AL West Fantasy Baseball News: Mike Trout and Albert Pujols continue to struggle
The AL West is sort of a jumbled mess, but at least we know Adrian Beltre isn't leaving the division anytime soon.
Oakland A's
Marcus Semien is providing power at the shortstop position once again (team leading 4 HR), and while it may not matter much for fantasy purposes, he's been much better in the field as well. Last year, Semien had 6 errors in his first 15 games. Through 13 games this year. he's only committed one.
Semien has nothing on the A's ball boy, though:
Here's a name to keep an eye on: Sean Manaea. The highly regarded southpaw pitching prospect struck out 11 batters in another dominant performance in the minors. It may only be a matter of time before the A's add him to the rotation, and if that happens, he'll be worth a fantasy flier. The 2013 first-round pick has a 10.9 strikeout per 9 rate in the minors for his career.
Los Angeles Angels
The top of the Angels' lineup has produced fairly well this season, but not for the reasons you'd think. Mike Trout (.233) and Albert Pujols (.196) are both off to slow starts, but new leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar (.327) and Kole Calhoun (.349) are picking up the slack. With the bottom of the lineup not expected to produce offensively, Trout and Pujols have to get it going soon, as the Angels were just swept this weekend by the lowly Twins.
It's early, but those who selected Bryce Harper over Trout are looking smart. Harper already has 5 more HR, 11 more RBI and 2 more SB.
Texas Rangers
Adrian Beltre was signed to a two-year contract extension, which could mean that the Rangers will look to be active and deal their surplus of bats. Clear space for Joey Gallo or we riot.
Speaking of a surplus of bats, Josh Hamilton is nearing a return as well. Shin-Soo Choo should be back in about a month, as well. Lots of talent in the Rangers outfield these days.
Seattle Mariners
Felix Hernandez tied Randy Johnson for the most strikeouts in Mariners franchise history in his last start against the Yankees. It seems like a pretty, pretty, pretty good bet that he'll break the record in his next start this week.
Joaquin Benoit made his debut and pitched a scoreless inning. Steve Cishek has been good so far this year, but Benoit would likely be next in line should something happen to him.
Houston Astros
The cinderella story of Tyler White continues. During Spring Training it was unclear whether he'd make the final roster, but he kept hitting and hitting. He hasn't stopped. White leads the way in batting average (.357), homers (4) and RBI (11) for the Astros and is clearly worth a pickup at this point, especially given the amount of talent he's batting around. Prospect A.J. Reed could pose a threat to playing time down the line, but not if White keeps this up.
Jose Altuve: tiny man, big bat. After hitting a career-high 15 homers last season, Altuve already has four this year. He also leads the NL in stolen bases with 6. A 20-40 type season isn't out of the question.
