Predicting the Final 2016 AL West Standings

For general fans of Major League Baseball, the AL West pennant race was as exciting to follow in 2015 as any other.

On many blogs, national syndications and analysts minds, the preseason favorites to come away with a first place finish in the division was the Seattle Mariners. Las Vegas tended to agree with that sentiment for the most part as well, giving them 16-1 odds, just a hair longer than the Los Angeles Angels were at 15-1.

Out of the six baseball pundits over at the now defunct but respected Grantland.com, four writers (Jonah Keri, Ben Lindbergh, Mallory Rubin and Ryan O’Hanlon) all predicted the Mariners would win the AL West, with Keri going so far as to say they would win the American League pennant. The other two, Rany Jazayerli and Michael Baumann, both predicted the Angels would sit atop the West come October.

After a disastrous 2014 in which they finished dead last, the Texas Rangers (88-74) played incredible baseball down the stretch and snagged the 2015 AL West division crown, all without the services of ace Yu Darvish. And of course, few could forget the young and fiery Houston Astros (86- 76) that finished a close second and went on to capture an AL Wild Card seed.

Along with last year’s NL Central, the AL West was baseball’s most competitive division. Only three games separated the Rangers from the third place Angels (85-77) in 2015. With an influx of young talent, this division should be primed for another exciting finish in 2016.

Next: Fifth Place