Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: AL West

The AL West isn’t as competitive as some other divisions. Though, there are still valuable assets worth having on your fantasy baseball team.

The American League West has been a one-team division over the last couple of years. Last season saw two teams, or three depending on your definition, make some moves to compete for a division title. It did come down to just one team but there was a lot to look forward to for fantasy baseball.

Unfortunately, it was just a one-season wonder as those two same teams let go or traded some important pieces. One team is trying to build but won’t be close this season and the fourth team doesn’t seem like they want to compete.

Then, there’s the division winner as they continue to replace missing pieces in order to win another division championship. Oh for those you are still wondering, in order, those teams are the Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros.

The hitters in this division are some of the best in the league. Mike Trout. Khris Davis. Carlos Correa. Alex Bregman. Jose Altuve. The pitching, on the other hand, features a lot of aging veterans are back-end pieces you don’t want on your team.

In real life, this division is a one-team race. For fantasy baseball, I would like to have a few hitters on these teams. They can hit for power and contact. Some of them can even run. Avoid the majority of pitchers if possible. Four of the five parks in this division ranked in the top half in home runs, according to ESPN Park Factors.

In this six-part series, I will go over each team’s key departures, arrivals and their remaining needs heading into Spring Training. I will also talk about some players to watch for in 2019.

Here is the breakdown of the first American League division, the West.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Texas Rangers

Key Departures:

Adrian Beltre, Bartolo Colon, Robinson Chirinos, Doug Fister, Yovani Gallardo, Martin Perez

Key Additions:

Patrick Wisdom, Lance Lynn, Drew Smyly, Jesse Chavez, Jeanmar Gomez

The Rangers have an affinity with signing older pitchers over the last couple of seasons. Martin Perez was the youngest in the rotation last year at 27. The average age was 33.66. This year is more of the same. The team signed Lance Lynn and traded for Drew Smyly. No. 5 starter Yohander Mendez is currently the youngest at 24 years old.

The offense lost a big piece in Adrian Beltre. While his power and games played have declined over the past three seasons, he’s still a big threat and was able to protect his teammates in the lineup. Looking at the lineup now, there isn’t that big bat opposing pitchers should be afraid of.

No full-time Rangers hitter not named Beltre hit over .260 last season. Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit .261 in 111 games. He is listed as the starting catcher after the departure of Robinson Chirinos. Shin-Soo Choo, Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara could hit 20 home runs again but hit .250 in the process. These are the hitters you draft late for an extra boost in your power stats.

The Rangers added a lot of pieces to the bullpen, including Jesse Chavez and Jeanmar Gomez. Jose Leclerc is expected to close again. He recorded 12 saves with a 1.56 ERA, 0.850 WHIP, 13.3 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 57.2 innings. Leclerc will be a great dart throw closer in the final rounds.

He is my breakout player for the team. I don’t expect him to get close to Edwin Diaz numbers but I think a sub-2.50 ERA with 25 saves will be a good season for Leclerc. Maybe if the Rangers are doing bad again this season, they can trade him as they did with many of their relievers last season.

The Rangers need at least two starting pitchers, a true set-up man, a center fielder and backup catcher. The team’s current center fielder is Joey Gallo. With a true center fielder, they can move Gallo back to third base. With their recent trends in the offseason, I don’t expect them to make a splash in free agency.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: LA Angels

Key Departures:

Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Blake Parker, Jim Johnson

Key Additions:

Justin Bour, Jonathan Lucroy, Tommy La Stella, Matt Harvey, Trevor Cahill

The Angels finished under .500 for the third straight season. I feel bad for Mike Trout. He’s the Calvin Johnson of baseball. He’s one of, if not the, best player in his sport. He does everything in his power to help his team succeed but the front office isn’t adding enough to get them to the next level.

Trout is Trout. I don’t need to go any further with that. With the injury to Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols will get more playing time as the full-time DH and the recently signed Justin Bour will play first base.

Pujols can still hit 20 home runs per season but won’t be hitting .300 anytime soon. Expect something closer to .255 at the end of the year. The same could be said for Bour. A 22 HR/.260 line is more reasonable.

The rest of the lineup is roughly the same as last year. Andrelton Simmons, Justin Upton and Kole Calhoun will play their role with home runs and high batting averages. The addition of Jonathan Lucroy should help pitchers more than the other hitters.

Speaking of pitchers, the Angels added veterans Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill. Trying to milk the success of older players like the A’s did last season, the Angels aren’t looking to break the bank with starting pitchers. While he doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, Jaime Barria is my target from this rotation. He had a 3.41 ERA and 1.268 WHIP with a 6.8 K/9 in 129.1 innings.

The Angels bullpen is a situation to avoid in 2019. They had a revolving door at closer all season, switching between Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian, Jim Johnson and Keynan Middleton among others. Parker and Johnson are no longer with the team and Middleton is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The Angels need a starting pitcher, backup catcher, closer and set-up man. The reliever market is drying up quickly. The Angels need to add at least one more arm but two would be beneficial. Again, with their track record, they won’t spend the money needed to improve the bullpen.

Barria is my breakout player for the Angels this season. He’s the youngest and healthiest member of the rotation.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Oakland A’s

Key Departures:

Jonathan Lucroy, Jed Lowrie, Matt Joyce, Trevor Cahill, Edwin Jackson, Jeurys Familia

Key Additions:

Jurickson Profar, Joakim Soria

The A’s dealt with a lot of pitching injuries last season. Jharel Cotton, Daniel Gossett, Sean Manaea and Andrew Triggs are all doubtful for Opening Day with Gossett and Manaea unlikely to play at all this season.

