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One storyline to watch for every AL West team in 2025
For the next seven months, 30 MLB clubs will compete for a chance to make the postseason and secure a World Series title.
With a new season underway, there is a lot to look forward to, especially in the highly competitive American League West.
Let's take a look at one storyline to watch for every AL West team in 2025.
Houston Astros: How will the new-look Astros fare in 2025?
The Astros may not be the juggernaut they were as recently as 2022, when they cruised through the postseason with an 11-2 record and beat the Phillies in the World Series, but they remain among the top contenders in the American League.
This offseason, the Astros waved goodbye to several notable players from the 2022 championship team, including third baseman Alex Bregman (Red Sox), right fielder Kyle Tucker (Cubs), starting pitcher Justin Verlander (Giants) and reliever Ryan Pressly (Cubs). Despite that, the Astros still boast a potent lineup, led by slugger Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve, and could make noise in the AL West.
Per ESPN, however, the Rangers are an overwhelming favorite to win the division over the Astros, who are picked to earn a wild-card berth.
Los Angeles Angels: How much does Mike Trout have left in the tank?
A three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, Trout has already stamped his ticket into Cooperstown. With four years remaining on his contract, though, its fair to wonder what to expect from the 33-year-old outfielder.
Despite his undeniable talent, Trout (.299 career BA with 378 HR) has struggled mightily to stay on the field in recent years. Limited by various injuries, including a left meniscus tear that sidelined him the bulk of the 2024 season, the Angels star has missed nearly 400 games over the past four seasons.
With so many injuries piling up, it's possible that one of the game's brightest stars is fading.
Seattle Mariners: Will J-Rod make a push for MVP?
CF Rodriguez is an ascending star, although his numbers in 2024 (20 HRs, 68 RBI) declined from 2023 (32 HRs, 103 RBI). Through the first three seasons, he has lived up to the hype that made him the Mariners' most highly touted prospect.
The five-tool outfielder burst onto the scene in 2022 with an impressive AL Rookie of the Year-winning campaign. The following season, Rodriguez won his second Silver Slugger award in as many seasons and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Now, with three years of his experience under his belt, Rodriguez could be in store for an MVP-caliber season.
Texas Rangers: Can Jacob deGrom lead the rotation?
Texas starter deGrom is one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors when healthy.
Unfortunately, a clean bill of health has been hard to come by for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
After missing the bulk of 2024 season with an elbow injury, deGrom (2.52 career ERA, 46th all time) looks to re-establish himself among the elite pitchers in the majors.
Since signing a five-year, $185M contract with the Rangers in 2022, deGrom has been limited to just nine starts.
This season, the Rangers hope to have their ace on the mound more often.
“One of the things I'm most excited about is a healthy season from Jacob, and for our fans to see what that looks like and how good he is,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said at Rangers Fan Fest, via ESPN. “He’s just electric. Coming to the ballpark every day, knowing that he's pitching, knowing that we've got a great chance to win the game, it's an exciting feeling."
