Honorable Mention:

Houston Astros: OF/1B Kyle Tucker

2020 was always set to be a pivotal season for Kyle Tucker and even in this short season, that does not change. While the club does not need him to be one of their best hitters to win, they need to see that he can back up the positive signs he showed at the big league level in 2019 for his future with the club moving forward. While you still will not be able to completely project his future in this shortened season given the lack of guarantees and playing time for any player, if the club is without Yordan Alvarez for some or all of this season, Tucker will have to capitalize on much more playing time than both he and the club might have expected he would get this season. With all three of the Astros regulars in the outfield set to hit the free agent market this winter, Tucker is going to get his first full run in the outfield on an everyday basis in 2021, but for this season, he will need to show that he can be trusted at any spot in the outfield, and possibly as a potential option at first base for this club moving forward.

Oakland A's: SP Sean Manaea

For Oakland, everything comes back to the rotation and Manaea needs to boom for this club to avoid their typical slow starts. The mass numbers in his career say he is pretty darn good and in his five starts last season after returning from shoulder surgery, he showed that there might still be more growth to come for the Oakland southpaw. He might not have the arsenal that scares you as an opponent, but in their home ballpark, he is the type of pitcher that can put up really good numbers and help lead a staff all season long.

Los Angeles Angels: SP Julio Teheran

The Angels landed Teheran in the winter on a one year deal, hoping that he would get back to his old form that had him as one of the more intriguing young arms in the early years of his big league career. The two-time NL All-Star with Atlanta was always pretty durable overall in his time with the Braves, even if there were arm concerns that seemed to always pop up, making at least thirty starts in each of the last seven seasons. The issue with Teheran has been that his stuff has continued to diminish as the years have gone by and as the seasons moved into the later months, he would pitch his way out of being trusted for a contending club. The Angels cannot bank on him being the ace of a staff, but if he bottles it together for a few months, he could be the first reliable starter the club has had in years.

Texas Rangers: OF Joey Gallo

Early in 2019 he looked like he might be taking a huge step forward when it comes to simply making more contact than he ever had before. Injuries popped up, crushing his hot start to the season, if he comes back this year and finds a way to be a guy that hits around .250, the Rangers should be very pleased about his potential moving forward. The track record says it is home run or strikeout for this slugger and the safe bet is that he will forever be that type of player for whoever he is playing for.

Seattle Mariners: Pick a Player

Sorry Mariners fans, you knew this was coming again.

The AL West race should be more fun than it has been for years now and those guys above stand out for me as the biggest x-factor for each club in this division in 2020. Check back here tomorrow for another blog to get us all ready for this season and of course tune in every morning to The Sean Salisbury Show from 6-10am where you can hear me talking about Houston sports. You can find me on twitter by CLICKING HERE.

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