Luckily, the team re-signed Mike Fiers and is the ace of this rotation. Daniel Mengden, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt and Aaron Brooks round out the rotation. The A’s pitchers don’t strike out a lot of batters. They are more prone to keeping the ball on the ground.

The offense will be without Jed Lowrie and Matt Joyce. The team filled in second base by trading for Jurickson Profar. The outfield lineup is Nick Martini, Stephen Piscotty and Ramon Laureano with Chad Pinder and Mark Canha as backups.

Khris Davis and Matt Chapman will continue to crush the ball. Piscotty found his bat in Oakland last season and I see him continuing that success this season. These batters aren’t going to make a big splash on draft day but will help your lineup in the later rounds.

The A’s were one of the teams that built a “super bullpen” last season. Trying to limit the innings on their starting pitchers, Oakland supported Blake Treinen with Fernando Rodney, Shawn Kelley and Jeurys Familia along with in-house option Lou Trivino. They filled one void by signing Joakim Soria. The A’s will continue to have one of the better bullpens in the division and the league.

The A’s need one or two starting pitchers, a backup infielder and one more reliever. The starting infield is set but having a reliable backup will allow the starters to have a day off or two each month.

My breakout player from the A’s is Trivino. He had a great season last year, posting a 2.92 ERA, 1.135 WHIP, 10.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 74.0 innings. I think he builds on that and improves his ERA and walk rate. He will record a few saves but he will be most valuable in holds leagues. He had 23 last season. He’ll get to 25 this season.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Seattle Mariners

Key Departures:

Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, Zach Duke, Adam Warren

Key Additions:

Yusei Kikuchi, Mallex Smith, Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, Domingo Santana, J.P. Crawford, Omar Narvaez, Yusei Kikuchi, Anthony Swarzak, Justus Sheffield

The Mariners Jerry Dipoto loves making trades. According to Roster Resource, eight of the nine starters have been acquired by trade over the last two seasons. The only non-traded player is third baseman Kyle Seager.

I don’t think the Mariners are done as many teams are looking at Edwin Encarnacion.

In the meantime, the lineup is pretty good. Even without Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano, the Mariners have a batting order that can compete in the division. The projected batting order is Mallex Smith, Mitch Haniger, Jay Bruce, Encarnacion, Seager, Domingo Santana, J.P. Crawford, Omar Narvaez and Dee Gordon.

Again, not bad.

The starting pitching saw a big jump with the addition of Japanese star Yusei Kikuchi. He has a career 2.81 ERA, 1.177 WHIP, 8.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 1035.1 total innings. It’ll be hard to gauge his 2019 projections but based on the other Japanese pitchers, I think his first season will be average. He’ll have a good game here and there but on the whole, it will be decent.

The rest of the rotation will see Mike Leake, Marco Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez and Wade LeBranc on the mound. Let’s hope that King Felix can reclaim his throne in 2019. Though, I wouldn’t draft him to my team. He’ll be a nice sleeper waiver add after his first few starts.

The bullpen is the complete opposite of decent. This seems like a trend in this division. Anthony Swarzak is the slotted closer with Shawn Armstrong and Dan Altavilla backing him up. With the questionable starting rotation, I don’t see many saves coming from this bullpen. They’re better served to help get your ratios up or increase your counting stats.

The Mariners still have needs, despite all their trading. They need a catcher, backup outfielder and a pitcher. They could be the A’s of 2019 or finish 10-plus games back in the division. Who knows?

My sleeper pick is Santana. He didn’t get much playing time with the Milwaukee Brewers last season. But, in 2017, he hit 30 home runs with 85 RBIs and a .278 average. Slotted as the starting left fielder, I think he’ll hit 20 home runs with a .270 average. As your OF6, he’ll have a bounce-back season.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Houston Astros

Key Departures:

Martin Maldonado, Brian McCann, Evan Gattis, Marwin Gonzalez, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton

Key Additions:

Michael Brantley, Robinson Chirinos, Aledmys Diaz

The Astros lost some pieces but that isn’t going to send them down in the standings. The biggest loss is likely Dallas Keuchel. The rotation looks a little thin without him and Charlie Morton. However, the offense will do more than enough to support their pitchers.

Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Collin McHugh remain from last year. Josh James and Framber Valdez fill the other two spots.

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The bullpen is better than years past. Roberto Osuna is the closer with Ryan Pressly, Hector Rondon, Will Harris and Chris Devenski as the supporting cast. Owning Osuna is a top priority for saves but Rondon and Devenski are good options for holds and strikeouts.

The Astros offense is one of the best in the American League. Their biggest loss was Marwin Gonzalez. The utility infielder gave the Astros a lot of flexibility in their lineup. However, Aledmys Diaz is a serviceable replacement in that role.

Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and George Springer are at the top of their position rankings. Yuli Gurriel and Josh Reddick will have good seasons as well. Based on their numbers from last season, I wouldn’t mind having the whole Astros lineup on my fantasy team. That’s obviously not ideal but you could win some head-to-head matchups.

The Astros biggest need is starting pitcher but I think they’ll be alright with who they have this season.

Outfielder Michael Brantley is my breakout star. He had a great comeback season last year, hitting .309 with 17 home runs, 76 RBIs and 12 steals. Now hitting in a possibly better lineup, his RBIs will go up while maintaining that power and contact.

The AL West is likely a one-team race. But, as I highlighted, there are plenty of players worth having on your fantasy team. Your fantasy baseball team is build up of individual players, not a full team. Draft the best player available, regardless of how bad their team may be.

I’ll be covering the rebuilding. American League Central in my next post.

Until then, stay tuned to Fantasy CPR each and every day for all your DFS and season-long news and analysis!