This is a series where we look at the six divisions and break down each team using four superlatives. Each writer was allowed to interpret the first three superlatives however they wanted.
Houston Astros
Their Strength: An Immensely Potent Lineup
Put aside your hatred for the Astros for just a split second, and you’ll realize how this is easily one of the scariest lineups in all of baseball. The only real weakness comes at the catcher position. But outside of that, you’ll see a merry-go-round of All-Star caliber players and a handful of MVP candidates, too. Even without their cheating ways, Houston should have no problem putting up big numbers offensively in 2020.
Their Weakness: Back-End Rotation Pieces
It’s hard to pick out a weakness in one of baseball’s most complete rosters, but the back-end of their pitching staff does have some question marks attached to it. After Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke, the Astros will turn to a rotating circle of Lance McCullers, Austin Pruitt, Framber Valdez, Josh James, and others to fill their rotation. McCullers is awesome when he’s healthy, but he’s never thrown more than 130 innings in one season. James has not reported to camp yet, and the verdict is out on his status for this upcoming season, while guys like Pruitt and Valdez are both unproven commodities at the major league level. Then there’s highly touted pitching prospect Forrest Whitley, who will certainly get some innings this season, but has his fair share of question marks attached to him. This will be an interesting conundrum to follow moving forward.
Their Secret Weapon: Kyle Tucker
Houston has routinely dodged around bringing Tucker up to the big league level and 2020 seems like it’ll finally be the year for him to make his debut. Tucker has done nothing but hit throughout his professional career and oozes upside, all while bringing sound defensive value and speed to the table. Dusty Baker’s resistance to consistently give first-year players everyday playing time might throw a wrench into the mix, but everyday playing time for Tucker could end up being a legitimate difference-maker in Houston’s season.
The Possible Out of Nowhere Guy: Abraham Toro
It’s unlikely this happens because of how solid the left side of the Astros’ is. If Toro does get consistent playing time in some role, whether it be in the outfield or somewhere, he could add another contributing bat into a lineup full of high-end offensive threats.
Oakland Athletics
Their Strength: Star-studded Corner Infield Play
Oakland has a handful of talented players scattered throughout their lineup. But the overall production they’ll get from Chapman and Olson on both sides of the ball is unequivocally the strength of this team. Chapman took tremendous strides in his offensive game last season, walking more and hitting 12 more home runs than in 2018. His overall power numbers stayed the same outside of the home run totals, but seeing him elevate the ball and just leave the yard more was a major net positive. Olson out-performed his counterpart, crushing 36 home runs in less than 500 at-bats with an OPS+ of 137. Factor in how both are arguably the top defensive players at their respective positions, and it’s not hard to see why Oakland’s strength comes from their two best players.
Their Weakness: Starting Rotation
The Athletics have an established track record of getting the most from their starting pitchers. This rotation in a shortened season, however, has too many question marks for me to feel comfortable about it. Mike Fiers is currently slated as their number one option, and while he’s strung together a serviceable professional career, should be nothing more than a back-end guy at this point. Frankie Montas showed improved stuff last season prior to testing positive for PEDs, and the jury is out on what he’ll look like this year. Sean Manaea has dealt with numerous upper-body injuries over the last two seasons and his status should always be in question. Young prospects Jesus Luzardo and AJ Puk are super interesting pitchers, but both are unproven and shouldn’t be counted on to effectively contribute right out of the gates. Luzardo himself just tested positive for COVID-19, which obviously puts his status for Opening Day in doubt. There are some interesting pieces scattered throughout this rotation and while the upside is there, so is the risk.
Their Secret Weapon: Mark Canha
Canha had an unbelievably good season last year for the Athletics, slashing .273/.396/.517 with 26 home runs and an OPS+ of 145 in 410 at-bats. He’ll be locked into a full-time role this season and while regression must be taken into account, should continue to be a positive performer offensively for Oakland. The Athletics need more thump in the lineup behind their obvious studs and Canha should provide that production for them.
The Possible Out of Nowhere Guy: Sean Murphy
This isn’t really an “out of nowhere guy” since most people know who Murphy is, but take this as a prediction for him to outperform what he’s currently slated to do offensively. Murphy should be the Athletics everyday catcher, unless Austin Allen really challenges him for that role, and those consistent at-bats will hopefully allow his talented bat to show what it can do at the next level. The back-end of Oakland’s lineup could use some extra production, and I think they’ll get that from Murphy. Something a team might not expect from their first-year catcher.
Los Angeles Angels
Their Strength: More Offensive Talent Around Trout
It’s clear that the Angels have, over the last few seasons, made it a priority to add more offensive talent around the best player in baseball. They somewhat succeeded last season by bringing in Tommy La Stella, who was as surprising as an impact bat as you could’ve guessed, but they really struck gold when Anthony Rendon agreed to join the squad several months ago. Adding Rendon into a lineup that features Shohei Ohtani, a healthy Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, impact prospect Jo Adell, and one of baseball’s immortally great players, could end up being the difference-maker.
