If this season has shown us anything so far, it’s that the American League has few elite teams, and the majority of the squads are fighting for position in the middle of the pack. As a result, the early divisional battles have become even more interesting.
This season, the AL West is as wide open as it has been in recent memory, with no team having a clear advantage over the others. The Angels, after a strong start, have fallen back from the rest of the group. But entering play Friday, just two games separate first place from fourth in this division, and there has already been plenty of jockeying for position. As of mid-May, the 2025 AL West title looks very much up for grabs.
Let’s take a look at the contenders.
Seattle Mariners, 23-19
2025 is a big year for the Mariners, who came into this season with much to prove after a disappointing 2024 that saw their former manager, Scott Servais, and former bench coach, Brant Brown, both fired midseason. Getting off to a fast start this year was going to be crucial for the Mariners, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. Seattle currently leads the AL West and has been able to weather a strong schedule to start the year, with a 13-12 record against teams over .500.
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The biggest surprise for the Mariners this season is that they’ve found success without relying on their usually dominant starting pitching. Seattle currently ranks 19th in baseball in starter ERA. The rotation has been without All-Star Logan Gilbert since April 1 and has yet to get a start from right-hander George Kirby. But right-hander Bryan Woo has been picking up the slack, currently 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA in eight starts.
While the Mariners’ offense is middle-of-the-pack, catcher Cal Raleigh has continued to be a force for Seattle coming off his contract extension. Raleigh’s .924 OPS and 13 homers lead all catchers in MLB.
Texas Rangers, 24-21
One of the biggest early-season questions has been: What happened to the Texas Rangers? Texas was an early favorite to dominate the AL West, given their star power and veteran-laden offense, but that was not the case in the first month. Instead of being a strength, the Rangers’ offense was actually their weakness. Marcus Semien is off to one of the worst starts of his career, Joc Pederson started the season 0-for-41, Jake Burger got demoted to Triple-A, and Corey Seager has missed time on the injured list. The team’s rough April ended up costing hitting coach Donny Ecker his job, and Texas hired longtime big leaguer Bret Boone to replace him.
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And now it looks like the Rangers have started to come back to life in the month of May. They’ve won six straight games, have gone 7-3 in their past 10 and have moved up to second place behind Seattle in the division.
What’s more, Texas’ starting pitching, which was the biggest question mark coming into the year, has been their biggest strength. The Rangers rank second in MLB in starter ERA and Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle have all been phenomenal, allowing this group to fight back into the division race after a dreadful start by the lineup.
Can the Rangers’ offense get back on track? Or will Cal Raleigh and the Mariners stay on top?
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
Houston Astros, 22-21
This is a season of change in Houston, after years of this franchise being the perennial powerhouse in not only the AL West but also the entire American League. The Astros are currently trying to figure out how to adjust to change: no Kyle Tucker, no Alex Bregman, new faces such as free-agent acquisition Christian Walker, trade acquisition Isaac Paredes and rookie Cam Smith. So far in 2025, Houston has been working to find its new groove.
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Unfortunately, the Astros had slow starts all around the diamond, not only from Walker and Smith, but also from lineup mainstays Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez will probably be fine, but he struggled and then landed on the injured list due to a right hand injury.
The two biggest bright spots so far this Astros season have been two of their young stars. Shortstop Jeremy Peña looks like he has taken the step many expected after he was named World Series MVP in 2022. He currently leads the team in average, hits, doubles, RBI and runs scored, and he’s slashing .375/.379/.536 in his past 13 games.
And on the mound, right-hander Hunter Brown has been making an early case for the AL Cy Young Award. Brown is 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA in nine starts, and he’s coming off an eight-inning, nine-strikeout performance on Thursday against deGrom and the Rangers. Brown’s ascension into the upper echelon of starters is a welcomed sight in Houston as they look to stabilize and fight back in this division.
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Because there’s no true powerhouse in the AL West this season, this has a chance to be the most competitive division in baseball. And with the AL Central standings also extremely tight, there’s no guarantee that the AL West will have more than one team reach the postseason this October, making each divisional matchup even more crucial all season long.
Athletics, 22-22
It has been an interesting start to the season for the A’s of West Sacramento. They came into 2025 as the dark horse to make noise in the division after a promising second half in 2024, and with so much young talent in the lineup, it’s easy to see why.
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That young talent has definitely made its presence known so far this year. Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker and JJ Bleday have gotten off to somewhat slow starts, but first baseman Tyler Soderstrom and rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson have put their names on the map. Wilson leads all rookies in nearly every major offensive category, including batting average, hits, RBI, runs and OPS. He’s tied for the MLB lead among rookies in doubles and homers.
What makes this A’s season so interesting is that they’ve had to get used to their new home environment. After leaving Oakland, the team will call Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento home for the foreseeable future while they wait for their new ballpark in Vegas to be built. And the early results have been pretty staggering. The A’s have struggled significantly at home, with the second-fewest home wins in MLB this season (8), ahead of only the Rockies. On the contrary, they’ve been the best road team in baseball, leading the league with 14 road victories.
The A’s are going to have something to say about the AL West race this season, and they have enough young talent to score runs in bunches. But they will need to find their mojo in their new home, as well as some consistent starting pitching, if they hope to win their first division title since 2013.
This news was originally published on this post .
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