The American League West can be one of the toughest divisions. The addition of the Astros will only help the top teams win more games.

1 Angels – The Angels are the best in the league. With Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo and Josh Hamilton on offense and CJ Wilson and Jered Weaver at the top of their rotation, the sky is the limit for this club.

2 Athletics – The A’s proved that a low-budget team can go through a full season and come out on top. They probably won’t repeat as division camps, but their youth will serve them well. They should be in the running for a wild card spot come September.

3 Rangers – Lost Josh Hamilton (to the Angels), but picked up AJ Pierzynski. Pierzynski won’t completely replace Hamilton’s bat, but he will provide offense, defense and tends to annoy opponents. The Rangers and Athletics will battle it out all season, and it’s possible they’ll get both wild card spots.

4 Mariners – The Mariners have Felix Hernandez, but the rest of their rotation is questionable. His defense is also suspect. They will score some runs, but it won’t be enough to get past the Rangers, A’s and Angels.

5 Astros: Two straight 100-loss seasons and a move to a different league are not promising indicators of how this season is shaping up. Add to that the lowest payroll in baseball, and things are looking dire for the Astros. They may top 100 losses for the third year in a row. But their uniforms look good this season.

This seems like a very strong division. The Angels should win it pretty easily, with the A’s and Rangers tied for second. The Mariners aren’t ready to crash the party just yet, and the Astros will struggle in their first year in the American League.