The American League West is best summed up as the Houston Astros and four other teams.
The disparity between these two groups is reflected in the standings, which show the Astros running away with their fifth divisional title in six years, easily outdistancing the four also-rans. And it’s also evident in my yearend grades, which put Houston nearly a full point ahead of its closest AL West competitor.
I started issuing division-by-division report cards a week ago. They’re based on statistics as of September 15, a date reasonably close to the end of the season, yet early enough to allow reports to be generated for all six divisions before the playoffs begin.
Each club has been assigned a grade-point average (GPA) on the familiar four-point scale, reflecting its relative performances in 10 statistical categories. Grading in each category has been done on the curve, with the best big-league club getting an A-plus and the worst teams receiving F’s.
Five categories concentrate on batting output — run production, base production, extra-base production, contact hitting, and batting eye. The other five focus on pitching — run prevention, base prevention, extra-base prevention, power pitching, and control pitching. Each grade is determined by a single statistic. (Click here to learn more.) Five different indicators are used twice apiece, once on the offensive side (where the highest number is best) and once on the defensive (lowest is best).
The relevant stats are runs per plate appearance, bases per out (bases reached by hits, walks, hit batsmen, stolen bases, and sacrifices, divided by outs made), isolated-power average (extra bases attained by doubles, triples, and homers, divided by at-bats), contact rate (share of at-bats that did not yield strikeouts), and batting-eye rate (unintentional walks per plate appearance).
This system confirms the Astros’ dominance of the AL West in 2022. Here is a quick rundown.
-
1. Houston Astros (3.67 GPA) — The Astros are good at almost everything, earning A’s in seven of the 10 categories. They’re the overall leader in the major leagues in a pair of rankings: base prevention and extra-base prevention. Houston’s worst grade is a still-respectable B-minus for control pitching.
-
2. Seattle Mariners (2.77 GPA) — Pitching has propelled the Mariners toward their first playoff berth in two decades. Seattle boasts two A’s and a B among its five pitching grades. But run production is a weakness, with the club’s batters getting a D-plus in that category.
-
3. Texas Rangers (1.70 GPA) — The Rangers had high hopes after an offseason spending spree, but the results have been greatly disappointing. Pitching is the club’s biggest liability, drawing three D’s and an F.
-
4. Los Angeles Angels (1.37 GPA) — The Angels have stockpiled several major stars, yet they continue to struggle. The team’s pitching has been so-so in 2022, but its hitting has been extraordinarily weak, as reflected by two D’s and two F’s for output at the plate.
-
5. Oakland Athletics (0.47 GPA) — What can you say about a report card that includes six F’s and three D’s among the 10 grades? This has been a disastrous season for all hands in Oakland.
Full statistical summaries for all five clubs can be found below. We’ll move on to the National League East on Friday.
A new installment will arrive in your email each Tuesday and Friday morning
-
Overall GPA: 3.67 points.
-
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 3.47 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 3.87 points.
-
Run production: .121 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: B.)
-
Base production: .707 bases per out. (Grade: A-.)
-
Extra-base production: .174 isolated-power average. (Grade: A-.)
-
Contact hitting: .778 contact rate. (Grade: A.)
-
Batting eye: .087 batting-eye rate. (Grade: B.)
-
Run prevention: .089 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: A.)
-
Base prevention: .554 bases allowed per out. (Grade: A+.)
-
Extra-base prevention: .122 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: A+.)
-
Power pitching: .719 contact rate allowed. (Grade: A.)
-
Control pitching: .077 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: B-.)
-
Overall GPA: 2.77 points.
-
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 2.53 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 3.00 points.
-
Run production: .111 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: D+.)
-
Base production: .668 bases per out. (Grade: C+.)
-
Extra-base production: .160 isolated-power average. (Grade: B.)
-
Contact hitting: .744 contact rate. (Grade: C.)
-
Batting eye: .093 batting-eye rate. (Grade: A.)
-
Run prevention: .100 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: A.)
-
Base prevention: .632 bases allowed per out. (Grade: B.)
-
Extra-base prevention: .153 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: C.)
-
Power pitching: .744 contact rate allowed. (Grade: C+.)
-
Control pitching: .070 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: A-.)
-
Overall GPA: 1.70 points.
-
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 2.20 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 1.20 points.
-
Run production: .120 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: B.)
-
Base production: .671 bases per out. (Grade: C+.)
-
Extra-base production: .159 isolated-power average. (Grade: B-.)
-
Contact hitting: .740 contact rate. (Grade: D+.)
-
Batting eye: .075 batting-eye rate. (Grade: C-.)
-
Run prevention: .121 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: D+.)
-
Base prevention: .688 bases allowed per out. (Grade: D.)
-
Extra-base prevention: .149 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: C+.)
-
Power pitching: .757 contact rate allowed. (Grade: D+.)
-
Control pitching: .093 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: F.)
-
Overall GPA: 1.37 points.
-
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 0.80 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 1.93 points.
-
Run production: .103 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: D-.)
-
Base production: .628 bases per out. (Grade: F.)
-
Extra-base production: .157 isolated-power average. (Grade: C+.)
-
Contact hitting: .713 contact rate. (Grade: F.)
-
Batting eye: .073 batting-eye rate. (Grade: D.)
-
Run prevention: .112 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: B-.)
-
Base prevention: .654 bases allowed per out. (Grade: C+.)
-
Extra-base prevention: .151 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: C.)
-
Power pitching: .748 contact rate allowed. (Grade: C.)
-
Control pitching: .086 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: D-.)
-
Overall GPA: 0.47 points.
-
GPA splits: Offense GPA of 0.27 points. Pitching/defense GPA of 0.67 points.
-
Run production: .097 runs scored per plate appearance. (Grade: F.)
-
Base production: .567 bases per out. (Grade: F.)
-
Extra-base production: .130 isolated-power average. (Grade: F.)
-
Contact hitting: .741 contact rate. (Grade: D+.)
-
Batting eye: .071 batting-eye rate. (Grade: F.)
-
Run prevention: .125 runs allowed per plate appearance. (Grade: D-.)
-
Base prevention: .710 bases allowed per out. (Grade: D-.)
-
Extra-base prevention: .173 isolated-power average allowed. (Grade: F.)
-
Power pitching: .782 contact rate allowed. (Grade: F.)
-
Control pitching: .079 batting-eye rate allowed. (Grade: C.)
