout. The Angels still have some great pitchers in their rotation despite losing Ervin Santana, Dan Haren, and Zack Greinke in the offseason. They still have Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson at the top of the rotation. Replacing those three big names are Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton, and Garrett Richards. Stll a great rotation, they are going be fine with the hitting this team has. Now onto the bullpen, they have decent arms there with their best arms being Scott Downs, Ernesto Frieri, Kevin Jepsen, Jason Vargas, Sean Burnett, and closer Ryan Madson. As of now, Frieri is slotted to be the team's closer to begin the season. I do project this team to win the AL West in 2013 and maybe go to the World Series. It could be a really magical year for the city of Los Angeles.
2. Texas Rangers - The Rangers lost the biggest bat in the off-season in Josh Hamilton and question that remains to be answered is how will they replace his bat. I think they'll replace his numbers with a combination of players with acquisitions Lance Berkman and A.J. Pierzynski as well as prospect Michael Olt. Hamilton isn't the only player whose numbers the Rangers are trying to replace. They also lost catcher Mike Napoli to the Red Sox in the off-season as well as infielder Michael Young in a trade with the Phillies. They lost a lot offensively which could throw this team back a bit. They still have Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz. They have some decent supporting pieces in Geovany Soto, Julio Borbon, David Murphy, Mitch Moreland, and Michael Olt. Pitching wise this team is pretty good. All of the Rangers arms from their rotation in 2012 are back in Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, and Alexi Ogando. The bullpen is pretty much back but strengthen a bit more with the addition of Joakim Soria and Jason Frasor. The bullpen still has Neftali Feliz and Joe Nathan. They also acquired Josh Lindblom. I think their back end of the rotation is really good reminds me of the 2011 Brewers with John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez. Joakim Soria and Joe Nathan will be dangerously good at the back end of this pitching staff. This team still has some potential and could make the playoffs as a wildcard.
3. Oakland Athletics - The Oakland Athletics were by far the most surprising team last year. Now what they need to do is prove that it wasn't a fluke. Offensively, this team has some good pieces with Coco Crisp, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, Seth Smith and Chris Young in the outfield. Chris Young will provide some pop to this lineup. He was a great hitter in Arizona with the Diamondbacks, hopefully he brings those same numbers to Oakland. They also have a decent infield Scott Sizemore, Brandon Moss, Daric Barton, Josh Donaldson, Hiroyuki Nakajima and newly acquired Jed Lowrie. They also have some minor bats there with Eric Sogard, Andy Parrino, and Adam Rosales. At the catcher's position, the A's have John Jaso and Derek Norris, who are both put up alright numbers as catchers. Their pitching which is interesting to me because they don't have that clear cut number one starter. Their rotation for 2013 is: Brett Anderson, Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, Dan Straily, and A.J. Griffin. There's no clear cut number one starter there, but as long as they win as a rotation they'll be fine. The A's have some decent arms in their bullpen with Chris Resop, Ryan Cook, Fernando Rodriguez, Pat Neshek, Sean Doolittle, Jerry Blevins, and closer Grant Balfour. This team will continue to surprise people and they could flip flop the Rangers for second place in the AL West and possibly make a playoff berth.
4. Seattle Mariners - The Seattle Mariners in 2013 are a team that could surprise some people a bit. They have a great offensive club. In the outfield, the Mariners have newly acquired Michael Morse, Michael Saunders, Eric Thames, and Franklin Gutierrez. I really think Michael Morse will provide a power threat in this lineup, he did that last year in Washington with the Nationals. In the infield, the Mariners have Brendan Ryan, Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Robert Andino, and Kendry Morales as their designated hitter. At the catcher's position, they have some pop their with Jesus Montero and Kelly Shoppach. Pitching wise, they did just lock up Felix Hernandez to a 7 year, $175 million deal. That was a smart move to lock up their ace, sometimes it's very hard to lock up your star player in such a small market. The rest of the rotation lines up with Hisashi Iwakuma, Joe Saunders, Jon Garland, and Jeremy Bonderman. Decent rotation with the best pitchers in that rotation being Felix Hernandez and Joe Saunders. In the bullpen, they have Carter Capps, Stephen Pryor, Kameron Loe, Charlie Furbush, Oliver Perez, Lucas Luetge, Erasmo Ramirez, Blake Beavan, and closer Tom Wilhelmsen. Erasmo Ramirez and Blake Beavan could be in the rotation, but right now I give the edge to vets in Jon Garland and Jeremy Bonderman. This team definitely has some potential this year, but this division is stacked with talent so I think they'll fall short in 2013. 
5. Houston Astros - The Houston Astros are starting their first season in the American League, and it will be a rough transition. This team has some pieces here and there with Carlos Pena, Jose Altuve, and Brett Wallace. They have a relatively young team with young bats as well as young arms. Offensively in addition to the guys I have already mentioned, they have a bunch of guys with potential. In the outfield, the Astros have Justin Maxwell, J.D. Martinez, Rick Ankiel, Fernando Martinez, and Chris Carter. In the infield, they have Tyler Greene, Jimmy Paredes, Jacob Elmore, Matt Dominguez, and Brandon Laird. At the catcher's position, the Astros have Jason Castro as well as former Brewers prospect Carlos Corporan. Their pitching staff has some potential but will struggle. In their rotation, they have Bud Norris, Philip Humber, Erik Bedard, Jordan Lyles, and Lucas Harrell. That is an alright rotation, but giving this is their first year in the American League it will be a struggle for some of these pitchers. In their bullpen, they have Josh Fields, Sam Demel, Xavier Cedeno, Hector Ambriz, Wesley Wright, Rhiner Cruz, Brad Peacock, and closer Jose Veras. It will be a struggle for this Astros team at all facets of the game, they could lose 110 games this year because of the tough transition to the American League.