2023 MLB Division Previews - AL & NL West
American League West
Houston Astros
2022 - 106 wins (AL West Champs), Won World Series
Offseason - Lost Justin Verlander. Added Jose Abreu.
2023 Outlook - The Houston Astros are the defending World Series Champions and look every bit as lethal heading into 2023. They are one of if not the most complete team in baseball. The only position they are weak at is catcher, and that’s really just offensively, as Martin Maldonado is a great veteran backstop who does a great job at managing a pitching staff. Even though they lost Verlander, the starting pitching is still one of the best in the AL with Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier,, and Lance McCullers Jr. leading the way. The bullpen is always one of their biggest strengths and will continue to be. The lineup is filled with veteran talent in Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, and Alex Bregman, as well as young stars like Yordon Alverez, Kyle Tucker, and Jeremy Pena. Oh and by the way, they added an MVP in Jose Abreu to play first base. Houston makes putting together consistent, deep postseason runs look easy. It’s only a matter of who, if anyone, can stand in their way of repeating in 2023.
Wins prediction - 98 (1st place)
Los Angeles Angels
2022 - 73 wins (3rd), missed postseason
Offseason - Lost Noah Syndergaard, Michael Lorenzen. Added Tyler Anderson, Hunter Renfroe, Brandon Drury, Gio Urshela
2023 Outlook - The Angels enter the season with the same storyline as the past few years. Can they make the postseason with the two best players on the planet? Once again, it will come down to their pitching and their health. Mike Trout missed a bunch of last season due to injury, as well as Anthony Rendon. They added depth to their lineup to hopefully curb some of those issues. They also signed Tyler Anderson, who had an all-star season on the mound for the Dodgers in 2022. Shohei Ohtani had another stellar year in 2022 and one of the biggest storylines to follow is if this will be the last season for the two-way star in an Angels uniform. The clock is ticking for this franchise to make a push with this group. The bullpen is the biggest weakness for this team unless they get a bunch of arms that step up. They should be in the hunt for a Wild Card spot but with how competitive the American League is, it’s going to be difficult.
Wins prediction - 88 (3rd place)
Oakland Athletics
2022 - 60 wins (5th place), missed postseason
Offseason - Lost Sean Murphy. Added Jesus Aguilar, Aledmys Diaz.
2023 Outlook - Let’s be honest, the A’s are in for another dismal season. They might even be worse than their 60-win performance in 2022. The current situation with the future home site for this franchise is going to keep this team from putting a competitive team on the field. Will they stay in Oakland and build a new stadium or move to Las Vegas, or somewhere else entirely? That’s really the only thing to pay attention to in 2023 other than some players that have good years that will end up being traded to a team in the postseason race.
Wins prediction - 64 (5th place)
Seattle Mariners
2022 - 90 wins (2nd place, Wild Card), lost to Astros in ALDS
Offseason - Lost Jesse Winker, Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis. Added Teoscar Hernandez, Kolton Wong, AJ Pollock, Tommy La Stella
2023 Outlook - The Mariners finally broke their 21-year postseason drought last year and even won a playoff series against the Blue Jays. Their season ultimately ended at the hands of the Astros in a ALDS sweep but most would consider their year a success. Now that they have proven they can win, they have to prove they can sustain it. 2023 should be another winning year in Seattle as they have one of the best young stars in the game in Julio Rodriguez and a very underrated pitching staff led by Robbie Ray and Luis Castillo. The depth of their lineup is the biggest concern. Look for them to add a big bat if they find themselves in a postseason push late into the summer.
Wins prediction - 92 wins (2nd place)
Texas Rangers
2022 - 68 wins (4th), missed postseason
Offseason - Added Jacob deGrom, Nathon Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney.
2023 Outlook - The Rangers are of the most intriguing teams to watch in 2023. They have spent a lot of money in free agency over the past couple of years and this time they added a bunch of starting pitching in Jacob deGrom, Nathon Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney. Despite some big names on their roster, they are still a ways away from truly contending for a postseason spot. They should definitely improve on their win total and if they stay healthy and get great production from their lineup, they might find themselves playing meaningful games in September. Those are big if’s, however. We’ll see how the new skipper, Bruce Bochey, manages this ball club in 2023.
