American League West Betting Preview
The Houston Astros have won the American League West in four of the last five seasons, with the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign as the lone exception. Will anyone pose a threat to the defending American League champs? Sportsmemo MLB handicapper JM Sports shares his thoughts on the 2022 version of the American League West.
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2022 American League West Division Odds
The biggest question mark surrounding the American League West entering the 2022 season is: What do you make of the Seattle Mariners? Seattle went 90-72, yet had a run differential of -51 last season. That’s unheard of. Their expected record based on their run differential was 76-86, so they outperformed their expectation by 14 games.
So your first instinct is to want to fade them this year with the expectation that they can’t repeat that outlier performance, right? Well, not so fast, as the Mariners were one of the most active teams in free agency and brought in some really intriguing pieces.
2022 American League West Odds | Courtesy of Caesars as of April 6 |
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Houston Astros | -175 |
Los Angeles Angels | +400 |
Seattle Mariners | +460 |
Texas Rangers | +1800 |
Oakland A’s | +3500 |
Seattle Mariners
Seattle did part ways with SP Yusei Kikuchi, SP Justin Dunn and OF Jake Fraley, but they added Robbie Ray to their pitching rotation and added a huge bat in Eugenio Sanchez in hopes of pushing them into contention for the top spot in the AL West and close the gap with Houston.
Robbie Ray posted a 13-7 record last season with Toronto and was one of the most impressive pitchers in the league. His ERA was just 2.84 in 32 games that he started, striking out 248 batters in just 193.1 IP! Now alongside Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzalez, the Mariners have a three-headed beast at the top of their starting rotation.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have not made as many moves as some of the other teams in the league did this offseason, but three big names do stand out. During spring training, new starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard said, “This is the best I have felt since 2019.” Angels fans will be hoping that Syndergaard can find the same form that he had with the Mets prior to Tommy John surgery.
The Angels also added Michael Lorenzen. While he appeared in just 27 games last season and posted an ERA of 5.59, the potential of this young pitcher compares with a good majority of pitchers his age.
They also added Tyler Wade to the lineup, who got lost in the shuffle of the Yankees’ loaded roster. With some more playing time potentially in his future, he is a player that can make an immediate impact and at just 27 years old.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers added Jon Gray, Martin Perez and Garret Richards to their starting pitching rotation, all of which started over 22 games last season. Gray spent last season with the Rockies, while Perez and Richards both spent 2021 with the Red Sox.
While they no longer have Mike Foltynewicz and Kolby Allard in their starting rotation, those two combined for a 5-24 record in 41 starts, and Texas will be happy to welcome the three new faces that could potentially replace Foltynewicz and Allard.
The Rangers have shown that age is just a number this off-season and has utilized the signing of veterans to make a difference for the short-term as they seem to be playing to win sooner rather than later. They added 3B/1B Matt Carpenter (36 years old), INF/OF Brad Miller (32), RP Greg Holland (36), and Kole Calhoun (34). The Rangers also added Corey Seager, one of the top shortstops in the league, as well as Mitch Garver.
Oakland A’s
We’ll keep this one short and sweet: It’s going to be a long year in Oakland and they are (very) unlikely to live up to the playoff-level standard that they’ve set over the last decade. Shipping off Sean Manaea, Chris Bassit, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman signals that the A’s have no real intention on trying to compete this season.
Interested in placing a bet on the 2022 American League West division odds? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.
2022 American League Preview | First Pitch
Play ball! After a very interesting offseason, the 2022 MLB season will kick off on Thursday, April 7. Join Drew Martin, Bryan Leonard and Dave Cokin for First Pitch as we preview the American League futures market. Which teams are poised to overachieve based on their projected win totals? Which favorites are on upset alert in their division? Join our team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.
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Meet the Author
Jeff’s hunger for handicapping began at a young age being surrounded by parents that made sports betting a daily routine. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of other Cleveland handicappers like Marc Lawrence, Phil Steele, Ralph Michaels, Ed Meyer and Bryan Leonard, Jeff started his sports betting career working for both Northcoast Sports and Phil Steele Publications learning the intricacies of sports betting and becoming a profitable handicapper. Through out his college years, Jeff’s mathematical and analytical prowess helped him develop a betting strategy that turned sports betting into a profitable venture, where he focuses on the NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball and MLB while showing strong results in the WNBA.
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