Hi everyone, we have gone through the AL East and Central divisions. Now we go to the AL West division (sort of if you consider Texas part of the west haha). If you are ready I am, let’s get this party started!!!
5th: Mariners 70-92
Best Prop Bet: AL Rookie of the year Jarred Kelenic +650 (small bet)
Projected Lineup
- SS J.P Crawford
- LF Mitch Haniger
- RF Kyle Lewis
- 3B Kyle Seager
- DH Ty France
- 2B Dylan Moore
- CF Taylor Trammell
- 1B Evan White
- C Tom Murphy
Starting Rotation
- Marco Gonzales
- James Paxton
- Justus Sheffield
- Yusei Ikiuchi
- Chris Flexen
Bullpen
CL: Rafael Montero
Setup: Joey Gerber
Setup: Anthony Misiewicz
Setup: Kendall Graveman
Overview: The Mariners are one of the youngest and exciting teams to watch in baseball in 2021. Outside of Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger the everyday lineup the Mariners will trot out is a bunch of pups. But the Mariners projected lineup to start the season doesn’t even include my rookie of the year pick Jarred Kelenic, this shows how much talent the M’s have on this roster and why the future is very bright. The rotation is solid at the top (if James Paxton can stay healthy) but a lot of unknown’s in the pen and bottom of the rotation. The Mariners are a team that is going to win around 70 games but will be a thorn at times for some of the AL’s better teams. The future isn’t here yet in the land of Starbucks and inland ocean water but there is a good reason for optimism in Sea town.
4th: Rangers 74-88
Best Prop Bet: Over 67.5 (Decent Wager)
Projected Lineup
- SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- DH Willie Calhoun
- RF Joey Gallo
- LF David Dahl
- 2B Nick Solak
- 1B Ronald Guzman
- C Jose Trevino
- 3B Rougned Odor
- CF Leody Taveras
Starting Rotation
- Kyle Gibson
- Kohei Arihara
- Jordan Lyles
- Mike Foltynewicz
- Dane Dunning
Bullpen
CL: Matt Bush
Setup: Jonathan Hernandez
Setup: Josh Sborz
Setup: Joel Rodriguez
Overview: I am higher on the Rangers than most in 2021. I think the rotation is very underrated, a lot of solid starters even though no true ace, that being said I believe Dane Dunning’s upside is a future ace. The bullpen is pretty average, lots of hard throwers on the back end but very a very young unit. The issue with the Rangers and why they will be sub .500 in 2021 is the lineup. Joey Gallo may hit 50 homeruns, 100 walks and 200 strikeouts. Gallo is the definition of a three outcome approach which is what is wrong with baseball today (a different argument for a different day), but because he’s at such an extreme it is fascinating to watch in his case. The Rangers got a buy low on David Dahl, who was a definite needs a change of scenery guy but still a solid ball player and a bounce back candidate. But the bottom of the lineup is mediocre at best. The solid pitching will keep the Rangers respectable this season, better than many think but no where near playoff contenders.
3rd: Astros 78-84
Best Prop Bet: Under 87.5 Wins (Large wager)
Projected Lineup
- 2B Jose Altuve
- SS Carlos Correa
- LF Michael Brantley
- 3B Alex Bregman
- DH Yordan Alvarez
- 1B Yuli Gurriel
- RF Kyle Tucker
- C Martin Maldonado
- CF Myles Straw
Projected Rotation
- Zack Grienke
- Lance McCullers
- Jake Odorizzi
- Jose Urquidy
- Cristian Javier
Bullpen
CL: Ryan Pressly
Setup: Pedro Paez
Setup: Enoli Paredes
Setup: Bryan Abreu
Overview: I am going to get a lot of atta boys for predicting that the hated Astros will be the most disappointing team in baseball in 2021 but here is my explanations on why. Outside of Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa the entire linep had down years in 2020 so a regression to the mean right? Are we sure that Jose Altuve’s offensive and defensive woes are fixable? Has the league maybe figured out Yordan Alvarez? Alex Bregman is the one player almost certainly to bounce back in 2021 but the rest of this lineup I have questions about and could see an average to maybe below average unit (especially 7-9 in the batting order). The top of the rotation and Ryan Pressley at closer is solid but there is no pitching depth as the Astros traded away many of their pitching prospects over the past few seasons going for it. I could be wrong but with Mariners and Rangers both being bad but competitive this year I don’t see many easy teams for the Astros to feast on this season as was the case in years past, I’m out on the Astros, well see if I’m right.
2nd: Angels 84-78
Best Prop Bet: Anthony Rendon AL MVP +1600 (small wager)
Projected Lineup
- 2B David Fletcher
- CF Mike Trout
- DH Shohei Ohtani
- 3B Anthony Rendon
- RF Justin Upton
- 1B Jared Walsh
- RF Dexter Fowler
- SS Jose Iglesias
- C Max Stassi
Starting Rotation
- Andrew Heaney
- Jose Quintana
- Dylan Bundy
- Alex Cobb
- Griffin Canning
Bullpen
CL: Raisel Iglesias
Setup: Felix Pena
Setup: Mike Mayers
Setup: Ty Buttrey
Overview: The Angels are a team that will be improved from the past few seasons in 2021. The Angels will score a lot of runs in 2021, my darkhorse MVP is Mike Trout’s new companion Anthony Rendon who still had a very good season in the shortened 2020 Season in his first season in the land of Disney. The bullpen is good to awesome as well but what is keeping me from putting the Halos atop the West and into the playoffs is the rotation. This rotation is a lot of number 3 and 4 starters and wouldn’t be surprised if team Mickey Mouse is looking for a top end starter at the deadline. This is one of the most unpredictable teams in baseball this season. I wouldn’t be surprised at 75 or 95 wins, so let’s go with 84 wins which is right in the middle. The Angels will be in contention until mid September. But in the end might be another year before Mike Trout gets that elusive playoff win.
1st: Athletics 91-71 (3rd playoff seed)
Best Prop Bet: Win AL West +175 (Healthy Wager)
Projected Lineup
- CF Ramon Laureano
- LF Mark Canha
- 3B Mark Chapman
- 1B Matt Olson
- C Sean Murphy
- DH Mitch Moreland
- RF Stephen Piscotty
- SS Elvis Andus
- 2B Anthony Kemp
Starting Rotation
- Chris Bassitt
- Sean Manaea
- Jesus Luzardo
- Frankie Montas
- A.J Puk
Bullpen
CL: Trevor Rosenthal
Setup: Sergio Romo
Setup: Jake Diekman
Setup: Lou Trivino
Overview: Let’s start off with what will be a controversial take. The A’s have to the best defensive players at any position in baseball (Matt Chapman and Ramon Laureano). They also have the best bullpen in baseball. Those are elite metrics for a team that is always creative with their roster building for a team will limited financial resources. The A’s are a team that will hit a lot of homeruns and also strike out a ton. There are your quintessential 2021 baseball team and will get a shutout on some nights and score 15 runs on other nights. The weakness of the A’s would be a rotation that is solid but not spectacular. But for a team that won 97 games in each of the past two full seasons I do not see a huge drop off from those win totals. Losing Marcus Semien and Liam Hendriks will bring the A’s down a little bit to the pack but down to a .500ish team that many experts are pegging I do not see at all. Take the A’s to win the West in 2021, one of the best prop bets out there in my humblest opinion.