AL Preview: Everyone's chasing the lone star
Texas looks primed to pursue another world championship, with Orioles and Twins factoring in.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
TEXAS
2023 Record: 90-72.
Rank In Runs Scored: First.
Runs Allowed: Ninth.
Manager: Bruce Bochy.
Rotation: Nathan Eovaldi,, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, Cody Bradford.
Bullpen: Josh Sborz, Kirby Yates, Jacob Latz, Brock Burke, Grant Anderson, Michael Lorenzen.
Closer: Jose Leclerc/David Robertson.
Lineup: C Jonah Heim, 1B Jared Walsh, 2B Marcus Semien, SS Corey Seager, 3B Josh Jung, DH Wyatt Langford, LF Evan Carter, CF Leody Taveras, RF Adolis Garcia.
Injured List: RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Jacob deGrom, RHP Tyler Mahle, RHP Carson Coleman, RH Jonathan Hernandez, 1B Nathaniel Lowe.
Fun Fact: Sborz gave up four hits and one run in 10 postseason outings, striking out 13 in 12 innings.
Fun Fact II: Langford, from the U. of Florida, was picked fourth in last year’s draft and had a 1.157 WHIP in 44 minor league games.
Forecast: First. Best offensive team in the league, with a master-class manager when it comes to pitching.
SEATTLE MARINERS
2023 Record: 90-72.
Rank In Runs Scored: Seventh.
Runs Allowed: First.
Manager: Scott Servais.
Rotation: Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, Emerson Hancock.
Bullpen: Ryne Stanek, Gabe Speier, Trent Thornton, Tayler Saucedo, Cody Bolton, Austin Voth.
Closer: Andres Munoz.
Lineup: C Cal Raleigh, 1B Ty France, 2B Jorge Polanco, SS J.P. Crawford, 3B Josh Rojas, DH Mitch Garver, LF Dominic Canzone, CF Julio Rodriguez, RF Mitch Haniger.
Injured List: RHP Bryan Woo, RHP Matt Brash, RHP Jackson Kowar, INF Sam Haggerty.
Fun Fact: Rodriguez, 23, has 325 hits in his first 287 games.
Fun Fact II: Castillo, Kirby and Gilbert were 40-26 last year, all with WHIPs under 1.100, and ranked fourth, eighth and seventh in A.L. innings.
Forecast: Second, as long as they didn’t lose too much offense.
HOUSTON ASTROS
2023 Record: 90-72.
Rank In Runs Scored: Third.
Runs Allowed: Eighth.
Manager: Joe Espada.
Rotation: Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, J.P. France.
Bullpen: Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, Bennett Sousa, Seth Martinez, Parker Mushinski, Brandon Bielak.
Closer: Josh Hader/Ryan Pressly.
Lineup: C Yainer Diaz 1B Jose Abreu, 2B Jose Altuve, SS Jeremy Pena, 3B Alex Bregman, DH Yordan Alvarez, LF Chas McCormick, CF Jake Meyers, RF Kyle Tucker.
Injured List: RHP Lance McCullers, RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Jose Urquidy, RHP Luis Garcia, RHP Shawn Dubin, RHP Kendall Graveman, RHP Oliver Ortega, INF Grae Kessinger.
Fun Fact: Astros, who have been eliminated from two World Series and an ALCS at Minute Maid Park, were 39-42 there last season.
Fun Fact II: Diaz, as a rookie catcher, hit 23 home runs with a .282 average and threw out 30 percent of basestealers, nine points higher than the A.L. average.
Forecast: Third. Their window is still open but winning is getting harder.
ANGELS
2023 Record: 73-89.
Rank In Runs Scored: Ninth.
Runs Allowed: Twelfth.
Manager: Ron Washington.
Rotation: Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, Reid Detmers, Chase Silseth, Tyler Anderson.
Bullpen: Matt Moore, Jose Soriano, Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber, Jose Cisnero, Hunter Strickland, Jose Suarez.
Closer: Carlos Estevez.
Lineup: C Logan O’Hoppe, 1B Nolan Schanuel, 2B Brandon Drury, SS Zach Neto, 3B Anthony Rendon, DH Aaron Hicks, LF Taylor Ward, CF Mike Trout, RF Mickey Moniak.
Injured List: RHP Robert Stephenson, RHP Sam Bachman, RHP Jose Quijada, INF MIchael Stefanic.
