2010 AL West Preview

With Spring Training games getting underway this week, Tom and I thought it would be a good time to get started on previewing the 2010 season. I will be previewing the AL divisions and Tom will take care of the NL. Teams will appear in order of expected finish, and we'll highlight one new player on the team, the key player for that team, and one player who might breakout. Let's get started!

Texas Rangers

Same Face, New Place: Rich Harden. Now I could have easily chosen Vlad Guerrero, but any success Harden has will be more important than any success Guerrero may have. The Rangers are realizing how important pitching is and are finally addressing that area, and Harden is an interesting choice. Harden may be one of the most talented pitchers in the game, the problem is that he is either hurt or ineffective. If Harden can consistently pitch 7+ innings while staying healthy this year, he'll be a big reason why the Rangers contend in 2010.

Key Player: Josh Hamilton. By now, most people know about Hamilton's amazing story involving drugs and alcohol and his comeback to baseball. When it comes down to it, Hamilton is the key for the Rangers this year. Coming off an injury-filled 2009 and starting this year with a shoulder injury, it's important for Hamilton to remain healthy and produce like he did in 2008. The Rangers have an incredible offense, but Hamilton makes it even better and they'll need offense to bail out their  pitching this season.

Player to Watch: Julio Borbon. Borbon is taking over centerfield from Hamilton and will also be batting leadoff and with good reason. In 46 games, Borbon batted .312, had a .376 OBP, and stole 19 bases, if he can build on that success in 2010, it'll give a new wrinkle to the usually high-powered Rangers offense.

Conclusion: I know this pick is a surprise for most people, but I'm really high on the Rangers this year. The offense is known for being homer-happy and producing a lot of runs, but the pitching will be the story for the Rangers this season. They'll have their rough patches, but the pitching will be improved and the Rangers will be the surprise team this season.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Same Face, New Place: Hideki Matsui. Matsui had a very productive season for the Yankees last season and he'll have to produce similar numbers for the Angels this season. Matsui was one of many players who enjoyed the short porch in right field in Yankee Stadium, so it'll be interesting to see if the resurgence from Matsui was strictly because of the stadium he played in or if he was fully healthy and back to performing like it was 2004. The thing to watch from Matsui is health, something that has been a problem for Matsui lately.

Key Player: Kendry Morales. Morales experienced an unbelievable season where he hit 34 home runs and drove in 108 runs with an OPS of .924. He's the key player for the Angels this season because he'll have to put up similar numbers yet again to allow the Angels to contend. The Angels have good offensive weapons, but no one besides Morales that strikes fear into opposing pitchers. If Morales can't duplicate his 2009 season the Angels may be in a little trouble.

Player to Watch: Brandon Wood. In the fantasy baseball world, not many prospect have been as hyped ad Wood has been through his career. While failing to live up to the insane amount of hype so far, the hype has cooled, which could be exactly what Wood needs to break out. He'll have no one watching him, a strong veteran presence around him, and a somewhat permanent job at 3B this season. All signs point to Wood being more comfortable this season and when a guy is comfortable he may just bust out in a big way.

Conclusion: The Angels are really the only other team I see in this division that has a shot at winning the division. The pitching is outstanding and the offense is definitely good enough to get the job done. If Morales can have similar success to last year combined with what should be stellar pitching the Angels will be right there for either the wild card or the division.

Seattle Mariners

Same Face, New Place: Chone Figgins. Figgins took his speed and bolted (you decide if I intended this pun) for Seattle who offered a ton of money. Figgins will lose his leadoff spot to Ichiro but will definitely provide for an interesting 1-2 punch at the top of the Mariners lineup.

Key Player: Erik Bedard. Bedard rejoined the Mariners but will be starting the year on the DL. So why is a guy on the DL a key player, well that's because he's going to be extremely important for them when he comes back. After Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee the pitching for the Mariners is suspect and Bedard's presence will be a boost to a team that has high expectations.

Player to Watch: Milton Bradley. I'm trying to keep this section to young players but I can't pass up the opportunity to talk about Bradley. The Mariners will seemingly lack a strong offense this season so it'll be key for Bradley to rediscover the power that he had in Texas two seasons ago. If he doesn't have that power anymore, well, he'll still be a player to watch because he'll undoubtedly provide a good quote or two during the season.

Conclusion: The Mariners have a lot of pre-season hype surrounding them and that means one thing. They won't match the hype. The pitching and offense are good at the 1 and 2 holes but after that there are a ton of question marks. Two solid starters is great for the playoffs but you have to win enough to get there to enjoy that pleasure and I just don't see how the Mariners will win enough games to contend this season.

Oakland A's

Same Face, New Place: Ben Sheets. Sheets didn't pitch in 2009 due to surgery on his pitching arm, but he's back and looks to be ready for 2010. Sheets is very similar to Rich Harden in the fact that he's really talented when healthy, but he's never healthy. He'll likely be the ace of the A's staff to start off the season and if he has a good first half you can almost guarantee that he'll be traded to a contender for the usual prospects that Billy Beane loves to acquire.

Key Player: Kurt Suzuki. It's really hard to find a key player for the A's, they really aren't playing for much this season so this season doesn't hinge on only one player. Suzuki is just superb catcher who should continue to improve and garner attention nationally. He hit 15 home runs last year and drove in 88 runs while stealing 8 bases as a catcher. He'll be a key player in terms of keeping fans coming to games and possibly keeping the A's in Oakland.

Player to Watch: Brett Anderson. Anderson won 11 games last year so you're probably asking why I have him on here this year. The simple answer is that he could have won even more games last year.  Anderson was victim to Matt Cain Syndrome where he just simply didn't get enough run support last year. He has a ton of potential and given a little support could become a top pitcher in baseball.

Conclusion: Oh Billy Beane and his love of getting on-base. It's really starting to hurt the A's, and I don't really see a way for them to contend this season. A team full of young guys isn't the greatest way to win, but my god you have to credit Beane for continuing to trot out teams like that year in and year out. They have a few nice pieces but not nearly enough to compete.