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AL West Mid Season Update

  • dapsportsbets
  • Jul 16, 2015
  • 3 min read

My preseason predictions had this division being a two-team race to the finish line; I just got one of the teams wrong. I bought into the young Seattle pitching, and even Felix Herandez has a had a couple bumps, but guys like Hisashi Iwakuma, Tijuan Walker, and James Paxton got off to slow starts putting them in a hole. Walker is the most promising of the three, but aside from their pitching it hasn’t quite been smooth sailing at the plate. The Mariners rank 29th in average, 26th in OPS, and 27th in runs. I haven’t been able to declare many AL teams dead; the Mariners are one of them.

The As are about a week away from being dead. They have until July 31st to decide if they need to be sellers, and series’ against the Twins, Blue Jays, Giants and Dodgers should really show us where they stand. Honestly if they got out of that and were within 4 or 5 they would be interesting team, but that is not something I would bet on.

The Rangers were my pick to finish in the cellar, and while I may be wrong as of now, they are closer to the cellar, than they are to the division title. The Rangers lineup has been able to produce, but their pitching is not one that they can swing this around. They are certainly not dead, but at +1200 it still doesn’t entice me to take the lottery ticket. If they can add a pitcher they can be in the mix, but it will be tough for me to buy into them winning this division.

Then it comes to our next head to head battle and we get to see some of the best talent under the age of 25 in the game. The Angels hold only a half game lead but are the favorites by both fan graphs and Bovada. The Astros have 34% and 40% chance, respectively according the sites. The Astros have been finding ways to win and the addition of Short stop Carlos Correa has been the spark that may turn this team into a contender. The Astros have Dallas Keuchel, and the Angels have Garrett Richards, but both teams could use another impact starter, or relief help. I believe at this time the veteran Angel lineup gets a slight nod, and with a surprise all star Hector Santiago I think the Angels have the core that can win this division. Also in the aspect of acquiring an over the top piece, the Angels have been proven to spend, while the Astros like the developmental route. I am not saying the Astros won’t buy this year but if the Angels are in a bidding war they may have the mentality to give up more, with the idea of signing a free agent to be like Johnny Cueto, or even his teammate Aroldis Chapman. A guy like Chase Utley also makes sense on the Angels. These are the type of moves that can win you that one game and while they don’t offer the best value I would bet in the Angels to win the division, now before they buy and become larger chalk. The Astros will be in the mix, but you have to go with a more veteran team at this time.

Parkers Pick

Angels -140


 
 
 

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