We are on to the next stop in our trek to look at one x-factor for all 30 MLB teams in 2017. In Part I, we looked at one of the deepest divisions in baseball – the American League East. X-factors ranged from rookie sluggers to veteran closers. In Part II, we looked at a division that has placed a team in the World Series in three of the past four years – the AL Central. X-factors ranged from big-name prospects to possibly washed up pitchers.
Today we will look at the AL West. The Texas Rangers are the reigning two-time division champs but with the moves that the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros made this offseason, the competition will be stiff. Even the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels are getting a bit of “are we sure we should bury these guys before the season even starts?” buzz, putting the West squarely in the conversation for most interesting division in baseball.
Of course, the West has the best player in baseball (Mike Trout), but he’s not the type of guy we’ll be highlighting in today’s slides. We’re going to be looking for the type of guys who we don’t know what to expect. Barring a major injury *knocks on wood so hard it registers as a 7.0 on the Richter scale* to Trout, we know what he’s going to do – 8-10 WAR and quite possibly another MVP award. Players like C.J. Cron on the other hand? (Don’t worry that’s not a spoiler for the Angels spot.) We have no idea. Is his spring success for real, or will he come back to earth once the games start to matter? These are the type of players who can swing a season even more than the Steady Eddies like Trout et al. Here are your 2017 x-factors for the AL West.