{"id":6494,"date":"2026-02-27T13:07:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=6494"},"modified":"2026-02-27T13:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:07:47","slug":"what-anonymous-scouts-have-to-say-about-the-al-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=6494","title":{"rendered":"What Anonymous Scouts Have to Say About the AL West"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The American League West appears to be entering a new era.<\/p>\n

The Seattle Mariners<\/a> rode Cal Raleigh’s 60-homer season to the division title last year, toppling the Houston Astros<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

The Texas Rangers<\/a> are refocused under new manager Skip Schumaker, and the Angels are always threats to go deep with Mike Trout<\/a>. Meantime, the Athletics<\/a> are looking to the future with young stars such as Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson.<\/p>\n

Athlon Sports tapped anonymous scouts to deliver the skinny on opponents for our 2026 MLB Preview magazine<\/a>. Here\u2019s what they had to say about the five teams in the AL West.<\/p>\n

More\u00a0MLB<\/a>\u00a0anonymous scouting:
<\/strong>American League East<\/a>
American League Central<\/a>
NL East: March 2
NL Central: March 4
NL West: March 6<\/p>\n

Athletics<\/h2>\n
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Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz celebrates with teammates after scoring in his team’s exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium on Feb. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The A\u2019s are the A\u2019s. They\u2019re 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\u2019ve 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\u2019t really miss Mason Miller after the deadline.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve got some bats you have to respect. Jacob Wilson is going to win a batting title; he doesn\u2019t walk, doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s very pitchable.<\/p>\n

Houston Astros<\/h2>\n

Houston\u2019s always going to be a tough, quality organization. Even though it didn\u2019t work, I love that they went for it and brought Carlos Correa<\/a> back. He stayed on the field last year, and his performance ticked up with the Astros. Jose Altuve<\/a> is their heart and soul, but Jeremy Pe\u00f1a\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Christian Walker had a down year, but he still hit for power, and he\u2019s a tough out \u2014 pitchers don\u2019t want to see him in a big situation. And don\u2019t forget about Yordan Alvarez; when he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s one of the best hitters<\/a> in baseball.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s a lot of questions. Cristian Javier\u2019s back, but he was a shadow of the good Javier \u2014 just another guy. They\u2019ll have a lot of options for the rotation to look at in spring training.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels<\/h2>\n
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Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto waves to the camera during his team’s game against the Chicago Cubs in Anaheim, California, on Aug. 22, 2025.<\/p>\n

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What a weird team. They sell out for homers, but that\u2019s all they do. They basically don\u2019t get any other hits, and they strike out all the time. That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

I do like Zach Neto a lot; he\u2019s their best player, by far. Their offseason additions are mostly wishful thinking \u2014 Alek Manoah and Grayson Rodriguez didn\u2019t even pitch last season, and Jordan Romano was a mess in Philadelphia. Yusei Kikuchi is good, but you can get to him because he\u2019s soft-friendly and gets really predictable.<\/p>\n

The pitcher to watch there is Jos\u00e9 Soriano. Any given night, he\u2019s as good as anyone in the world. That sinker is so good, when he\u2019s at his best, you could put an All-Star team out there and they wouldn\u2019t touch him. The trouble is, he can\u2019t repeat it from start to start, so you look up at the end of the year and he\u2019s league-average.<\/p>\n

Seattle Mariners<\/h2>\n

Outside of the Dodgers, I think this is the best team in baseball because every night you\u2019ve got a formidable, arguably No. 1 on the mound that you\u2019re facing. They almost got to the World Series and didn\u2019t even start Bryan Woo, who was their best pitcher. They\u2019ve got Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz, 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.<\/p>\n