Fun Fact: O’Hoppe had a .500 slugging percentage in his 199 at-bats.
Fun Fact II: Jo Adell, their first-round pick in 2017, has a .259 career OBP in 178 games.
Forecast: A tenth consecutive losing season seems unavoidable unless Trout and Rendon call back the years.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
2023 Record: 50-112.
Rank In Runs Scored: Fifteenth.
Runs Allowed: Fifteenth.
Manager: Mark Kotsay.
Rotation: Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, Joe Boyle.
Bullpen: Lucas Erceg, Dany Jimenez, Austin Adams, Kyle Muller, Zach Jackson, Michael Kelly, Mitch Spence.
Closer: Mason Miller.
LIneup; C Shea Langeliers, 1B Ryan Noda, 2B Zack Gelof, SS Nick Allen, 3B J.D Davis, DH Brent Rooker, LF Seth Brown, CF JJ Bleday RF Lawrence Butler.
Injured List: INF Aledmys Diaz, INF Miguel Andujar RHP Luis Medina, RHP Freddy Tarnok, LHP Ken Waldichuk, RHP Trevor Gott, LHP Sean Newcomb, LHP Scott Alexander.
Fun Fact: In three starts, Boyle was 2-0 with eight hits and 15 strikeouts in 16 innings.
Fun Fact II: Athletics’ attendance of 832,352 was actually their best since 2019.
Forecast: They should have no problem staying in the moment, considering how ruthlessly bleak their future is.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TWINS
2023 Record: 87-75.
Rank In Runs Scored: Fifth.
Runs Allowed: Second.
Manager: Rocco Baldelli.
Rotation: Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, Louie Varland.
Bullpen: Brock Stewart, Jorge Alcala, Steven Okert, Josh Staumont, Jay Jackson, Kody Funderburk, Cole Sands.
Closer: Griffin Jax.
Lineup: C Ryan Jeffers, 1B Carlos Santana, 2B Edouard Julien, SS Carlos Correa, 3B Royce Lewis, DH Alex Kiriloff, LF Matt Wallner, CF Byron Buxton, RF Max Kepler.
Injured List: Closer Jhoan Duran, LHP Caleb Thielbar, RHP Anthony DeSclafani, RHP Justin Topa, RHP Zack Weiss, RHP Josh Winder.
Fun Fact: Seven of the regular position players, including DH, were drafted by the Twins.
Fun Fact iI: .Lopez, who was second in A.L. strikeouts last year with 234, has posted a WHIP of 1.187 or better in each of the past four seasons.
Forecast: The Twins were 19-27 in one-run games and still won the division. This year the division looks worse and they look better.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
2023 Record: 56-106.
Rank In Runs Scored: Tenth.
Runs Allowed: Fifteenth.
Manager: Matt Quataro.
Rotation: Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Brady Singer, Michael Wacha, Alec Marsh.
Bullpen: John Schreiber, Nick Anderson, Chris Stratton, Jordan Lyles, Matt Sauer Angel Zerpa.
Closer: Will Smith/James McArthur.
Lineup: C Salvador Perez, 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, 2B Adam Frazier SS Bobby Witt Jr., 3B Maikel Garcia, DH Nelson Velazquez, LF MJ Melendez, CF Kyle Isbel, RF Hunter Renfroe.
Injured List: RHP Kyle Wright, LHP Kyle Bubic, 2B Michael Massey, LHP Jake Brentz, RHP Carlos Hernandez, LHP Josh Taylor.
Fun Fact: Royals’ starters had quality starts 20 percent of the time, tied with Oakland for worst in the league.
Fun Fact II: Kansas City hasn’t been over .500 since April 9, 2022.
Forecast: Second. It doesn’t mean they’ll have a winning season but Witt, Perez and Ragans make up the nucleus of a nucleus.
DETROIT TIGERS
2023 Record: 78-84.
Rank In Runs Scored: Thirteen.
Runs Allowed: Tenth.
Manager: A.J. Hinch.
Rotation: Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson.
Bullpen: Jason Foley, Shelby Miller, Andrew Chafin, Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Joey Wentz, Alex Faedo.
Closer: Alex Lange.
Lineup: C Jake Rogers, 1B Spencer Torkelson, 2B Colt Keith, SS Javier Baez, 3B Gio Urshela, DH Kerry Carpenter, LF Mark Canha, CF Parker Meadows, RF Riley Greene.
