We finish up our march through the American League this week with the AL West. The Astros, at one point, seemed like they were 20+ games up on second place Oakland this year and I had to do a double take when I looked at the standing this afternoon and it was “only” 6.5 games. Oakland is doing fine in their own right with the ever pesky “statistical lineup” we’ve seen for a while now. The Angels have two of the most exciting players in the league but are limping into 3rd. The Rangers are just above .500 (.505 to be exact) and I don’t think they can even start to catch up with their fellow Texans. The Mariners are in full-blown “Rebuild” mode and it’s showing with their 41-63 record.

So, let’s dive in and take a look at the AL West!

Houston Astros

The Astros are red-hot… or, I suppose, Orange Hot. They look like they’re really enjoying themselves as a team this year and they’re consistently fun to watch. I’m literally watching them beat Oakland while I’m typing this (4-1 in the 6th). I don’t really feel like there’s a conflict of interest in rooting for them. September will sort it out, as it did in 2017 and 2018. They’re my #2, and I’m ok with that.

That said, I went with what I felt like were the 3 premiere players this year for the cards. I also did a card for Yordan Alvarez. I know he technically came up “too late” to have an official RC this year, but that is the MLB’s and Topps’ bullcrap rule, not mine. This is his rookie season, just try and change my mind.

Oakland Athletics

I’m going to be honest and say that with the exception of Matt Chapman, I can’t keep track of who is actually on the Athletics any more. It seems like they’re always near the top of the West, but have constant lineup turn over. They seems to be having a fine season, #2 in the West in a good spot for a Wild Card chase. I included Laureano simply because of the canon he has for an arm. I remember seeing him gun down JBJ from the outfield at the beginning of the season. That’s quite the feat.

LA Angels

No, I’m not calling them the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”, because that’s stupid. Pick one LA.

The Angels have the best player in baseball, and one of the most interesting “not really a rookie anymore” young players in Trout and Ohtani, but picking a 3rd was tough. Kole Calhoun has been quietly putting together a really solid season. Statistically, he’s our #3.

Texas Rangers

Here’s our second Texas team, the “essentially Dallas” Rangers. I can’t tell if they’ve given up already, or if they’re planning to shortly, but they’re hovering just above .500 with really no plans on doing anything to change that. I think they’re getting a new stadium… so… they’re playing mediocre to… ummm…. say thank you? I don’t really get it. They did give the Red Sox Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland in the past, so I don’t really dislike them. They also have Hunter Pence, and how can you not like that crazy dude?

Seattle Mariners

Man, what can we even say about the Mariners at this point? They started the year with a completely different roster. They’ve traded or released dozens of players and with the exception of the rookie Kikuchi, I haven’t heard anything good out of the Mariners. I don’t even know if the guys I picked for cards are still on the team (I picked them two months ago) and I don’t really feel like Googling it. Sadly it’s a lost year for the Northern Boat People.

And with that, we bring the entire American League to a close. The National League is up next, but I’m behind on making some of the cards. There might be a slight break before I can put out an entire division.

If you’re interested in checking out the other Divisions, here ya go:

American League East
American League Central
American League West (this post)