Rangers outlook in crowded AL West after opening week of play

Heading into the season, there were plenty of opinions about how the American League West would shake out, coming off the Seattle Mariners' pennant-winning campaign. But, just a week through the new season, expectations have shifted a bit after seeing each team play its first six or seven games.

Here is what we have learned through the first week of the 2026 season, and how it has affected what we expect to see moving forward.

The AL West is going to be wide open until the end

The Athletics were a popular pick to be the darlings of the West, given that they have a potent offense headed up by a core of talented young sluggers, including Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers.

They play in a hitter-friendly park, and many believe they can overcome their mediocre pitching and slug their way into contention. But after a week, the A's offense has looked like the Rangers of 2025, and they have gotten off to a sluggish 1-5 start with a -10 run differential.

All six of those games were on the road, however, so look for the Athletics to be eager to get to their home stadium in Sacramento and start to make life miserable for opposing pitchers. If the A's do surprise and contend into the second half, it will be on the backs of their powerful slugging lineup.

Are the Houston Astros really on the decline?

Some were saying this would be the year we saw a significant drop-off from the Houston Astros, who have made winning the AL West something of a yearly event over the past decade.

They let Framber Valdez walk away to the Detroit Tigers and Jose Altuve's lackluster 2025 made it look like Father Time was catching up with the 35-year-old Venezuelan.

Not so fast, Rangers' fans. Unfortunately, the Astros are 5-2 and sitting atop the division, looking down at everyone else. After dropping their first two, they have won five in a row.

People seem to have forgotten just how freaking good Yordan Alvarez is when healthy. Through the first seven games, the bruising lefty already has a slash of .417/.563/.917, and is looking like both an early season MVP candidate and the AL Comeback Player of the Year.

Add the up-and-coming Jeremy Pena at shortstop and Cy Young candidate Hunter Brown slinging at close to 100 mph, it's safe to say the Astros aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Are the Angels better this year and ready to compete for he AL West crown?

Through the first week, the Angels have been more competitive with Mike Trout looking like prime Trout and Jo Adell continuing to improve as a hitter.

With a 3-4 record, the Halos have been led by Jose Soriano, who has looked dominant through two starts, not allowing an earned run while going 2-0. At the same time, Yusei Kikuchi is off to a bad start with a 6.52 ERA,14 hits allowed and five walks issued in 9.2 innings.

The Angels are being forecasted to challenge the Athletics for the division's bottom spot, and they will need some of their young pitchers to step up to remain in the thick of things come July and August.

Through one week, it looks like it will be the same, familiar faces looking to take the AL West crown in 2026.

The Mariners are the defending champs and return mostly the same roster, including Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor. Though they lost Eugenio Suarez, they added Brendan Donovan at 2B.

The staff is still stacked with Bryan Woo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert at the top of the rotation. So, through one week of play, not much has changed, despite what the standings look like right now.

Rangers look good, going 4-2 on the opening road trip, scoring 32 runs while hitting nine home runs. Corey Seager is in midseason form, Jake Burger is off to a hot start and Brandon Nimmo and Andrew McCutchen look like quality additions.

Wyatt Langford will find his stroke soon and look for Nathan Eovaldi to be much better moving forward.

Seeing both MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter find success in their first outings bodes well for Texas as they look to join the Astros and Mariners as the top contenders to win the division. The biggest question mark is how well the bullpen will hold up, and whether closing games becomes an issue.