Injured List; RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long.
Fun Fact: Torkelson, a former first-overall draft pick, had 15 of his 31 homers after July 31.
Fun Fact II: Flaherty, only 27, led the N.L. in WHIP five years ago.
Forecast: Third, maybe higher if Skubal really is the ace he sometimes resembled in ‘23.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
2023 Record: 76-86.
Rank In Runs Scored: Twelfth.
Runs Allowed: Sixth.
Manager: Stephen Vogt.
Rotation: Shane Bieber, Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Carlos Carrasco, Triston McKenzie.
Bullpen: Scott Barlow, Nick Sandlin, Eli Morgan, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Cade Smith, Tyler Beede.
Closer: Emmanuel Clase.
Lineup: C Bo Naylor, 1B Josh Naylor, 2B Andres Gimenez, SS Brayan Rocchio, 3B Jose Ramirez, DH Will Brennan, LF Steven Kwan, CF Tyler Freeman, RF Ramon Laureano.
Injured List: RHP James Karinchak, RHP Trevor Stephan,, LHP Sam Hentges, RHP Gavin Williams, RHP Xzavion Curry, RHP Ben Lively.
Fun Fact: Only two Cleveland hitters (Gimenez, Gabriel Arias) struck out 100 times last year.
Fun Fact II: Clase (12) and Stephan (8) blew more saves than any other A.L. relievers. Batters hit .242 off Clase in ‘23, hit .167 off him in ‘22.
Forecast: Fourth. Guardians hit 39 fewer homers than anyone else in the league and did nothing to address that.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
2023 Record: 61-101.
Rank in Runs Scored: Fourteenth.
Runs Allowed: Thirteenth.
Manager: Pedro Grifol.
Rotation: Garrett Crochet, Michael Soroka, Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen, Nick Nastrini.
Bullpen: John Brebbia, Jordan Leasure, Tim Hill, Tanner Banks, Bryan Shaw, Deivi Garcia.
Closer: Michael Kopech.
Lineup: C Martin Maldonado, 1B Andrew Vaughn, 2B Nicky Lopez, SS Paul DeJong, DH Eloy Jimenez, LF Andrew Benintendi, CF Luis Robert, RF Dominic Fletcher.
Injured List: C Max Stassi, RHP Jesse Scholtens.
Fun Fact: Kopech, a candidate to close, has walked 4.7 hitters per 9 innings in his career. The walk rate was 6.3 last year.
Fun Fact II: Chisox hitters walked a league-low 377 times, 222 fewer than the Rangers.
Forecast: Fifth. A depressingly familiar theme: Tear down the roster, then demand a new ballpark.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
2023 Record: 101-61.
Rank in Runs Scored: Fourth.
Runs Allowed: Fifth.
Manager: Brandon Hyde.
Rotation: Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin.
Bullpen: Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Dillon Tate, Cionel Perez, Jacob Webb, Mike Baumann, Keegan Akin.
Closer: Craig Kimbrel.
Lineup: C Adley Rutschman, 1B Ryan O’Hearn, 2B Jordan Westburg, SS Gunnar Henderson, 3B Ramon Urias, DH Ryan Mountcastle, LF Austin Hays, CF Cedric Mullins, RF Anthony Santander.
Injured List: RHP Kyle Bradish, RHP John Means, RHP Felix Bautista.
Fun Fact: This was the sixth Orioles team to win 100 games. Only one (1970) won the World Series.
Fun Fact II: With Bautista out for the year, Cano is the closer. He was 8-for-14 in save opportunities.
Forecast: First. Bradish, Means and Jackson Holiday are in the wings and Jorge Mateo finds himself on the bench. That kind of depth is hard to beat, but the ninth inning is still a question.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
2023 Record: 99-63.
Rank In Runs Scored: Second.
Runs Allowed: Third.
Manager: Kevin Cash.
Rotation: Zach Elfin, Aaron Civale, Zack Littell, Tyler Alexander, Ryan Pepiot.
Bullpen: Jason Adam, Colin Poche, Phil Maton, Shawn Armstrong, Garrett Cleavinger, Chris Devenski, Jacob Waguespack.
Closer: Pete Fairbanks.
