Houston Astros (-450 to make the playoffs, +750 to win the World Series)
Despite losing to a division-rival wild-card team in the ALCS, the Astros are again the favorite to win the AL West for the seventh time in eight years.
That's because they got better despite a fairly quiet offseason. The Astros did not need a ton of improvements, but they still added closer Josh Hader to fortify their bullpen. The bullpen trio of Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Hader looks like the best in the game on paper.
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker are perennial All-Star players and MVP candidates as long as they are healthy, while Alex Bregman remains one of the game's elite third basemen. Jose Altuve is also still really good.
They could have added an arm to the rotation with Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery available so late into spring training, but if you're going to essentially run it back, this is the group to do it with.
Texas Rangers (-160 to make the playoffs, +1500 to win the World Series)
We are looking at the same team that won the World Series but strengthened its bullpen and added two AL Rookie of the Year candidates for an entire season.
Adding David Robertson and Kirby Yates to the bullpen is essential for a group that struggled throughout the regular season. José Leclerc and Josh Sborz hope to continue their success from the postseason.
The rotation will have to get by without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle while they nurse their way back from injuries, but then there's the lineup.
They had the highest OPS in the AL last year. Now they have rookies Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter for the entire season. This should be one of the more impressive offenses in the game.
Seattle Mariners (-155 to make the playoffs, +1900 to win the World Series)
Seattle is one of the more interesting cases because it has elite pitching but a new-look lineup with some fair questions.
A rotation headlined by Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, and Julio Rodriguez as your best position player, are enough to start a conversation.
Mitch Garver, Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco are the notable additions with injury history. Are these the moves to put the Mariners over the top?
They built this team on a budget and made some tough choices, following a season in which the offense was average or worse in nearly every relevant category.
Seattle, perhaps more than any other team, will spend the season trying to prove itself.
Los Angeles Angels (+900 to make the playoffs, +17000 to win the World Series)
There is no good-faith argument in favor of the Angels' 2024 season. They are coming off a 73-89 campaign and lost Shohei Ohtani, the best player on that team.
This Angels season is just as much about learning more about the future as it is the present. It's the first full season for Logan O'Hoppe, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel. They are hoping for health with highly paid stars like Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.
The Angels just don't have the pitching to really compete.
Oakland Athletics (+2500 to make the playoffs, +50000 to win the World Series)
Anyone who bets on the A's to win the World Series deserves their fate. Last year, they won 50 games, the fewest in the big leagues.
Oakland is projected to again be the worst team in the AL after making no significant improvements in the offseason. It has Alex Wood and Ross Stripling to make a decent combo at the top of its rotation, but the big story to watch is No. 2 prospect Mason Miller's move to the bullpen.
