2014 AL West Standings - quick guess

[Inside Pitch]

That was an around the field instead of a lineup, but yeah the jump from Kinsler to Profar will be huge, and then add Fielder and Choo? Yikes.

I do believe their pitching staff to be overrated outside of Darvish though.

 

Are you expecting to see Profar take a drastic jump in performance?  A great deal of his prospect status was tied into his projecting to be a Kinsler like hitter with the ability to play plus, plus, SS.   If they keep him at 2B, he's just not as elite of a prospect.

[Inside Pitch]

Well, they were 8th in runs scored last year and 14th in wRC+ and just added 2 legit bats. They are probably in the 5-7 range among offenses now. 

 

Angels lineup is still better IMO but the Rangers aren't too behind after adding Choo now. 

 

 

Their pitching is where they could be massively better.  Harrison should be healthy, Neftali Perez is also likely back. They have a really nice pitching staff.   Choo basically gets them a better version of Kinsler at the top of the order which is a nice add but possibly not as huge of an addition as people think.  If Prince goes apeshit, they could be a lot better.

[sneaky_flute]

That was an around the field instead of a lineup, but yeah the jump from Kinsler to Profar will be huge, and then add Fielder and Choo? Yikes.

I do believe their pitching staff to be overrated outside of Darvish though.

Their pitching staff isn't overrated if the stats show they're the second best in the league. 

[Jim]

These predictions post, albeit fun, feel too much like I’m betting against myself. Many times over the last few years, what I truly believe isn't what I truly want.

 

So I will say I’m looking forward to Albert being healthy and doing what we all know he can do, Hamilton starting off where he left off last season, the starting pitching holding its own, Frieri throwing a secondary pitch more often while the bullpen comes together in the absence of Jepsen to hold down some narrow victories. In a nutshell, I’m looking forward to the Angels playing competitive ball. After a few very uninspiring seasons finally giving the A’s, Rangers, M’s, and Astros and run for their money.

 

75-99 Wins    

[Jim]

The jump from Kinsler to PrLOLfar? Until he actually does something in the big leagues he's nothing more than a prospect.

Maybe it's me but I'm not seeing the Rangers lineup as something to fear.

Agree. The Rangers lineup is respectable, but not as feared as it was in the recent past. The pitching does look better though.

 

Also, like you, I think Albert will have a much better season this year. Being healthy and able to run gives us the Albert we can look forward to. I also look forward to Hamilton hitting like we all know he can. I predict Hamilton crushes it early on. He'll have a record May and June, and a much better overall line for the season.     

Edited December 23, 2013 by Jim

[Troll Daddy]

All this talk about the Rangers ... the two- time division champions still getting no respect.

Lol

[sneaky_flute]

Agree. The Rangers lineup in respectable, but not as feared as it was in the recent past. The pitching does look better though.

 

Also, like you, I think Albert will have a much better season this year. Being healthy and able to run gives us the Albert we can look forward to. I also look forward to Hamilton hitting like we all know he can. I predict Hamilton crushes it early on. He'll have a record May and June, and a much better overall line for the season.     

Their 2011 lineup was their best in the last decade and this one may even surpass that. 

[Troll Daddy]

I think TX will win the div. Choo's WAR is what, 4.5 or 5? They'll be paying him way too much when he's 37-38...but at least it's a nt clause.

Torii Hunter has held up well and he'll be 39 next season. If you consider inflation ... then not as bad as you think.

Choo would of fit the Angels needs perfectly ... but pitching more important at the moment.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Troll Daddy

[Angels]

Torii Hunter is the exception, not the norm. Hunter's offense has actually improved with age. As far as offense is concerned, Hunter in his 30s>Hunter in his 20s. That's rare. His defense is pretty bad now, though.

[KingJustinian]

Well, they were 8th in runs scored last year and 14th in wRC+ and just added 2 legit bats. They are probably in the 5-7 range among offenses now.

