American League West "Key" Players

My “Key” player series concludes today with looking at the “Key” player for each American League West team. There are a lot of question marks in this division, so let’s take a look at who the “Key” player will be for each team.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Scott Kazmir

Kazmir is a great talent—there is no doubt about that, but he is always hurt. He will be entering his seventh year now in the majors and he has only made 30 plus starts twice in his career.

With John Lackey off to Boston, it’s extra important for the Angels that Kazmir stays healthy. If somehow Kazmir can stay healthy and pitch like he did in the first half of 2008 (3.04 ERA, 9.9 K/9), the Angels won’t miss Lackey.

Texas Rangers – Josh Hamilton

The obvious answer might have been Rich Harden, but I feel Hamilton is the bigger key to the Rangers’ season. It almost seems like Hamilton hasn’t been the same since his legendary performance in the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium.

Last year, Hamilton suffered through an injury plagued season. He only played in 89 games and had a .741 OPS. Even when he was in the lineup, nagging injuries prevented Hamilton from being the player he was in 2008.

The Rangers will need the Hamilton of 2008 for a full season in order to challenge the Angels in the West.

Seattle Mariners – Milton Bradley

Is there a bigger wild card in baseball than Bradley? He could be an offensive force and OBP machine in the middle of a lineup or he could be one fry short of a Happy Meal and loose it.

The Mariners have a weak lineup going into the season and they are asking Bradley to hit cleanup, which puts adding pressure on him to preform in 2010.

Bradley hit .324 this spring, so if the Mariners can get that out of Bradley throughout the season, their offense will be vastly improved.

Oakland A’s – Ben Sheets

Sheets is the key to the A’s for one of the reasons why Jake Westbrook is the key to the Cleveland Indians season. There is very little chance the A’s will sign Sheets to a long-term deal after the season ends.

If Sheets pitches well, the A’s could flip him at the trade deadline for prospects. The A’s aren’t a win now team, so getting prospects are crucial to the A’s long-term success. If Sheets gets hurt again and flops, the A’s essentially wasted $10 million in 2010.

That concludes my “Key” player series. I hope you enjoyed it.

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