In an awesome and surprising turn of events, the Oakland A’s won the West in 2012 after the Angels spent a ton of money and the Rangers led wire to wire. It was the kind of thing Hollywood would laugh at for being unrealistic, but it happened.

This year, the hapless Houston Astros join the party. They won’t be hapless forever, but this year looks likely to be a mess in the space city. The West was arguably the best division in 2012 and should be good again in 2013 despite a potential 100 loss team living in the cellar.

As always, here is how STT sizes up the AL West. [Division Rank. Team (2013 W/L Prediction, 2013 Preseason Power Ranking)]

5. Houston Astros (60-102, 30)

As I’ve said on many occasions, I like the way the Astros are rebuilding, they just aren’t going to be anywhere near good enough to compete in 2013. It’s a process. That said, something makes me think they’ll be a little better in 2013 than most people think because a large group of people making similar predictions often shift toward extremity. This is a team that might not have a single 2 win player in 2013, but it’s hard to lose a lot more than 100 games period. The bar is low.

4. Seattle Mariners (75-87, 24)

Locking up Felix Hernandez was a good move and they would have added Justin Upton if not for the player vetoing the move and winding up with the Braves. They bought low on a lot of washed up sluggers and one or two are bound to provide some value in 2013. The Mariners didn’t make any really bad moves, but they failed to make great ones in order to dramatically improve for the upcoming season. I like the young pitching they have coming up from the farm, but it’s not quite ready. 2014 and beyond looks brighter in Seattle, but it’s hard to make a case that the Mariners are serious contenders this year. Any team can over perform and win the second wild card, but that’s the ceiling for Seattle.

3. Oakland Athletics (84-78, 14)

The A’s made some good moves in the offseason adding Chris Young and Jed Lowrie to go with a club that won 94 games last season, but some of those 94 games are going to vanish due to simple regression to the mean. Bob Melvin and the A’s front office are excellent at getting the most out of their players, but I can’t really see this team striking gold twice in a row. It would require none of the young pitching to take a step back and all of their platoon guys to stay locked in, which is asking too much. The A’s are a good team, I just don’t think they’re quite good enough to make the playoffs.

2. Los Angeles Angels (88-74, 9)

The Angels added Josh Hamilton in the offseason to an already stellar lineup that featured the best player from 2012, Mike Trout, and the best player of the last decade, Albert Pujols. But their pitching staff is now short Zach Greinke, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana and full of Tommy Hanson and Joe Blanton. The offense is great, but the pitching, by contender standards, is terrible. When you’re counting on C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton, and Garrett Williams to be 4/5 of your rotation, something isn’t quite right with the preseason predictions that put your among the game’s best.

1. Texas Rangers (91-71, 5)

If you’re a betting man/woman, the Rangers are the buy low team of the season. Everyone and their mother seem to be down on the Rangers right now because they lost Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli and failed to add an Upton or a Greinke. But this is a Rangers team that won 93 games last season and added A.J. Pierzynski and Lance Berkman, not to mention top prospects Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt. Darvish has a full season under his belt in the U.S. Why is everyone jumping off the Rangers bandwagon so quickly? This is a team that should be no worse in 2013 than in 2012, which should give you pause when you’re writing their eulogy.

AL West Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

AL West MVP: Mike Trout

Most Potentially Pivotal Player: Lance Berkman

Storyline that Will Surprise Us: Texas won’t regret their quiet offseason.

Boldest of the Bold: Houston will win the season series against one divisional opponent.