Angels lineup is still better IMO but the Rangers aren't too behind after adding Choo now.

They also lost some pretty good bats too

[Brent Maguire]

They also lost some pretty good bats too

Well Choo is significantly better than Cruz and Fielder is a big improvement over what they had at 1B/DH last year. 

 

Kinsler is closer to a league average 2B now so replacing him with Profar isn't some huge drop off. 

[sneaky_flute]

I think they should sign Morales and Baker for a total of 8 million

[DW711]

Torii Hunter has held up well and he'll be 39 next season. If you consider inflation ... then not as bad as you think.

Choo would of fit the Angels needs perfectly ... but pitching more important at the moment.

 

Good, keep talking about them.

[DW711]

I think they should sign Morales and Baker for a total of 8 million

 

I have no idea why baker isn't signed by now.

 

He's a decent defender..can play about 4 positions and kills lefties.

[Angel Oracle]

One thing may be likely: the Halos now match up better with Texas than they have in the past few years, because of Texas becoming more lefty hitting oriented and the Halos becoming more lefty pitching oriented.

There is still that matter of Frieri getting hammered in Texas though.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Angel Oracle

[Halos of Anaheim]

Frieri could easily cost us 1-2 crucial games next year against that MOTO of the Rangers in the 9th inning.

[YouthofToday]

Frieri could easily cost us 1-2 crucial games next year against that MOTO of the Rangers in the 9th inning.

Ideally we win games by enough of a margin this won't be a consideration.

I still think Texas is 5-8 games better than the Halos.

[YouthofToday]

Don't forget the Angels and Rangers have the Curse of Mike Napoli for allowing Him to leave their organizations. The Athletics do not.

[Jim]

Their 2011 lineup was their best in the last decade and this one may even surpass that. 

Your 2011 Rangers lineup had a 320 BA - 1.046 OPS - 30 HR hitting Napoli, an 11^th ranked MVP in Kinsler, an 8^th ranked MVP - 338 hitting All Star in Michael Young, a 301 hitting CF’er in Chavez, and a 59 HR hitting machine in Cruz and the All Star Hamilton.

 

Six of your top starting players are gone from the 2011 lineup, and you think replacing them with a Choo, the fresh Prince, and an overvalued prospect will equal or surpass what you had. Good luck with that.    

[sneaky_flute]

Stop talking about other team's prospects. No one thought Trout was going to be the best player in baseball after his poor debut. 

 

Their offense was essentially average last year with half the players on the team having "down seasons" and it would be nearly impossible for them not to exceed a 100 wrc+ in 2014. They may not equal their 2011 production but it wouldn't surprise me if they did.   

[Guest]

3rd/4th place, unless the bullpen is improved. The bullpen was responsible for tons of losses last season, and with 2014 having a marginally improved bullpen I expect the trend to continue.

Edited December 23, 2013 by failos

[Torridd]

Rangers

Angels

A's

Mariners

Astros

 

It's going to be tough, but I don't know how any fan can say we'd win 75 games. Basically, we'd have to be worse than last year with more bad luck.

I don't want Garza, but I know Dipoto will get another starter. Personally, I'd also like another reliever, but what can I say. Basically, we only need guys to do what they're capable of. I don't see 90 wins as a problem. I think our division will give us more headaches than any other teams. If we can get more wins off Houston and Oakland, I think the team will be fantastic.

 

The key is having a decent April. The team needs to have that confidence right off the bat. Oakland and Texas has shown they're not going to falter that much.

[HaloFan85]

94-68 Rangers

90-72 Oakland

88-74 Angels

87-75 Seattle

72-90 Houston

[notherhalo]

93-69 Rangers

88-74 Oakland

85-77 Seattle

79-83 Angels

68-94 Houston

[tdawg87]

Stop talking about other team's prospects. No one thought Trout was going to be the best player in baseball after his poor debut. 

 

Uhhh I'm pretty sure most people still thought he would be at the very least, a very good MLB player.