AL West Assessment for '21

[Torridd]

Fun analysis and I agree with all said on the Angels.

https://www.mlb.com/news/roundtable-what-team-will-win-al-west?partnerId=zh-20210211-156906-MLB&qid=1026&bt_ee=xbdh4aVYl7WXF9rEU5ImdxUqcKyprIPg3rWI4%2F4Jqa9wrzGTAOL2XM8uH1jfywMY&bt_ts=1613047091342

[Angelsjunky]

I hope Feinsand is right.

[Mark PT]

3 hours ago, Torridd said:

Fun analysis and I agree with all said on the Angels.

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/roundtable-what-team-will-win-al-west?partnerId=zh-20210211-156906-MLB&qid=1026&bt_ee=xbdh4aVYl7WXF9rEU5ImdxUqcKyprIPg3rWI4%2F4Jqa9wrzGTAOL2XM8uH1jfywMY&bt_ts=1613047091342

Problem is that there is not one Angels pitcher that has been consistent for 2 or more years in a row, as most said.

[Bronson]

I like how they didn’t include any Mariner or Rangers beat writers. The disrespect. 

[Inside Pitch]

4 hours ago, Torridd said:

Fun analysis and I agree with all said on the Angels.

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/roundtable-what-team-will-win-al-west?partnerId=zh-20210211-156906-MLB&qid=1026&bt_ee=xbdh4aVYl7WXF9rEU5ImdxUqcKyprIPg3rWI4%2F4Jqa9wrzGTAOL2XM8uH1jfywMY&bt_ts=1613047091342

McTaggart: The biggest enigma surrounding the Astros is what happened to the star offensive players last year? Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, José Altuve and Yuli Gurriel -- their entire starting infield -- had down offensive seasons, though Correa, Bregman and Altuve caught fire in the playoffs [and eliminated Oakland]. Will they bounce back? Plus, the return of 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner Yordan Alvarez can't be underestimated. He's a force and could replace Springer's production

[Angel Oracle]

No trash can banging in 2020

[Hubs]

13 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

McTaggart: The biggest enigma surrounding the Astros is what happened to the star offensive players last year? Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, José Altuve and Yuli Gurriel -- their entire starting infield -- had down offensive seasons, though Correa, Bregman and Altuve caught fire in the playoffs [and eliminated Oakland]. Will they bounce back? Plus, the return of 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner Yordan Alvarez can't be underestimated. He's a force and could replace Springer's production

Uh maybe not knowing what pitches were coming led to a down year. We know they cheated in 2017 and parts of 2018, are we expected to believe they just stopped cheating? When they hadn’t been caught yet? In 2020, they’d been caught. They were 29-31 last year, and trending downwards. Angels got off to a tough start, but their rotation will be average, as in 12-18th in the league, 6-9th in the AL. The A’s have a better rotation, but don’t have the offense. The Astros have a bunch of young guys and two veteran starters but get the benefit of the doubt. Where the Angels don’t. To me, Angels are the favorites. It will be close, with all three teams winning between 86-92 games but I think they can come out on top. 

[Second Base]

The Astros downturn absolutely has a lot to do with them cheating. It's not only the fact that they didn't know what pitch was coming, but having to face the rest of the league, all their peers knowing they are cheating POS, it definitely hurt them. 

And this year, they'll be facing the fans, and fans haven't forgotten. 

They'll be a little better because getting  Yordan Alvarez back adds a beast of a hitter back into the lineup, but Bregman, Altuve, Correa and Gurriel aren't going to be elite hitters like they were when they were cheating. 

But the Astros pitchers should still be decent. Not good, but decent. 

I think the Astros are headed for an 85-90 win season. 

The A's have lost a lot to FA, and will struggle to score runs consistently. Their pitching staff has major upside to it though, and I think they too, are going to be an 85-90 win team. 

And as I've said before, the Angels, I believe are an 87-ish win team, 85-90 wins. 

The Astros, A's and Angels are all going to be within 5 games of one another. 

 

 

[Angel Oracle]

Yordan Alvarez seemed to be channeling his inner Jabari Blash in the 2019 post-season, lots of Ks.

Did MLB pitchers figure him out?

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Hubs said:

Uh maybe not knowing what pitches were coming led to a down year. We know they cheated in 2017 and parts of 2018, are we expected to believe they just stopped cheating? When they hadn’t been caught yet? In 2020, they’d been caught. They were 29-31 last year, and trending downwards. Angels got off to a tough start, but their rotation will be average, as in 12-18th in the league, 6-9th in the AL. The A’s have a better rotation, but don’t have the offense. The Astros have a bunch of young guys and two veteran starters but get the benefit of the doubt. Where the Angels don’t. To me, Angels are the favorites. It will be close, with all three teams winning between 86-92 games but I think they can come out on top. 

This same dude then blamed their bad showing on the shortened season.   I mean FFS...

[Pancake Bear]

The Astros were essentially a .500 team last year and they've gotten worse. They're also relying on an aging Zack Greinke to stay elite. 

IMO, the A's are the top competition for the division since they always seem to somehow manage to be good regardless of who they dump. The division is as open as it has been in several years. I think we have the safest floor of the three and could win the division. First time I've legitimately believed that in several seasons. 

[ThisismineScios]

I ran back through the FO hirings Perry made and was reminded about just how good of a staff he's assembled. I mean these are top Dodgers, Braves, Royals, Jays, and Brewers guys. As a team, they've decided the moves they are making are what will get them to division. They know just as much as we do that the division is there for the taking. I personally like the "raise the floor" idea, but there's no question that the rotation as currently constructed is underwhelming. Why do we think such a great collection of baseball minds are not being more aggressive? Are they waiting for possible trades during the year? This is clearly intentional and the plan, so I'm curious to see the reasoning behind it. 

