MLB: How to Buy the West

 

 

 

Full confession: I don’t scout the West very much, so if there’s a kid who busts out to be a rookie of the year candidate, my apologies.

 

National League

 

1. The cream of the NL West, if not all of MLB is the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two-time defending World Series champion. They’re probably the best team in Japan as well, which is where they’ve cherrypicked talent lately. They are what a billion dollars in salary get you because when the Dodgers were bad, MLB made a sweetheart deal that allowed LA to hide salaries via deferred payments, write-offs, and tax-dodges.

            They have MLB’s best everyday player, Ohtani, who might be their second-best pitcher as well. Glasnow, Snell, and Yamamoto can also throw pretty well, and they scooped up Edwin Diaz in free agency to stabilize the bullpen and still have Tanner Scott. And who wouldn’t a daily lineup that includes Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Rojas, Hernandez, Smith, and 2026’s prize free agent, Kyle Tucker?

 

Weaknesses? The bullpen before you get to Scott or Diaz is quite hittable. Sasaki impresses those who think speed is everything, but batters have figured him out. Plus, he’s on the IL. 

 

2. The San Diego Padres turned over their roster, but kept key pitchers like Cease, King, Darvish, and Musgrave. They might have the NL’s best relief pitcher in young Mason Miller, added innings guy Pivetta, and the rest of their staff is made up of Yankees castoffs such as Brito, Marinaccio, Peralta, and Vasquez. That’s not a bad thing, as New York has fallen into a bad habit of dumping useful players for bets on those who aren’t. San Diego may have done the same thing with signing Bueler, who looks gassed, and Castellanos the worst outfielder in MLB and a known clubhouse distraction. The lineup, though is formidable with bats such as Bogaerts, Machado, Tatis Jr. and Laureano. Their bullpen might be better than that of the Dodgers.

 

Weaknesses? There are weak spots after jettisoning Kim and Solano. Will catcher Fermin handle the staff as well as Higashioka?

 

3. I’m not sold on this pick, but I think the Arizona Diamondbacks will squeeze out third place based on very good pitching staff: Kelly (currently on the IL) , Burnes, Gallen, Pfadtt, and (hopefully) Eduardo Martinzez, who are on the IL. 

 

Weaknesses? Other than Carroll, Marte, and (they hope) the aging Arendo there aren’t many hitters who will ruin a good pitcher’s sleep. Last year, the D’Backs had the worst bullpen in baseball and adding the ruined arm of Loaisiga is unlikely to help.

 

4. The San Franciso Giants:  I could have jumped straight to weaknesses, but I should give a shout out to Ray and Webb, who are good pitchers, gold glove outfielder Bader, high OBP hitter Arraez who seems always to be on base, and Chapman or Devers who can knock him in.

 

Weaknesses: More holes than a hobo’s socks. They are slow, swing at too many bad pitches, and lack power. Plus, new manager Tony Vitello has only college baseball experience. He may turn out to be a good skipper, but I doubt that will be this year.

 

5. Would someone fold the deckchairs on the U.S.S. Colorado Rockies? They lost 119 games last year and could lose 120 this year. Other than Freeland, Lorenzen, and (I Need a New Agent) Kris Bryant you won’t have heard of any of the kids who will be playing for the Rockies this year. Best Case Scenario: By the end of the season a couple of hopeful prospects will have emerged but nobody seems to know if there’s any sort of plan, let alone a “grand” one.

 

 

 

 

American League:

 

1. I’m seldom sold on the Seattle Mariners, but they should have enough to prevail again in the flawed AL West. First, though, hats off to catcher Cal Raleigh who slammed 60 homers last year. He probably won’t duplicate that in 2026, but he has other decenthitters around him: Naylor, Julio Roriguez, Crawford, Canzone, Robles and newcomers Donovan and Refsnyder. The staff is anchored by Castillo and Woo.

 

Weaknesses: The Mariners tend to look great on paper but have too many players who have been less than the sum of their parts. Castillo is said to be an ace, but he’s 84-84 lifetime and has had a winning record in just three of his 9 years in MLB. Robles is the hitter equivalent, 9 years in the majors, but a .247 hitter based mainly on two great years and has never had more than 17 homers. I’ll go on record as saying that top prospect Colt Emerson will be an early call-up. The M’s should rock the AL West but don’t blame me if it’s merely a mild shake.

 

2. Here’s my wild prediction for 2026. The Athletics (playing in Sacramento but with no city designation) will finish second in the AL West. (Once they move into their very ugly domed stadium in Las Vegas, we need never care about them again!) The A’s have done a nice job of bringing along young hitters mixed with a few veterans. Four A’s hit 25 or more homers in 2025: Soderstrom (25), Rooker (30), Langeliers (31), and Kurtz (36).

 

Weaknesses? Here’s where my optimism could turn to foolishness. You’ll notice there are no pitchers mentioned. Their top three relievers (after trading Miller) had a total of seven saves between them and all five of their starters had ERAs well north of four. They are depending on Luis Severino to be their ace. He’s a guy the Yankees released and went 8-11 for the A’s last year. Look for young pitchers Gage Jump and Jack Perkins to breakout early, or this young A’s team will finish fourth, not second.

 

3. The Houston Astros are a shell of what they were are their apex, but they’re still a decent ballclub. Walker, Altuve, Pena, and Correa make up one of the best infields in the AL now that Correa has moved to third to allow Penna to take over short. Diaz is strong behind the plate and Hader is one of the best closers around. Brown is considered their number one starter given Javier’s fall off in 2025, and they have high hopes for Japanese starter Imai, though a lot of other clubs passed on him. If McCullers and Burrows pitch to their potential, the ‘Stros will have strong pitching.

 

Weaknesses? The outfield is a wing and a prayer. Put another way, put the three starters together and they don’t add up to one Kyle Tucker. Don’t be surprised if prospect Matthews and Cole displace a few incumbents in late spring. Walker is a fine defensive first baseman, but his inconsistent bat is why teams that needed one didn’t pursue him back in 2024.

 

4. If the A’s are a fantasy pick and the Astros don’t up their game, the rebuilding Texas Rangers could move up a slot or two. Eovaldi and de Grom are frontline starters. Everyday players include Nimmo (from the Mets), Aroldis Garcia, Seager, and Langford, the latter a young player with the ceiling of a star.

 

Weaknesses?  The Rangers are quite thin everywhere. Look for Higashioka to displace Jansen as catcher but overall, the Rangers simply can’t afford injuries to key players like de Grom, Altuve, or Langford. Even if they stay healthy, they’ll be several pieces short. Robert Garcia is their closer and had but nine last year. If he goes down, the ball goes to Beeks. (Really?) Walcott, still just 18, has raked this spring and might hit his way into the lineup.

 

5. Unless Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Great Pumpkin collectively work magic the Los Angeles (really Anaheim) Angels will be hard-pressed to improve on 2025’s 99-loss season. They redid their pitching staff, which shouldn’t have been hard, but gave up their third best hitter, Taylor Ward, to acquire Grayson Rodriguez who has a dead arm. Deters is their number 3 guy and he was in bullpen last year. Neither # 1 nor # 2 (Soriano and Kikkuchi) had winning records. If I asked you who was their best hitter, you’d be tempted to say Trout, except his line last year was .232/26/64. Adell’s 37 homers led the club.

 

Weaknesses? Everywhere. When a bust like Moncada is your new third baseman, you’re in trouble. Ditto When the two guys pegged to close games are vets who collectively had four last year. The Angels should do the kind thing and trade Trout to the Dodgers for a truckload of prospects.