Wins prediction - 80 (4th place)
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
2022 - 74 wins (4th place), missed postseason
Offseason - Lost Dalton Varsho. Added Evan Longoria, Zach Davies, Andrew Chafin
2023 Outlook - The Dbacks were one of the most improved teams in 2022, which should tell you how awful they were in 2021. Arizona has some exciting young talent but are still a couple of years away from being a contender, especially with two juggernaut teams at the top of the NL West. The lineup will score runs but the pitching side of things is really a problem. Past Cy Young candidate Zac Gallen, they really don’t have any reliable arms. This team is making strides but it’s going to be another losing season in the desert.
Wins prediction - 77 (4th place)
Colorado Rockies
2022 - 68 wins (5th place), missed postseason
Offseason - crickets
2023 Outlook - The Rockies are a franchise heading nowhere. Kris Bryant signing with this team is still a mystery to me. If they’re smart, they’ll be big sellers at the trade deadline and go deep into rebuilding. The front office needs to come up with a plan to get this team back into contention but it’s not happening anytime soon. Colorado might have the worst win total in the National League this season. However, I can almost guarantee they’ll find themselves no worse than 3rd place in the NL West after the first month of the season. It’s tradition.
Wins prediction - 60 (5th place)
Los Angeles Dodgers
2022 - 111 wins (NL West Champs), lost to Padres in NLDS
Offseason - Lost Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, Justin Turner, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney. Added JD Martinez, Noah Syndergaard, Miguel Rojas, Jason Hayward
2023 Outlook - Coming off the best win total in franchise history, the Dodgers enter 2023 with a chip on their shoulder after a disappointing postseason exit at the hands of the Padres. There’s no doubt they lost a lot of talent but they still field a championship level team. They’ll need guys like Max Muncy and Chris Taylor to return to their all star form but when you have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in your lineup, you’ll do well. I think the addition of JD Martinez will also provide some pop to the lineup. On the pitching side, you have Cy Young contender Julio Urias along with Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Noah Syndergaard, and Tony Gonsolin. And the Dodgers have the 2nd best farm system in baseball which will probably see some action at the big league level this year. Make no mistake, this Dodgers team is still very, very good. Just not maybe 111 wins good.
Wins prediction - 96 (1st Place)
San Diego Padres
2022 - 89 wins (2nd place, Wild Card), lost to Phillies in NLCS
Offseason - Lost Josh Bell, Brandon Drury, Sean Manea. Added Xander Bogaerts, Nelson Cruz, Michael Wacha, Matt Carpenter
2023 Outlook - The Padres are in position to have one of their best seasons in franchise history. Coming off a huge NLDS victory over the Dodgers, the momentum is certainly in San Diego’s favor. They added shortstop Xander Bogaerts and locked up Manny Machado for the long term. Fernando Tatis Jr will make his return after serving the remainder of his PED suspension and along with Jean Soto, Nelson Cruz, and Jake Cronenworth the Padres will have one of the deepest lineups in baseball. On the pitching side, they’re a little top heavy but still very good. Yu Darvich and Joe Musgrove are a great 1-2 punch and the bullpen should be productive with Josh Hader leading the way. There’s a lot of hype in San Diego and rightfully so and we might finally get a great regular season dogfight between them and LA that fans have been wishing for. Plus another postseason meeting would be very entertaining.
Wins prediction - 95 (2nd place)
San Francisco Giants
2022 - 81 wins (3rd place), missed postseason
Offseason - Lost Carlos Rodon, Evan Longoria. Added Mitch Haniger, Sean Manea, Ross Stripling, Michael Conforto
2023 Outlook - After a 107-win season in 2021, the Giants came back down to earth in 2022 and missed the postseason. An 81-win season is a more expected outcome with the talent currently on the roster. It was a rollercoaster of an offseason, as some reporters claimed they were going to sign Aaron Judge, which turned out to be false as he resigned with the Yankees. Then they did end up agreeing to a contract with star shortstop Carlos Correa, only for that deal to fall through after concerns were raised after his physical. Their 2023 season should mirror what 2022 was, “painfully mid” as Tradon beautifully coined it. The lineup has some pop with Joc Pederson and Mitch Haniger but it’s very unpredictable. The pitching is the team's strength and it will keep them competitive but they just don’t have enough to be a postseason threat.
Wins prediction - 84 (3rd place)