Well it's that time of year. Baseball season is a week away. This week we will go in-depth to examine a team and their chances of making the playoffs. Today we will examine the West divisions in baseball. Let's get started with the NL West. BTW the record is my prediction.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/307881.jpg)
Colorado Rockies (82-80)- The Rockies haven't been able to put together a play-off team for a while. They have barely been able to get a winning team. The weird thing is they have a good enough core. Maybe not to win it all, but at least to be a play-off team. Jorge De La Rosa will be the ace of the staff this season, and will be solid. Brett Anderson was a good add, but not reliable with his injury history. This team will win games mostly off the backs of their offense, though. If Tulo can stay healthy this may be a team to watch. Otherwise it will be another long year in Colorado.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/2425980.jpg?252)
San Diego Padres (85-77)- The Padres surprised at the end of last season and that will carry over into this season. I do believe Chase Headley's 2012 was a fluke, but if it is not this team is all the more better. With the addition of Josh Johnson, this team may have an ace. Johnson is an average pitcher, but he could be great. He has the right conditions with being on a NL team in a pitcher's ballpark, so Johnson may be a surprise this year. This team has a good young core with Jedd Gyorko, Yasmani Grandal, and Yonder Alonso set to lead the way. This team won't keep up with the Dodgers, but they could sneak in with a Wild Card.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/5854990.jpg?254)
Arizona Diamondbacks (87-75)- The Dbacks have a good team, but they are poorly managed. That is Kevin Towers fault. He makes some of the worst trades in baseball, and Mark Trumbo was one. Still Trumbo was traded for his power and that will help a good enough lineup. I'm guessing he will become Paul Goldschmidt's best friend, what with the protection he will provide. An interesting situation could arrive if the team decides to carry Didi Gregorious and Chris Owings both out of camp. The pitching staff will be a bit above average. The loss of Corbin hurts, but I think Randall Delgado will step up and take Corbin's spot as ace. Bronson Arroyo was another solid add to the pitching staff. McCarthy, Miley, and Cahill are all question marks, but they all have the potential to be better then average. The Dbacks are the team best equipped to give the Dodgers a run for their money, but it won't be this year. For now they will have to compete for a Wild Card.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/4592574.png?253)
San Francisco Giants (88-74)- The Giants just need a bit of luck this year and they could grab a Wild Card. Hopefully the new and improved Pablo Sandoval will give this team a boost on offense. If Hunter Pence has a better year along with Sandoval, this is a team to look out for. The only question marks on the pitching stuff are what Lincecum will we get this year and how will Tim Hudson recover from ankle surgery. The Giants have the potential to win the division, but they need the offense to step up. If it does, the NL West could get a bit more interesting.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/6872801.jpg?253)
Los Angeles Dodgers (101-61)- This is the best team in baseball. They could've won over 100 games last year if they hadn't stumbled at the beginning of the year. The pitching stuff is ridiculously good. Kershaw, Greinke, and Ryu were all great last year. They will continue that this season. Haren was a good pickup as he put up slightly better numbers than Nolasco did last season (based on Nolasco's first start with the Dodgers). The number five spot is a bit of a question mark. Beckett isn't that good anymore and Billingsley is always getting injured. Maybe Zach Lee steps in during the season and is baseball's next phenom. The only question on offense is whether Hanley and Kemp can stay healthy and whether or not Dee Gordon will be a black hole at the top of the lineup. The numbers Hanley put up during his limited time last season were great. If everyone is healthy this team will win 100 games. Expect them to be division winners.
Now onto the AL West
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/5041068.gif)
Houston Astros (65-97)- The Astros will still stink this season. They will be better than last season, though. Dexter Fowler will surely help out, and 2B Jose Altuve and C Jason Castro will improve with another season under their belts. The offense will get a boost when uber-prospect George Springer and Jonathan Singleton make their debuts around mid-season. The pitching staff will be about average with Scott Feldman leading the staff (not a very good ace). However a full season of Jared Cosart and Mark Appel's eventual debut will help the staff a bit. Things are still not great in Houston, but the slow build is finally starting to show-up. Good things are on the horizon for Houston.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/6221208.jpg)
Los Angeles Angels (77-85)- The Angels are just not a good team. The have good players, but we have seen two seasons of this mess of a team. Hamilton and Pujols are obviously in the decline of their careers, although they are still capable of putting up big numbers. They did make a few good additions with Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago set to shore up an average rotation. Jered Weaver will once again lead the staff, and if Wilson is solid and Santiago and Skaggs play up to their potential, the Angels could be a playoff team. However, I don' think they will be a playoff team. I see Pujols getting injured again and Hamilton declining even more. I think the David Freese we saw last season is the true representation of him. Things are bleak in LA.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/8243142.jpg)
Seattle Mariners (82-80)- The Mariners swung blindly this offseason. Robinson Cano is not worth $240 million dollars. Corey Hart and Logan Morrison aren't good complimentary pieces. And let's not forget about the lack of a bat at SS. With all that said Cano will do his thing and Hart and Morrison will probably wind up with at least 12+ home runs and 50+ RBIs. The pitching staff will be great. King Felix will be great. Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker will be solid behind him. Even though Iwakuma and Walker will both most likely miss the majority of April, this will still be at the worst a .500 team. They just won't compete this year.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/4563530.jpg)
Oakland Athletics (88-74)- Billy Beane keeps working his magic. It just doesn't seem to payoff. The Athletics have a good season ahead of them. They won't win as many games as last season, due to everyone else in the division improving. They will be in playoff contention, though. The rotation will be rough this year. They lost their ace Colon. Jarrod Parker is out for the season. A.J. Griffin is out for the first month. They do have Sonny Gray, though, and Sonny Gray is a great weapon. The lineup will be good enough. Donaldson will most likely have another solid season. Yoenis Cespedes is struggling at the plate and is having problems making adjustments. The team will get a boost, though, when mega-prospect Addison Russell makes his inevitable debut mid-season. Russell could give this team a shot in the arm they may need mid-season that could propel them to a playoff spot. Things are due to regress a bit in Oakland, but watch out for those pesky A's.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/8/3/25833834/6410696.jpg)
Texas Rangers (88-74)- After a disappointing season, the Rangers decided to try and improve their team. The beefed up a disappointing offense that suffered from the lose of Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli a season ago. Prince Fielder will absolutely rake in Arlington. Choo is a table setter at the top of the line-up. The lineup will be good, but will also suffer for a bit with the news that Jurickson Profar and Geovany Soto are out for the first few months of the season. The rotation will have some question marks, too. Holland and Matt Davidson are both on the DL to start the season. Neftali Feliz isn't even being considered for a rotation spot. Darvish is the only sure thing and the lack of pitching will be what causes the team to potentially missout on a playoff spot.