[Second Base]

31 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

This same dude then blamed their bad showing on the shortened season.   I mean FFS...

How many wins do you think the Astros have in them this year? I thought 85-90, but now I'm wondering if it's 80-85. 

[Pancake Bear]

48 minutes ago, Second Base said:

How many wins do you think the Astros have in them this year? I thought 85-90, but now I'm wondering if it's 80-85. 

You didn't ask me, but IMO the A's, Astros, and Angels will all be in the 80-90 win range. Division race will be close. 

[Pancake Bear]

50 minutes ago, Second Base said:

How many wins do you think the Astros have in them this year? I thought 85-90, but now I'm wondering if it's 80-85. 

You didn't ask me, but IMO the A's, Astros, and Angels will all be in the 80-90 win range. Division race will be close. If this was Eppler, I'd be more concerned since his evaluation seemed to be challenged. Minasian and his team get a pass for at least this offseason to see if they're any better at evaluating before I blast them. 

[greginpsca]

I think the bullpen will be the most crucial part for the Angels to compete for the division. If they do good , the team will be really good. If not good, repeat of previous years.  The SP should improve . Bundy, Heaney, and Canning should all be close to what they were last season. The 4 & 5 spots in the rotation really sucked last year. I think those spots ERA was around 9.00. If Quintana and Cobb's numbers can hover around 4.00-4.25 the rotation will be much better.  I think those 2 can average between 5- 6 innings per start. The only real weakness defensively will be lf.   And i think we will see Upton regularly pulled late in games for defensive replacements.

[Hubs]

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

This same dude then blamed their bad showing on the shortened season.   I mean FFS...

I blamed it or the writer in the round table?

[Hubs]

I could easily see the Astros at 78-84. They are not head and shoulders above everyone else. Without fans they did make it to the ALCS but if they think we’ve forgotten about their cheating ways they’re in for a surprise 

[Inside Pitch]

24 minutes ago, Hubs said:

I blamed it or the writer in the round table?

The guy I quoted from the story... McTaggart

[BTH]

6 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I hope Feinsand is right.

It is noteworthy that he isn't covering any of those teams, like the others in the roundtable are. So he had the least biased view.

[BTH]

2 hours ago, ThisismineScios said:

I ran back through the FO hirings Perry made and was reminded about just how good of a staff he's assembled. I mean these are top Dodgers, Braves, Royals, Jays, and Brewers guys. As a team, they've decided the moves they are making are what will get them to division. They know just as much as we do that the division is there for the taking. I personally like the "raise the floor" idea, but there's no question that the rotation as currently constructed is underwhelming. Why do we think such a great collection of baseball minds are not being more aggressive? Are they waiting for possible trades during the year? This is clearly intentional and the plan, so I'm curious to see the reasoning behind it. 

It seems like they want to give themselves more time to see what the current team has. Also, I'd imagine more opportunities on the trade market open up throughout the season.

[PattyD22]

4 hours ago, Hubs said:

Uh maybe not knowing what pitches were coming led to a down year. We know they cheated in 2017 and parts of 2018, are we expected to believe they just stopped cheating? When they hadn’t been caught yet? In 2020, they’d been caught. They were 29-31 last year, and trending downwards.  

The Astros also benefited from only having to play in the West last year, and they REALLY benefited from not having to play in front of regular sized crowds.  In my opinion, the mere fact of the Astros not having to play in front of live crowds may have contributed to a few wins they may not have got if crowds were actually there, especially in the early part of the season.

Edited February 11, 2021 by PattyD22

[Docwaukee]

I like how everyone talks about the Halos not having or adding an ace to their rotation, but who the F has an ace in the AL west?  

Is Greinke or McCullers an ace?  Luzardo?  Maybe at some point down the road.  Anyone on Seattle or Texas?  Hell no.  

all the rotations in the west are actually pretty damn even.  The Astros have the offensive edge from a projection standpoint because they cheated before last year.  

Minasian did a decent job but if we lose the division because Cobb and Fowler suck, I'm gonna be fuckin' pissed.  

[ThisismineScios]

Aces in general are overrated; I think consistency is more important. I’d rather go into a crucial series with 3 solid guys. The bullpen is what worries me a bit. The only major upgrade is Iglesias. Addition by subtraction with Robles and Milner gone, I suppose, and moving Buttrey to 6th-7th inning work will help. But adding 1 more really good guy would help a ton, be it Rosenthal, Greene, or another. 

We’re not walking into a series facing Cole Verlander Greinke, you’re right. Oakland has a lot of ?’s. But their staffs are probably better than ours. 

[Second Base]

5 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I like how everyone talks about the Halos not having or adding an ace to their rotation, but who the F has an ace in the AL west?  

Is Greinke or McCullers an ace?  Luzardo?  Maybe at some point down the road.  Anyone on Seattle or Texas?  Hell no.  

all the rotations in the west are actually pretty damn even.  The Astros have the edge from a projection standpoint because they cheated before last year.  

Minasian did a decent job but if we lose the division because Cobb and Fowler suck, I'm gonna be fuckin' pissed.  

Minasian sees something. No one would pay that much for Cobb when there were that many suitable alternatives on the market for cheaper. Not unless they specifically keyed in on something that few others see, like with Bundy. 

Same with Fowler to a lesser extent. There were alternatives on the market still. Minasian raved about the off-season workouts and thinks he's buying low on someone very good. 

We'll see.