Six days and counting until league-wide Opening Day on March 27. With that, the race begins in what just might be the sport’s most competitive division in 2025.
We’ve already previewed the teams in the other five MLB divisions. Let’s conclude by breaking down the seasons ahead for the five squads in the American League West.
More previews by division: NL East | NL Central | NL West | AL East | AL Central
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Houston Astros
Projected record (per FanGraphs, as of March 21): 84-78, 54% odds to make the playoffs, 29.6% odds to win the division
What happened last year? It was an odd, up-and-down year in Houston. Despite a horrendous start to the season, the Astros were still able to chase down the Seattle Mariners to take the AL West crown for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. But for the first time since 2017, Houston failed to reach the ALCS, instead getting bounced in the wild-card round by the red-hot Detroit Tigers.
Best-case scenario: The major changes in Houston’s lineup are in the rearview, as an Astros offense led by José Altuve and Yordan Alvarez finds new life. Top prospect Cam Smith, acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade, makes an instant impact in the big leagues, and the lineup keeps churning with help from free-agent acquisition Christian Walker. Meanwhile, the rotation really takes a step up after going through a growth phase last season. Another year of experience for youngsters Spencer Arrighetti, Hunter Brown and Ronel Blanco, alongside ace Framber Valdez, proves to be the secret to once again making Houston a threat in October.
Worst-case scenario: The losses of Tucker and Alex Bregman loom large over the Astros, as their offense struggles to supplement those departures. Alvarez is once again unable to carry the offense by himself and finds himself back on the IL. The experiment with Altuve playing left field goes horribly wrong, as the career second baseman struggles to track down baseballs and takes adventurous routes that put himself and the team’s center fielder in danger. But the worst news is that the Astros’ long streak of reaching the postseason comes to an end, and Houston is left wondering if this team’s window of contention has officially closed.
Make-or-break player: Yordan Álvarez. It feels like we’ve been waiting for a while now for Alvarez to have the season in which he transforms himself into…