1 bold prediction for each American League West team in 2023

Seattle Mariners: They will win the American League West for the first time since 2001

Buckle up: the Seattle Mariners should be in for quite the ride in 2023.

If 2022 wasn’t already special enough as the team ended its 20-year playoff drought, Seattle is motivated to build off their success last season and parlay it into something more this year. And they have the talent to pull it off.

Their lineup is strong, featuring Julio Rodriguez, Ty France, Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez and Kolten Wong, among others. And their pitching staff is equally dynamic, anchored by ace Luis Castillo. Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Marco Gonzales round out a really stout rotation.

A team as loaded and well-balanced as this one can only be poised for big things, and the ceiling for the Mariners is as high as anyone else’s in the American League West. This squad was thoroughly outclassed in the 2022 playoffs by the Houston Astros, but revenge is in order for 2023. A first division title in 20+ years seems like just the way to extract it.

Texas Rangers: They will make the playoffs for the first time since 2016

The American League West houses plenty of teams with playoff droughts, but time is expiring on most of them. And up next to end theirs? The Texas Rangers.

It goes without saying that the Rangers had (another) dynamite offseason, landing the top pitcher in the game when healthy in Jacob deGrom, and brought fellow starters Andrew Heaney, Nathan Eovaldi and Jake Odorizzi into the mix for 2023 as well. With Martin Perez and Jon Gray already in-house, this veteran group looks to be Texas’ best rotation in years.

At the plate, the Rangers have a nice group of hitters led by Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, Josh Jung, Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim all have something to add as well. Their depth is impressive, too, so new manager Bruce Bochy won’t lack options.

Speaking of Bochy, he’s one of the best managers in the game and his influence will be felt on this team. General Manager Chris Young has made the Texas Rangers fully in his image since the firing of Jon Daniels last summer, and the message is clear: it’s time to win in 2023.

With talent at the big league level and a deep farm system as insurance, there’s every reason to believe in the Rangers ending their postseason drought this year.