Lineup: C Rene Pinto, 1B Yandy Diaz, 2B Brandon Lowe, SS Jose Caballero, 3B Isaac Paredes, DH Harold Ramirez, LF Randy Arozarena, CF Jose Siri, RF Richie Palacios.
Injured List: SS Taylor Walls, OF Josh Lowe, RHP Shane Baz, RHP Taj Bradley, LHP Shane McClanahan, RHP Drew Rasmussen, LHP Jeffrey Springs.
Fun Fact: Rays had the best WHIP in the league for the second time in three years. They haven’t been lower than third in the past six years.
Fun Fact II: Paredes had 31 homers and 98 RBI and improved his OPS by 100 points to .840.
Forecast: Second. Pitchers come to Tampa Bay and thrive. They also get hurt a lot.
NEW YORK YANKEES
2023 Record: 82-80.
Rank In Runs Scored: Eleventh.
Runs Allowed: Seventh.
Manager: Aaron Boone.
Rotation: Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil.
Bullpen: Jonathan Loaisiga, Ian Hamilton, Caleb Ferguson, Victor Gonzalez, Luke Weaver, Nick Burdi, Clayton Beeter.
Closer: Clay Holmes.
Lineup: C Jose Trevino, 1B Anthony Rizzo, 2B Gleyber Torres, SS Anthony Volpe, 3B Oswaldo Cabrera, DH Giancarlo Stanton, LF Alex Verdugo, CF Aaron Judge, RF Juan Soto.
Injured List: RHP Gerrit Cole, 3B/1B DJ LeMahieu, OF Jasson Rodriguez, INF Oswald Peraza,
RHP Scott Effross, RHP Tommy Kahnle.
Fun Fact: Neither Rizzo, Stanton nor Judge reached the 450-plate appearance mark last year.
Fun Fact II: Volpe was an impressive rookie on defense but hit .188 in Yankee Stadium.
Forecast: Third. They’ll score more with Soto, and, without Cole, they’ll need to.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
2023 Record: 89-73.
Rank in Runs Scored: Eighth.
Runs Allowed: Fourth.
Manager: John Schneider.
Rotation: Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi, Bowden Francis.
Bullpen: Nate Pearson, Genesis Cabrera, Chad Green, Tim Mayza, Trevor Richards, Zach Pop, Mitch White.
Closer: Yimi Garcia.
Lineup: C Alejandro Kirk, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2B Cavan Biggio, SS Bo Bichette, 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa, DH Justin Turner, LF Daulton Varsho, CF Kevin Kiermaier, RF George Springer.
Injured List: C Danny Jansen, RHP Alek Manoah, RHP Jordan Romano, RHP Erik Swanson.
Fun Fact: Blue Jays were 9-17 against Tampa Bay and Baltimore.
Fun Fact II: Guerrero led the league in slugging, on-base and OPS (1.002) in 2021 but retreated to .788 last season.
Forecast: Fourth. Season will likely depend on how their pitchers heal.
BOSTON RED SOX
2023 Record: 78-84.
Rank In Runs Scored: Sixth.
Runs Allowed: Eleventh.
Manager: Alex Cora.
Rotation: Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck.
Bullpen:Chris Martin, Josh Winckowski, Isaiah Campbell, Joely Rodriguez, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, Chase Anderson.
Closer: Kenley Jansen.
Lineup: C Connor Wong, 1B Trinton Casas, 2B Emanuel Valdez, SS Trevor Story, 3B Rafael Devers, DH Masataka Yoshida, LF Tyler O’Neill, CF Ceddanne Rafaela, RF Jarren Duran.
Injured List: SS Vaughn Grissom, OF Rob Refsnyder, RHP Lucas Giolito, LHP Chris Murphy, RHP Liam Hendriks, RHP Bryan Mata.
Fun Fact: Red Sox have had back-to-back losing seasons. They haven’t had three consecutively, in non-strike seasons, since 1964-66, just before The Impossible Dream.
Fun Fact II: In his past four healthy seasons Devers has averaged 104 RBIs.
Forecast: Fifth. The Sox purport to be repositioning, but all they’ve done is go from first to fifth.
POSTSEASON
Division Winners: Texas, Minnesota, Baltimore.
Wild Cards: Tampa Bay, Seattle, Houston.
League Champion: Texas.
World Series Champion: Los Angeles.
A.L. MVP: Julio Rodriguez.
Cy Young: Pablo Lopez.
Rookie: Wyatt Langford.