Their Weakness: Mike Trout Potentially Sitting Out
I want to preface this: if Trout comes back and plays, the weakness of this team is 100% their below-average pitching staff. Should he elect to opt-out after his child is born, nothing will replace the overall value that Trout brings to the table. Even if every single pitcher in this rotation overperforms this season and has a career year, nothing will masquerade losing arguably one of the best players in baseball history.
Their Secret Weapon: Dylan Bundy
Several people have jumped onto the Bundy hype train over the last few months, and while I’m not totally there yet, I can get behind why he’s an attractive option as a serious bounce-back candidate. Once a highly-touted pitching prospect, Bundy suffered dearly from the former incompetence that was the Baltimore Orioles player development and a terrible park to call home. He’s leaving Baltimore for a more favorable environment, and an organization that could possibly get more out of him on the mound. Throwing his fastball less, and increasing his slider usage might be enough to do it for Bundy, and it’ll be exciting to see what he can do this season.
Their Possible Out of Nowhere Guy: Brandon Marsh
Adell is certainly the prospect worth monitoring for this team, but Marsh has burst onto the scene lately as a future impact player to note. He’s not expected to see a whole lot of playing time for the Angels, although any sort of craziness could happen that would ultimately thrust him into some contributing role. His impact bat, and noteworthy defensive prowess, could provide positive value. Something the Angels probably didn’t expect from Marsh this season.
Texas Rangers
Their Strength: Veteran Arms
Texas doesn’t have the sexiest roster on paper and in a shortened season where nobody knows what could happen, that might end up being okay. Their biggest strength is unquestionably how experienced their rotation arms are. Mike Minor, Lance Lynn, and Corey Kluber have each had their fair share of sustained success at the major league level. All are capable of logging high inning totals, something that becomes even more important in a 60-game season, and that’s obviously something that will play into the Rangers’ favor.
Their Weakness: A True Impact Bat
Things might be a bit more difficult on offense for the Rangers. This team doesn’t have a consistent impact offensive player in their lineup, and will rely on some career net negative assets to provide meaningful contributions for them. The one player with that upside is obviously Joey Gallo. But his inconsistencies and lengthy slumps have to be worrisome given the shortened circumstances. Maybe someone surprising pops, but that’s not something I would bet on.
Their Secret Weapon: Jordan Lyles
I talked about how valuable the front-half of the Rangers’ rotation could be this season, but someone on their back-end could ultimately be the difference-maker for this team. Lyles has been sneaky good in his last two stops with the Pirates and Brewers, giving both of his former teams’ solid contributions from a back-end arm. If he can replicate, or improve, on these past performances, the Rangers would go into this season without a clear hole in their starting rotation.
Their Possible Out of Nowhere Guy: Rafael Montero
Rumors have surfaced that Texas will elect to use closer Jose LeClerc in a multi-inning role at times, or in the most high-leverage situation in the game. If that is the case, Montero could end up soaking up some save opportunities, and his stuff suggests he could have success doing so. Serving as their part-time closer obviously makes Montero a valuable asset and he’s my pick to be their “surprise” impact performer.
Seattle Mariners
Their Strength: Young Prospects
Seattle doesn’t have much going for them at the major league level this season in terms of impact-ready talent. From a future standpoint, however, the Mariners have several young teenage prospects with impact potential circling through their farm system right now. First baseman Evan White will be the first of this group to reach the big leagues and should provide an upgrade at the position almost immediately. Jarred Kelenic looks every bit the part of a potential superstar, and his running mate Julio Rodriguez isn’t too far behind him either. Youngster Noelvi Marte has an exciting frame with electrifying tools to pair, giving him number one overall prospect upside. First-round picks Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Emerson Hancock, all look like future rotation pieces for this team, and there are others waiting in the wings as well. Things might look a bit blurry for the time being, but the future is certainly bright in Seattle.
Their Weakness: Impact Talent in the Majors
As bright as Seattle’s farm system is, the now is fairly dull. Outside of Kyle Seager and the aforementioned White, the Mariners will struggle to win games on a consistent basis. With a lineup full of questionable everyday players and their pitching staff struggling to find a positive contributor, this 2020 shortened season could be a long one for Seattle.
Their Secret Weapon: Kyle Lewis
Intrasquad live streams have made Lewis the most popular prospect on the twitterverse, and rightfully so: he’s mashing everything he sees. Keep in mind, however, that his professional numbers are frankly underwhelming, and his plate discipline is well below league average. Regardless, Lewis absolutely mashes when he finds the barrel, putting up extremely impressive exit velocity numbers, and punishing baseballs to all fields. It’s unlikely we see consistent production from him at the plate, but Lewis has the tools to be a true “X-Factor” for Seattle.
The Possible Out of Nowhere Guy: Yusei Kikuchi
Almost everyone has completely written off Kikuchi after an atrocious rookie season, and all the underlying statistics would totally tell you to do so. Keep in mind, however, that he brought a fair amount of prospect pedigree and professionalism when he came across the pond last year. The total life adjustment, including activities outside of baseball, that he had to make all of 2019 was massive, and certainly impacted what he looked like on the mound. Now that he’s settled in, and potentially in a better place than he was last season, Kikuchi could look somewhat like the player we thought he would be.