More must-reads:
- One storyline to follow for every MLB team in 2025
- 2,428 games to go: 10 sizzling storylines to follow for 2025 MLB season
- The 'MLB active hits leaders' quiz
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Ranking the top three 2025 AL Cy Young Award candidates
Last season, Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award resoundingly, nabbing a rare pitching triple crown. This year, the contest is a little tighter. Now, into the home stretch of the 2025 MLB season, there are three AL Cy Young contenders that stand above the rest, each pitching for a team well within the postseason picture. As things stand today, it seems the Cy Young race could come down to a matter of splitting hairs, but with almost two months of baseball left to play, there is still time for a shakeup. Will the reigning Cy Young prevail or give way to one of the up-and-coming rising stars? This is how the AL Cy Young race is currently shaping up in the top three. LHP Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox In his first year with the Boston Red Sox, Crochet has gone from high-potential strikeout artist to Cy Young front-runner. It was just last season when the rising southpaw posted a 3.58 ERA with 209 strikeouts in 146 innings, making 32 starts with the White Sox, though he had never started a major-league game before. Now, after a quick change of Sox, Crochet has become one of the most dominant starters in baseball. He currently owns a 2.24 ERA with 183 strikeouts, an opponent batting average of .218 and 13 wins in 148.2 innings. Entering Saturday, his ERA leads the AL (second in MLB) while his innings count and wins total (tie) lead the MLB. LHP Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers Skubal, last year’s AL Cy Young and triple crown winner, lags Crochet this time around, but not by much. The Tigers’ ace owns a 2.35 ERA with 187 strikeouts, an opponent batting average of .198 and 11 wins in 145.1 innings. His strikeout total, walks per nine rate (1.30) and K/BB rate (8.90) lead the MLB, while his strikeouts per nine rate (11.58) leads the AL. His 3 losses on the season are tied with Christopher Sanchez for the least among all qualified starters. It’s fair to note that the Cy Young award doesn’t always go to the pitcher with the lowest ERA giving Skubal an outside shot if the voting started today, but the totals in the wins column and innings pitched still favor Crochet. Nonetheless, there is plenty of time left to pull ahead. RHP Hunter Brown, Houston Astros Rounding out the top three is Brown, the Houston Astros’ breakout ace. Brown settled into the majors last season, throwing to a 3.49 ERA after struggling through his rookie year. Now, Brown is one of the game’s top arms, maintaining an ERA of 2.51 with 160 strikeouts, an opponent batting average of .195 and nine wins in 136.1 innings, earning his first All-Star nod. Off the bat, the only thing that makes him stand out from the other two aces is his .195 opponent batting average, which may not be the lowest in the game, but is still lower than both Crochet’s and Skubal’s. Brown is more of a longshot for the AL Cy Young Award; however, he isn’t out of the race yet. It seems implausible, but a stellar performance this month and next could push him to the top.
Standout performances from Week 1 of NFL preseason: Rookie, backup QBs shine
The first week of the 2025 NFL preseason is officially in the books. Even though the games and results do not matter, there is still reason to pay attention to standout performances from around the league. Here are some of the best from this week's games. TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots The Patriots need some game-changers on offense, and they may have found one in second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson put on an immediate show in the Patriots' preseason opener, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, rushing for 18 yards on his only carry and catching three passes. Skylar Thompson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers Thompson is not likely to make the Steelers roster, but that doesn't mean he can't find a spot on another team. Especially if he puts together a strong preseason performance. He did exactly that on Saturday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing 20-of-28 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. With Aaron Rodgers unlikely to play in the preseason and Will Howard injured, Thompson should get plenty of reps to audition for other teams. Tanner McKee, QB, Philadelphia Eagles Following the offseason trade of Kenny Pickett, McKee is now pretty much cemented in as the Eagles' backup, and he had to give them a lot of confidence in his ability following his preseason performance against the Bengals. McKee torched the Bengals defense to the tune of 20-of-25 passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. It is a nice continuation for McKee following his promising debut a year ago when he threw for 323 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in his two appearances. Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams The Rams already have a starting running back in Kyren Williams, but there is nothing wrong with having a second productive player at the position. Corum didn't make the expected impact in his rookie season, but he had a promising preseason debut this year with two touchdowns in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys. Rookie quarterbacks Cleveland's Shedeur Sanders got the week off to a promising start by throwing two touchdowns against Carolina, taking a big step forward in his quest to win the team's starting quarterback job and to silence the critics following his slide in the draft. Jaxson Dart, one of the Giants' first-round picks, also had a strong showing by going 12-of-19 with 154 yards and a very impressive touchdown pass. Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, also had a strong debut by leading a touchdown drive and developing an instant connection with veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Abdul Carter, DE, New York Giants Carter did not play a ton of snaps for the Giants, but he was a force when he did play. He recorded a quarterback pressure on all three of his pass-rush snaps and showed the type of quickness and speed that made him one of the best players in the 2025 NFL Draft class. Cam Little, K, Jacksonville Jaguars Look, when you kick a 70-yard field goal, you deserve to get some added recognition, whether it counts as an official league record or not. Little made all four field goal attempts, as well as an extra point, in the Jaguars' preseason debut.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott makes big proclamation he probably can't keep
Quarterback Dak Prescott seems optimistic about the 2025 Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps he's a little too optimistic. On Saturday night, Mike Leslie of WFAA-TV in Dallas shared a clip of the Cowboys QB chatting with Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke. At the end of the conversation, Prescott issued a bold prediction. "We'll meet y'all in the NFC Championship," he said. Prescott's comment may have been tongue-in-cheek. Throughout the offseason, however, the 32-year-old QB has made it clear he believes Dallas is a championship contender. After the Philadelphia Eagles won their second Super Bowl in February, Prescott said there isn't a massive gap between the Cowboys and their NFC East rival. Despite Prescott's confidence, it's hard to envision the Cowboys threatening the Eagles or the Rams as one of the NFC's top teams. The Cowboys went 7-10 last season, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season. Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in 2024, missing nine games. The 2023 second-team All-Pro could rebound with new star wide receiver George Pickens. Still, a coaching change may make that more challenging. This offseason, Dallas rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer replaced Mike McCarthy. While it's just preseason, the team looked sloppy in the coach's first game. During the 31-21 road loss to the Rams, the Cowboys committed 11 penalties for 83 yards. The contract standoff with EDGE Micah Parsons, who's entering the final year of his rookie deal, is lingering over the team. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated they hadn't made any progress before Saturday's loss. "I'm glad to see [Parsons is] working out, in shape, and feels great, and so all of that's good," the owner told Kristi Scales of KRLD-FM in Dallas. "And I don't have anything to comment on." The Rams and Eagles, meanwhile, don't have as many problems as the Cowboys, making their path to a championship seem much easier. As of Sunday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Eagles the best odds (+360) to win the NFC and the Rams the fourth best (+950). The Cowboys have +2200 odds. Prescott should consider lowering expectations. It may be challenging for the Cowboys to make the playoffs this season, let alone the NFC Championship Game.
New York Rangers Expected to Make Controversial Decision With New Captain, Per Longtime Analyst
Longtime New York Rangers analyst Larry Brooks has suggested that the team could name JT Miller, who was re-acquired this year, as their new captain and official successor to ex-Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba. The New York Rangers do not have a captain right now following the controversial trade of Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks in December. But according to Larry Brooks, they may have found one. Why Naming Miller Captain Could Signal a Culture Shift for the Rangers It followed a period of tension between Trouba and Rangers management led by GM Chris Drury, who reportedly threatened to waive him if he didn't accept a trade. Months later, the Rangers re-acquired JT Miller from the Vancouver Canucks; he was taken by the Rangers with the 15th pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Per longtime Rangers analyst Larry Brooks of The New York Post, the Rangers should name Miller their new captain and the successor to Trouba. The captain's sweater is not just another piece of laundry. It represents the organization's ethos. The Rangers acquired J.T. Miller to change the team culture. The 32-year-old is hard-edged and can be abrasive. That is the identity the Blueshirts should adopt. Miller was traded to the Rangers after a long public feud with Canucks teammate Elias Pettersson was confirmed by executive Jim Rutherford. JT Miller Expected to Be Named Captain of the New York Rangers, Less Than a Year After Trade From Vancouver The Canucks traded Miller to the Rangers, who took him in the 1st round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a 1st round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Miller returned to the place where he began his NHL career, and had 35 points (13G, 22A) in the 32 games he played after the trade. If Miller does become captain of the Rangers, he would be the 29th player in team history to wear the 'C' on his sweater.
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