The American League West appears to be entering a new era.
The Seattle Mariners rode Cal Raleigh’s 60-homer season to the division title last year, toppling the Houston Astros, who had won the previous four. That said, the Astros don’t intend to fade quietly into obscurity as long as Yordan Alvarez is stirring the drink.
The Texas Rangers are refocused under new manager Skip Schumaker, and the Angels are always threats to go deep with Mike Trout. Meantime, the Athletics are looking to the future with young stars such as Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson.
Athlon Sports tapped anonymous scouts to deliver the skinny on opponents for our 2026 MLB Preview magazine. Here’s what they had to say about the five teams in the AL West.
More MLB anonymous scouting:
American League East
American League Central
NL East: March 2
NL Central: March 4
NL West: March 6
Athletics
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The A’s are the A’s. They’re in limbo, not a contender, but not bad. They play in a minor-league park that plays like a minor-league park. None of their starters worry you, but they’ve got a respectable bullpen with guys like Elvis Alvarado, Hogan Harris, Michael Kelly and Justin Sterner. They kept them in a lot of games and made it so they didn’t really miss Mason Miller after the deadline.
They’ve got some bats you have to respect. Jacob Wilson is going to win a batting title; he doesn’t walk, doesn’t strike out, puts it in play, just a really solid hitter. Shea Langeliers is dangerous; Nick Kurtz is a monster. Brent Rooker will get his 30 home runs, but he’s very pitchable.
Houston Astros
Houston’s always going to be a tough, quality organization. Even though it didn’t work, I love that they went for it and brought Carlos Correa back. He stayed on the field last year, and his performance ticked up with the Astros. Jose Altuve is their heart and soul, but Jeremy Peña’s their best player. He gives me Derek Jeter vibes, just the way he goes about his business and the fact that he can beat you in a lot of different ways.
Christian Walker had a down year, but he still hit for power, and he’s a tough out — pitchers don’t want to see him in a big situation. And don’t forget about Yordan Alvarez; when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best hitters in baseball.
Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu might be the best late-inning duo in the game. Abreu is a dog, in a good way. Hunter Brown is the ace, and Tatsuya Imai is an intriguing addition, but after them there’s a lot of questions. Cristian Javier’s back, but he was a shadow of the good Javier — just another guy. They’ll have a lot of options for the rotation to look at in spring training.
Los Angeles Angels
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
What a weird team. They sell out for homers, but that’s all they do. They basically don’t get any other hits, and they strike out all the time. That’s kind of what Mike Trout has become, but pitchers still respect him, so he still gets a lot of walks. Nolan Schanuel has a good eye, too, but nobody else really does.
I do like Zach Neto a lot; he’s their best player, by far. Their offseason additions are mostly wishful thinking — Alek Manoah and Grayson Rodriguez didn’t even pitch last season, and Jordan Romano was a mess in Philadelphia. Yusei Kikuchi is good, but you can get to him because he’s soft-friendly and gets really predictable.
The pitcher to watch there is José Soriano. Any given night, he’s as good as anyone in the world. That sinker is so good, when he’s at his best, you could put an All-Star team out there and they wouldn’t touch him. The trouble is, he can’t repeat it from start to start, so you look up at the end of the year and he’s league-average.
Seattle Mariners
Outside of the Dodgers, I think this is the best team in baseball because every night you’ve got a formidable, arguably No. 1 on the mound that you’re facing. They almost got to the World Series and didn’t even start Bryan Woo, who was their best pitcher. They’ve got Andrés Muñoz, Eduard Bazardo and Matt Brash at the end of the bullpen who are really, really good, and Jose A. Ferrer was a great pickup because the other lefty, Gabe Speier, wore down at the end.
Cal Raleigh is the rock of the team; there’s so much value to the example he sets by posting every day. You see it with Randy Arozarena, J.P. Crawford and Julio RodrÃguez, too — they accept and embrace the responsibility of being out there every day.
They’ll miss Jorge Polanco, but they knew what they had in Josh Naylor and made sure to bring him back. He’s one of the smartest players in the league — you saw it with the stolen bases — and that kind of care level and intensity just lifts everyone around him. This is a fairly weak division, and Seattle should run away with it.
Texas Rangers
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
They really struggled at the plate last season, but that’s a really tough place to hit now. It really hurts a guy like Josh Jung, who’s one of a few guys to regress since their championship in 2023. Evan Carter is another; they should trade him while he still has value. Wyatt Langford’s the guy who keeps getting better — he’ll be a superstar by 2027.
Josh Smith is their Swiss army knife, a real good defender wherever you put him, and he knows what he’s doing at the plate. Corey Seager is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, with no signs of slowing down. But it’s worrisome that he can’t stay healthy for a full season.
Their pitching was terrific — Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi especially, even though you’re always holding your breath about their health. Jack Leiter is figuring it out; he’s a smart guy with great stuff, and with better command, he’ll be a horse. Kumar Rocker is a wild card, and don’t forget about Jacob Latz; I think he has a chance to be really good.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
