American League West

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Houston Astros

Their lineup is formidable and their rotation is among the best in baseball.

2. Los Angeles Angels

Locking up Mike Trout for the rest of his career boosts the morale of a franchise looking to get back into the Postseason.

3. Oakland Athletics

The rotation took a hit in the offseason, but their lineup is as good as advertised.

4. Seattle Mariners

Not quite sure what the method is to the offseason upheaval, but they have a few good pieces to build from.

5. Texas Rangers

Surprisingly they’ll be getting a new stadium next year so this will be another long season in Arlington.

Player to Watch: OF Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels

Best Acquisition: OF Michael Brantley – Houston Astros

New Kid on the Block: P Jesus Luzardo – Oakland Athletics Continue reading →

2018 MLB All-Star Teams

For the 88th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Nationals Park in Washington D.C. This will be the first MLB All-Star game played at Nationals Park and the first in the nation’s capital since 1969 at RFK Stadium, the home of the then Washington Senators. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 32 players for each league.

AVG – Batting Average

ERA – Earned Run Average

HR – Home Runs

RBI – Runs Batted In

SV – Saves

BAA – Batting Average Against

WHIP – Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched

K – Strikeouts

Stats are accurate as of July 13

* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading →

American League West

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Houston Astros

A stacked lineup and an even better rotation than last year hast Houston looking to repeat.

2. Los Angeles Angels

Health is probably more important to the success of the Halos 2018 season than any other team.

3. Seattle Mariners

Not as many roster moves this time around, but the ones they did make should have them in the Wild Card hunt.

4. Texas Rangers

They remained inactive for most of the offseason which could signal a rebuild in the near future.

5. Oakland Athletics

Their young talent is starting to take shape and a few under the radar trades/signings could have them approach .500. Continue reading →

2017 MLB Trade Deadline Review

As with past deadline deals these will be highly scrutinized for many years. Instantly we see and decide who got the better end of the deal, but we really won’t know until at least two or three seasons down the road. The only way to know in real time is if the team getting the established major leaguer goes on to win a World Series. Time will tell if that happens this year with the flurry of names (a few marquee ones) being dealt this July. Continue reading →

2017 MLB All-Star Teams

For the 87th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. This will be the first MLB All-Star game played at the Miami Marlins new ballpark. It was first opened back in 2012. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 34 players for each league. Continue reading →