MLB players: The biggest difference makers for all 30 teams in 2020

MLB players: The biggest difference makers in 2020

American League West

The Oakland Athletics are going to be one of America’s favorite teams this season because they will be trying to knock down the Astros in the American League West. But if the A’s are going to do that then Khris Davis will need to get back to his form when he was hitting 40 homers with ease.

I say that because in 2019 he was not himself. He hit less than half the home runs than he did in 2018 and drove in less than 75 runs.

The A’s have Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Marcus Semien at the top of the lineup and if you add a 50 homer guy into the lineup then the A’s should be able to win the AL West.

Well the Astros X-Factor in 2017 was a dugout trashcan and in 2019 was a buzzer so what about 2019? I will actually go with a player and that is Lance McCullers Jr.

He had to sit out the 2019 season after he had right elbow surgery, so this will be his first action in the big leagues since 2018.

And I think he will have to be even more dialed in from start to finish because Gerrit Cole is not in the rotation any longer.

As I said earlier the A’s are going to give the Astros a run for their money and if they want to win a hard-fought division then Lance McCullers Jr. will need to provide some solid innings for Dusty Baker.

Shohei Ohtani is going to be the most important player for the 2020 Los Angeles Angels. I know that Anthony Rendon signed a $245 million contract for seven years. But while he will have a lot of pressure on himself, Ohtani should have the most.

He is a very talented two-way player who can hit 20 homers as a DH and then win 10 games as a starter because the Angels now have a talented enough lineup to do so.

Coming off Tommy John surgery, he is not going to start on Opening Day but if he can give the Angels a good 15-20 starts then it will certainly help their very young rotation.

Corey Kluber was traded to the Texas Rangers because they believe he can get back to his Cy Young ability that he was in 2014 and 2017.

2019 was a bad year for Kluber, as he was hurt for the majority of the season and he was hoping to lead the Indians rotation before the trade.

But he gets a new opportunity to be the ace of arguably the deepest rotation in the American League. He is joined alongside Mike Minor, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Jordan Lyles.

The offense will have to have a good year as well but if Kluber can pitch like a Cy Young candidate then he should put the Rangers in a good spot for the second Wild Card.

The Mariners have traded away all of their veteran MLB players except Kyle Seager and Marco Gonzales, so it is going to be a year of growth and one of the young faces that will get a lot of time at first base is Evan White.

White just signed a six-year extension before he has played a game in the big leagues so Seattle knows that this kid is going to perform and are going to be expecting him to get off to a good start in his rookie season.

He will hit in the middle of the lineup in 2020 after hitting nearly .300 in the minors with 18 homers in Double-A in 2019.

Alright, the American League is covered so let’s dive into the National League starting with the National League East.