MLB Standings: AL West
Current standings:
27-17 Houston Astros (+92 run differential)
25-17 Los Angeles Angels (+33 run differential)
24-17 Seattle Mariners (+5 run differential)
21-21 Oakland Athletics (-13 run differential)
16-27 Texas Rangers (-62 run differential)
The current order of the teams in the AL West is about what was expected, but most people that there would be a much bigger gap between the Astros and the rest. They do have by far the best run-differential in baseball, which is one reason to expect their small lead to grow. Their expected win-loss record based on their run-differential is 33-10.
Projected finish:
100-62 Houston Astros
89-73 Los Angeles Angels
83-79 Seattle Mariners
80-82 Oakland Athletics
73-89 Texas Rangers
What the projections say: The projections have the Astros right there with the Yankees and Red Sox in a battle for the best record in baseball. Their pitching has been dominant and their offense is projected to be better going forward than it’s been so far.
The Angels are expected to fall back of the Astros but have the second-best record of the non-division winners. That would give them the second wild card spot.
As Ferris Bueller says, “Life moves pretty fast…” For the Seattle Mariners, life careened off track recently with the injury to second baseman Robinson Cano. Then it got worse with the announcement of Cano’s 80-game PED suspension.
Before the injury, the Mariners were projected to finish a handful of games out of the second wild card spot. Then came the injury, followed by the suspension, and now the gap between the Mariners and Angels is a projected six games. Ouch.
The A’s are coming off three straight last-place finishes in the AL West, but look to avoid that fate for a fourth straight year. That’s because Texas looks terrible, both on offense and defense.
They have the third worst wRC+ in baseball and the fifth-worst ERA. If Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus were healthy, they would be nice trade chips. We’ll see if they can be traded for talent when the trade deadline is approaching.
What I think: I agree with the projections here. The Astros will in the division and the Angels will take second, ahead of the Robinson Cano-less Mariners. The A’s will hope for a .500 finish, and the Rangers will try to avoid 90 losses.