Astros, Mariners or Angels? Who has the best lineup in the AL West?

2023 Texas Rangers projected lineup and wRC+

1. Marcus Semien, 2B (129 wRC+)
2. Corey Seager, SS (131)
3. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B (129)
4. Adolis Garcia, RF (111)
5. Jonah Heim, C (105)
6. Josh Jung, 3B (114)
7. Brad Miller, DH (94)
8. Leody Taveras, CF (90)
9. Josh H. Smith, LF (106)

The Texas Rangers return the same lineup as the one they fielded for much of 2022 in 2023. And it’s not a bad lineup, especially with the emergences of Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia as productive regulars to pair with established talents Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. Notably, they didn’t improve left field this off-season despite handing out tons of money to free agents this winter, albeit to pitchers (i.e. Jacob deGrom).

Mitch Garver, who missed most of 2022 with an elbow injury, should see playing time in 2023, as should utility guys Mark Mathias and Ezequiel Duran. And don’t sleep on Bubba Thompson’s speed and potential out in center field.

The Rangers are improved thanks to their pitching additions, but they may still be a few bats short in their lineup in 2023. However, their future is extremely bright because of how deep their farm system is.

2023 Oakland Athletics projected lineup and wRC+

1. Tony Kemp, 2B (107 wRC+)
2. Ramon Laureano, RF (114)
3. Seth Brown, 1B (117)
4. Jesus Aguilar, DH (98)
5. Jace Peterson, 3B (97)
6. Shea Langeliers, C (100)
7. JJ Bleday, LF (97)
8. Nick Allen, SS (80)
9. Esteury Ruiz, CF (102)

The Oakland Athletics’ projected lineup in 2023 is as bad as it looks, folks. When your best hitter by wRC+ is Seth Brown, that’s pretty telling of where this group stands. Back to the AL West basement for the A’s this season, who are clearly rebuilding their talent base.

To their credit, Oakland did bring in fresh faces like Jace Peterson, Aledmys Diaz, JJ Bleday, Esteury Ruiz and Jesus Aguilar this winter. But none of those names get the A’s any closer to contention this season.

The projections have spoken, and they’re pretty much spot on: the AL West should probably shake out similarly to how it did in 2022. All five of these teams did improve, however, which should bring some degree of competition back into the fold.

As for the best lineup in the AL West? That still belongs to the Houston Astros, until proven otherwise. Their big-game experience makes them dangerous and they added Jose Abreu to that already powerful group. If they ever find a long-term upgrade over Martin Maldonado at catcher, watch out.