Winner: Oakland Athletics
Wild Card Contender: Los Angeles Angels
A deep pitching staff anchored by former Cy Young winner Barry Zito and 24-year-old Rich Harden will enable the Oakland Athletics to win at least 90 games for the fourth time in five years. Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, Frank Thomas and Jason Kendall should provide enough pop in the lineup for the Athletics to win games even when their starting pitching fails to perform. Throw in last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, closer Houston Street, and the Oakland Athletics will win enough close games to beat out the Los Angeles Angels for the 2006 AL West crown.
Will the Angels’ starting pitching hold up throughout the long 162-game season? The Angels’ Ace, Bartolo Colon, has been bothered by nagging injuries that he may have suffered from pitching over 200 innings in each of the last four years. If his pitching does not resemble his 2005 Cy Young form, the L.A. Angels will be in a world of trouble. The Angels’ consistent lineup, anchored by Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins, and Garret Anderson, and the Angels’ stellar bullpen, anchored by Scott Shields and Francisco “K-rod” Rodriguez, will win enough games for the Angels to possibly make the playoffs. They will fall just short of another AL West title.
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