ESPN Projections – AL West

And we come to the anchor of our relay.
Overall breakdown:

AL West 1st Place – Your Mom

Record: 187/127/22 – 0.589 Win%
CPL Record Rank: 3rd
Roto Rankings: 5th
Strengths: SBs, OPS, IP, K, W, SV, ERA and WHIP
Weaknesses: Holds (also ranked 9th or 10th in Hits, Runs, RBIs, BBs and Batting Average)

Summary: New year, same ole story in the AL West. The Your Mom franchise is projected to take the division, while the other 3 teams try to compete for both Wild Card slots in the playoffs. Admittedly, things appear to have shifted ever so slightly. The 1.5 game advantage that Your Mom is projected to have over Baby Seals may represent the narrowest margin to date, suggesting that his grip on the AL West isn’t as tight as it once was. And the Big Units only 7.5 games behind suggest that this division will be plenty competitive. But, this seems to have been the general story of this division for quite sometime, and the inevitable result hasn’t changed regardless of the projected proximity of the #2 team in the division. So, rather than perpetuate the absurd notion that the Your Mom franchise is in any way weakened, let’s just end this summary with “New year, same ole story in the AL West”.

X-Factor – Anthony Rizzo: The Your Mom rotation has some arms in Quintana and Means that I have less faith than ESPN, but let’s not worry ourselves too much with the stellar overall rotation. The bullpen is likewise not an area of concern. Even if a couple arms falter there are many to take their place. Among the hitters there are plenty of question marks, but I went with Rizzo as the X-Factor because I feel like Rizzo is very representative of the Your Mom franchise. In some ways the current iteration of the team started with the controversial acquisition of Rizzo. And any baseless rumors centering around a closing window could point to Rizzo’s fall from top of his position as an indicator of the overall health of the Your Mom franchise. If Rizzo falters in 2021, Your Mom will likely still make the playoffs. However, if more of the veteran pieces on the team follow suit, the baseless rumors may start to grow louder.

AL West 2nd Place – Baby Seals

Record: 185/128/23 – 0.584 Win%
CPL Record Rank: 4th
Roto Rankings: 7th
Strengths: Hits, HRs, RBIs, IP, K, W, SV, HD
Weaknesses: BBs and L’s

Summary: Just a solid team from top to bottom. Could use some more L’s and BBs, but otherwise, just solid. You look at a core that’s young and up-and-coming, if not mostly established and you see a very promising 5 year forecast. I would say that the AL West is effectively a 50/50 coin toss for #1 this season, but the consolation prize will still be a playoff appearance regardless of who takes the division. Baby Seals has the best chance of upending the Your Mom dominance and establish himself as the standard of the American League. I like 2021 as the first of many strong AL West titles to come for the Baby Seals, and perhaps more.

X-Factor – Yoan Moncada: Every position has a potential super star to fill it. And the rotation is solid as well. Depth is probably the biggest thing holding Baby Seals back, and if there is a major injury or under performance, he will definitely feel it. Of all of the starters, Moncada has to me, one of the more surprising projections with a very tepid 22 HRs, 11 SBs, .254/.772 line. His prospect status suggested a much more impressive set of expectations, although I imagine that’s balanced out by the very disappointing 2020 performance. I like Moncada to out perform his projections, and maybe give Baby Seals the push he needs to take the division.

AL West 3rd Place – The Big Units

Record: 179/133/23 – 0.568 Win%
CPL Record Rank: 6th
Roto Rankings: 4th
Strengths: Hits BBs, and Batting Average
Weaknesses: HRs, RBIs, Holds

Summary: Carrol comes into the season as fresh blood, but has the enviable position of inheriting a tremendous team. Were it not for the franchises mismanagement in 2020, resulting in a more difficult schedules in 2021, his end of year projections would be much more favorable to his record. But, it is what it is. The ultimate X-Factor to The Big Units success this year will be Carrol himself as managing a CPL team is no easy task, but I, and the rest of the AL East have more than enough confidence that he will get the hang of it before too long. And once he does, the sky is the limit for one of the strongest teams in the league.

X-Factor – Alex Colome: Plenty of studs in the lineup and rotation, but the biggest question marks belong in the decidedly weak bullpen. Colome represents the biggest source of saves, but is projected to have sub-par ratios and counting stats. If Colome is able to take a step up this season, one of the few holes in a very intimidating lineup will be closed and The Big Units will be a force to behold when the playoffs come around.

AL West 4th Place – BROBs Barnacles

Record: 143/168/24 – 0.463 Win%
CPL Record Rank: 13th
Roto Rankings: 12th
Strengths: Hits, RBIs and Batting Average
Weaknesses: BBs, IP, K, W, SV, HD

Summary: The odd man out of the AL West, BROB’s Barnacles appears to be definitively on the down swing. Even in a weaker division, he would be projected to come up wanting. I haven’t kept very good tabs on the BROB’s for the last couple seasons, but considering the relative strength of his competition, I have to wonder if he’s contemplating taking his team down another path. Next season doesn’t look to be much better either, and the overall health of his major league squad leaves something to be desired. Future farm systems analysis may provide a rosier picture, but until then BROB’s biggest accomplishments in 2020 may be playing spoiler in week 21.

X-Factor – Jameson Taillon: Pitching seems to be the biggest weakness of this team, and Taillon has a particularly poor projection. His modest projection of 103 IP, 98 K and 4.11/1.25 seems like something that is very attainable. Maybe I’m not giving enough credit to how difficult it is to pitch in Yankee stadium. Or Taillon’s injury history. But he seems healthy now, and he will likely get as many bites of the apple as he can in the Yankees rotation. A strong return to form for Taillon will prop a woefully projected BROB’s rotation in a way that is much needed.