It’s an exciting time to be a fan of an American League (AL) baseball team since the league is filled with more talent than it’s seen in a long time. Predicting how each team will fare is incredibly difficult this upcoming season, but here are some thoughts on each AL squad’s outlook:
American League West
While they might be the most controversial team in professional sports to this day, the American League still runs through Houston. The Astros boast a star-studded rotation and one of the best lineups we’ve seen, but the key to their success will be out of the bullpen. Their new addition of all-time closer Josh Hader will bolster their reliever group, and he could be the piece that puts them back over the top.
The good news for the Rangers is that they won the World Series. The bad news is that the pitching situation is uncertain heading into this season. Future Hall of Fame pitchers Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer will be out for most of the season with injuries, and they let Jordan Montgomery walk. Making up for questionable pitching is this team’s rookie class, featuring postseason hero Evan Carter as well as Wyatt Langford, who might just be the best prospect in the sport.
The Mariners missed out on the postseason by the smallest of margins last year, putting a damper on a solid second-half comeback. The story this year is the same as it’s been. The pitching is close to elite, but the hitting is pretty average. The Mariners’ T-Mobile Park is one of the hardest to hit home runs out of, but don’t tell Julio Rodriguez that. “JRod” is looking to carry this team on his back by putting up another great season to add to his already impressive legacy as a young hitter.
The Angels have been every synonym of bad for the past few years, but at least they had Shohei Ohtani, one of the greatest spectacles on Earth. Now they are back to where they were before his breakout. Mike Trout is certainly still one of the best players in the game today, but his health is a genuine concern. The rest of the team is fairly young, but you can’t help but feel the ceiling for Trout’s supporting cast isn’t very high.
The Athletics are a mess off the field. They are likely to be moving to Las Vegas in a process that will take half a decade to complete. Their ownership has lost any confidence they once had from the Oakland faithful and it doesn’t feel like Vegas is yearning for the team either. If you’re an Athletics fan, just know that the on-field product will probably match the dramatic mess that the franchise is right now.
American League Central
The Twins broke an infamous curse last year, winning their first postseason game in nearly two decades. They also went on to win a postseason series, eventually falling to the buzzsaw that is the Astros. All that goodwill that the organization gained by making it over the hurdle was quickly burned by an uneventful offseason. The big knock against the Twins is their complacency heading into this season, believing they can win a relatively weak AL Central.
The Tigers have been bad for quite a while, consistently finding themselves near the bottom of the divisional standings. This year looks to be somewhat different. Their young core has some real pieces: Tarik Skubal is an upper-tier Cy Young candidate and the low-risk pitching signings could see great results playing in massive AL Central ballparks. This is still a growing year for the Tigers, but in a division with little excitement, they could prove to be the year’s big surprise.
The Guardians have constantly built lineups around the quantity of contact as opposed to quality. This is the strategy they live by (see 2022) and it is the strategy they die by (see 2023). Their pitching staff will always be above average, but finding offensive consistency using a model that modern baseball rejects will be the key to this team’s potential division title.
The White Sox are the midwestern version of the Angels. Their ownership occasionally invests in bringing in well-known players to the organization. The front office also resists spending on analytics or development, making them home to disappointing prospects. Their last hope for success is with Luis Robert Jr., who you can’t help but feel bad for, as he would be a household name in most other organizations.
The Royals had one of the worst seasons they could have had last year, but they rectified that with a solid offseason. Bobby Witt Jr. will be the long-term face of the franchise, as he netted the extension he deserves a couple of months back. The Royals’ main draw for analytics junkies this year will be Cole Ragans. His unexpected breakout in the back half of the 2023 season was a major storyline for the team, and his stuff has looked even more electric all spring. He is my personal AL Cy Young pick.
American League East
The Orioles have been an amazing story. Their prospect pool is loaded and each time one of their young players gets called up, they live up to expectations and more. The Orioles recently brought in a big-time arm in Corbin Burnes, a pitcher in the running for best in the game. The key to sustained success will be performing in one-run games, as they won a great deal of close matches in 2023. For this to be sustainable, they need good reliever play and little regression from their stars.
With significant personnel losses, this year will be the toughest test yet for Kevin Cash and the Rays’ development team. The organization’s reliever-to-starter program looks to be back in full force, with Zack Littell eating innings. Their core lineup of Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz will also have to be great. This team’s success hinges on the next wave of young talent to join the organization, which looks promising despite constant injury concerns.
The Jays have been a great team for a few years now, but the fans are getting antsy for more. The expectations are high, with some great power potential throughout the lineup and strikeout potential within the pitching staff. The big question for the team is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. By advanced metrics, he wasn’t a very valuable player for the Jays in 2023. But his power potential is still there, so the team is banking on him returning to a form similar to his MVP-calibre 2021 season. If his bat reaches those highs, the rest of the AL should be scared.
The Yankees were a major disappointment last year. They looked to conquer the AL East again off the backs of 2022 MVP Aaron Judge and best-pitcher-in-baseball Gerrit Cole. It did not work out. They’ve now brought in young superstar Juan Soto to make the lineup less Judge-reliant. Adding Soto is an outstanding move, but the health of the team is concerning. Cole will miss time, so they will rely on their questionable pitching depth to answer the call and step up. If their pitching can perform at the necessary level, we might be back to the days of Yankees dominance.
The Red Sox haven’t been able to keep up with their AL East opponents. They’re always a factor based on name recognition alone, but their offseason simply didn’t cut it. Fans just need to hope their team’s core hitters can continue to deliver and that their pitching staff can get enough outs to be competitive.
Featured image by Donna Lay via Unsplash.
