AL West: Oakland Athletics

The Athletics suffered many devasting injuries last year, which limited the team to only 88 wins. However, if key players can stay healthy, and if new additions Milton Bradley and Frank Thomas perform as Oakland expects them to, there is no reason why the AL West crown will not return to the Bay Area.

Lineup: The A's aren't going to overpower anybody, but they have a solid lineup that will win them some ballgames. Eric Chavez is the biggest bat in the lineup, although his .466 SLG was his lowest since 1999. Frank Thomas dominated American League pitching in the '90s, but has come across hard times recently. However, even in limited action last season, he slugged over .500. The A's have several players who could hit 20 homers, but the real sluggers are Chavez and Thomas. One of those players is Milton Bradley, who has a troubled past, but remains a very talented player. Mark Ellis broke out last year, and while his OPS likely won't be above .850 in 2006, he is an above-average second baseman. The rest of the infield is solid, with Bobby Crosby at short and Dan Johnson at first. The A's need Crosby to stay healthy; last year they were 55-29 with Crosby, and 33-45 without him. Nick Swisher and Mark Kotsay round out the outfield. Swisher was a highly touted rookie last year, and Kotsay is a solid veteran who means a lot to the team. Jason Kendall slugged only .321 last year; that needs to improve. The backups are good, with Marco Scutaro and Antonio Perez in the infield, and Jay Payton and Bobby Kielty in the outfield. However, the success of the lineup depends on whether Thomas and Chavez return to form and drive in runs, especially when no one in the lineup stole more than 8 bases last season. (Kendall)

Starting Rotation: The A's have always had great starting pitching in the Billy Beane era, and although the faces have changed, the quality of the rotation has not. Barry Zito has not been the same since his Cy Young winning 2002 season, but is still a sub 4 ERA left-handed starter, which are rare these days. Rich Harden only pitched 128 innings last year due to injuries, but posted a 1.06 WHIP in that time. This should be his breakout season. Esteban Loaiza excelled in the spacious RFK stadium last year, earning himself $21 million over three years with Oakland. However, his career is a story of inconsistency. Behind him are youngsters Danny Haren and Joe Blanton, both of whom posted ERA's in the high 3's last year, but pitched over 200 innings. While they've each had only one successful big league season, they are still very talented pitchers. The Athletics have a deep starting rotation, but unless Zito returns to 2002 form or Harden stays healthy and pitches like he did in 2005, they won't have an ace.

Bullpen: Huston Street was a rookie sensation last year, posting a 1.72 ERA and saving 23 out of 27 games. It's still to early in Street's career to crown him a great closer, but if he pitches as well as he did last year, the A's are set for the future in the bullpen. Kiko Calero has been an excellent setup man in his three big league seasons, with his highest ERA in a season being his 3.23 in 2005. Oakland has to be a bit worried about Justin Duchscherer's arm falling off, as he has pitched 96 and 85 innings the past two seasons, all out of the bullpen, but if his WHIP stays at 1.00, there won't be any complaints. Veteran Jay Witasick was signed over the offseason, and if can keep his ERA around the 3 mark, as he has for most of the past 4 seasons, Oakland will have some of the best middle relief in baseball. Kirk Sarloos, who filled in admirably as a starter last year, will be in the bullpen in 2006. The rest of the bullpen is weak, however, with Joe Kennedy, who had a 6.01 ERA, mostly as a starter, last year, in long relief (It is worth noting that Kennedy had a 3.66 ERA for the Rockies in 166 innings in 2004). The A's have a terrific foursome to finish out games, and good backup options if a starter goes down, so with their excellent rotation, lacking more than five dependable guys in the bullpen shouldn't hurt too much.

X Factor: Eric Chavez. Oakland paid him over $8 million last season, and he failed to be a powerful force in the lineup. The A's are depending on him to be another Jason Giambi or Miguel Tejada in the middle of lineup.

Biggest Strength/Weakness: Bullpen/Speed

Projection: 1st place in the AL West

Win Range: 90-95