Ricky Dimon
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The Houston Astros have won four of the last five American League West titles, with the only exception being the relative crapshoot that was the 60-game 2020 season. They have parlayed three of those four division triumphs into World Series appearances, winning the first of those – albeit controversially – in 2017. After losing to the Atlanta Braves in the Fall Classic last year, the Astros will be hungry to get right back in gear this season. Will their domination of the division continue, or will either the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, or Texas Rangers turn the tables?
Let’s break down the five division representatives and discuss some of the best bets to be made.
Houston Astros
Can the Astros win another division title, make it back to the World Series, and perhaps even win it all this year? It’s certainly possible. They made their postseason run last year without Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound. Verlander is good to go now and McCullers should be available at some point in the early stages of the 2022 campaign. Carlos Correa is gone and the bullpen lost some pieces, but Houston is still well-stocked with its lineup and its reliever corps. Those losses can be replaced. There remain few holes in a team that is great in both the hitting and pitching departments. The ceiling is high.
Best bet: To win the American League at +470
Check out our full Astros team preview
Los Angeles Angels
Since their last division title in 2014 (when they were the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), this has been the story for the Angels: enough talent; not enough results. They haven’t even been back to the playoffs at any point in the last seven years. It’s obvious that a club with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout has the potential to end the drought, but the sample size of recent failure is large and the supporting cast may not be good enough to change things in 2022. Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen have been added to the rotation, but Syndergaard is a serious question mark from a physical standpoint. If everyone stays healthy, L.A. can compete. But it’s not likely – and neither is drastic improvement from last season’s 77-85 effort.
Best bet: Under 83.5 wins at -110
Check out our full Angels team preview
Oakland Athletics
No team in Major League Baseball endured more of a fire-sale than the Athletics. I mean, they pretty much traded everyone. Matt Olson and Matt Chapman are gone from the lineup. Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea have to be replaced in the starting rotation. Frankie Montas could be next, which would leave Oakland with one of the most inexperienced pitching staffs in baseball. Heck, this entire club is all about youth now. The A’s are in total rebuilding mode and it doesn’t project to be a quick rebuild, either. This franchise has little interest in winning baseball games this season, so bet the under on their win total.
Best bet: Under 70.5 wins at -120
Check out our full Athletics team preview
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners made a dramatic late-season push for a wild-card spot in 2021, ultimately falling two games short of the Red Sox and Yankees. Despite missing the playoffs, Seattle has plenty of momentum heading into the 2022 campaign. And that’s not the only reason why confidence should be high. Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker were acquired from Cincinnati to bolster the lineup along with Adam Frazier from San Diego. The Mariners also signed AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray from Toronto in free agency. With six teams making the playoffs this time around, the M’s have a great chance to be one of the three wild-card entries. At +180, they have great value to make the postseason.
Best bet: To make the playoffs at +180
Check out our full Mariners team preview
Texas Rangers
If the Mariners spent big during the offseason, the Rangers spent even bigger. They added Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Kole Calhoun to the lineup while bolstering the rotation with Jon Gray and Martin Perez. Are those nice additions? Sure. Is any one of them a division-changer? Probably not. Yes, the combination of all five of them has potential, but a lot of things have to go right. I don’t love any bets on the Rangers because they have a lot of talent but they don’t have a lot of history of success. They’re the Rangers; it’s tough to justify backing them. They went 60-102 last year and haven’t won a playoff series since blowing the 2011 World Series against the Cardinals. Seager’s two highest RBI totals in his career are 77 and 87, and now he is moving to a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Taking the under on his RBI prop is the only Texas-related bet that I like right now.
Best bet: Corey Seager Under 91.5 RBIs (-110)
Check out our full team preview
American League West prediction
Without taking the odds into account, anyone would be crazy not to take Houston is this division. However, I am not about to bite on the Astros when the best possible price currently available is -170. Both Los Angeles (+400) and Seattle (+500) are too good on paper to be entirely discounted. Even Texas (+1900) could be worth a long-shot play given the enormity of the payout that would ensue if that club shocks the division. As for Oakland (+3500), well, it can be written off – at least for this season.
I think the Mariners have the best value as the third favorites. They were already good in 2021 (unlike the Angels and Rangers) and should be even better this year.
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