Choosing which team to pick for your franchise in MLB: The Show can be a daunting task. Do you want to rebuild? What about picking a team loaded with cash, but little talent to show for it? What if you just want to pick a team with all of the tools at your disposal, and your only job is to win a World Series? The fact is, there is a variety of great teams to kick off your franchise with, but you only get to choose one. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we'll be going division by division and team by team to help you make your choice. With our next entry, here's the AL West:

Los Angeles Angels

Depth Chart: Has there been a more disappointing team the past few years in baseball than the Los Angeles Angels? If so, you would probably have a hard time finding one . They have the best player in the game in Trout, two sluggers in Pujols and Hamilton, and solid supporting cast outside of that.

Pitchers: Weaver, Wilson, Richard, Skaggs, Santiago B-
Bullpen: Smith, Salas, Frieri B
Infield: Iannetta, Pujols, Kendrick, Aybar, Freese B
Outfield: Hamilton, Trout, Calhoun B+
Bench: Conger, Shuck, Green, McDonald C

Farm System: The Angels have a thin farm system at the moment, but if they're able to find a rich suitor for either Pujols or Hamilton at some point in the near future, they might be able to re-stock it. All the same, there are a few names to hold out for.

Keep An Eye On: Cowart (3B), Lindsey (2B), Cron (1B) C

Ballpark: Angel Stadium, at the very least, is gorgeous to look at. There isn't a lot going on, but the rocky center field settles in perfectly with the dynamic Los Angeles skyline right in the background. B-

Summary: The Angels aren't in the most appealing position, but they do have Mike Trout. There's a lot to build on, but two regressing players in Pujols and Hamilton throw a wrench in making any significant changes right off of the bat.

Houston Astros

Depth Chart: The Astros are filled with young talent, but most of it is at the top of the farm system or just recently called up. Anything that they have had recently has been traded off for top prospects or let go into free agency. With all of that said, keep in mind that it's all part of the master plan. Free agency isn't what it used to be, and the Astros have acknowledged it by drafting well and selling off over paid talent.

Pitching: Feldman, Keuchel, Cosart, McHugh, Oberholtzer D+
Bullpen: Qualls, Clemens, Williams, Fields C-
Infield: Castro, Singleton, Altuve, Villar, Dominguez C+
Outfield: Grossman, Fowler, Springer B-
Bench: Hoes, Presley, Gonzalez, Corporan D+

Farm System: Depending on whether you begin your franchise with Singleton and Springer up in the majors, the Astros may have the best farm system in baseball. Even if you do, it's still really good, and there's plenty of talent right on the horizon.

Keep An Eye On: Correa (SS), Appel (SP), McCullers (SP) A-

Ballpark: One of the more metro ballparks in baseball, Minute Maid Park is a little more than a decade old. With a ridiculously deep center-field and a tall wall in left, there is a lot of hit variety. One thing to keep in mind is that pull-happy right handed hitters may struggle a bit to hit for as much power. B-

Summary: Don't be afraid to take the risk. The Astros have their hands full in a stacked AL West, but they have all-star talent that's going to start reaching its ceiling in a few years. With room in the budget to work with, the Astros have a lot of flexibility moving into the future.

Seattle Mariners

Depth Chart: The young talent is just about all-grown up, and Seattle has made it clear that it wants to win now. The signing of Robinson Cano puts them right in the thick of things in an already talented AL West, but it doesn't necessarily put them over the top. Most of the talent is still yet to produce at a valuable level, but even if one or two of the young names begin to click, the Mariners are going to be awfully dangerous.

Pitchers: Hernandez, Iwakuma, Elias, Ramirez, Young B
Bullpen: Rodney, Wilhelmsen, Farquar, Furbush A-
Infield: Zunino, Smoak, Cano, Miller, Seager, Montero B
Outfield: Ackley, Saunders, Gillespie C
Bench: Jones, Romero, Bloomquist, Buck C-

Farm System: Even though most of their team is pretty young, the Mariners still have a solid farm system in place. If they can get Hernandez locked up long-term, then they may have a top five rotation in all of baseball in a couple of short years.

Keep An Eye On: Walker (SP), Paxton (SP), Peterson (3B) B+

Ballpark: Much like Petco Park, Safeco field is an absolute pitchers' park, and one that can be terribly frustrating for even the best of hitters, like Cano. That said, Safeco, just like every other stadium in Seattle, brings out a lively audience that can be plenty fun to play in. B

Summary: Seattle should be one of the top choices in The Show to kick off a franchise with. Even if you aren't overly concerned about immediate success, Seattle is set up well for the future.

Oakland Athletics

Depth Chart: Even with one of the smallest budgets in baseball, Billy Beane continues to churn out successful teams. With strong moves in the international market (Cespedes) and various moves in free agency (Moss and Lowrie) have helped carry them to the playoffs in recent years.

Pitchers: Gray, Kazmir, Milone, Chavez, Straily B+
Bullpen: Doolittle, Johnson, Gregerson, Cook A-
Infield: Norris, Moss, Sogard, Lowrie, Donaldson B
Outfield: Crisp, Cespedes, Reddick B+
Bench: Punto, Blanks, Jaso, Gentry B

Farm System: For a team that seems so baseball savvy, the A's have never drafted all that well. That may have changed recently, with the additions of Addison Russell and Matt Olsen. The A's have plenty of depth in their farm system that should be ready to go in a few short years.

Keep An Eye On: Russel (SS), McKinney (OF), Robertson (SS) B

Ballpark: Cisco Field is probably the worst ballpark in baseball. It's a shame that such an excellently run team can't have a halfway decent park to play its games in. D

Summary: Like to win games, and do it in under the radar ways? The Oakland Athletics are your team.

Texas Rangers

Depth Chart: Though they have dealt with some unfortunate injuries this year, the Rangers have a stacked roster that can compete immediately after this season (or this year, if you don't like to be bothered with setting injuries). The trick will be trying to find a championship in the midst of a ton of long and pricey contracts.

Pitchers: Lewis, Darvish, Saunders, Perez, Hollands B
Bullpen: Soria, Cotts, Fraser, Ogando B-
Infield: Soto, Fielder, Profar, Moreland, Andrus, Beltre B+
Outfield: Choo, Martin, Rios A-
Bench: Murphy, Choice, Odor, Chirinos C+

Farm System: With Profar having already been called up, and the likes of Odor and Perez, there isn't much left in the once stacked Rangers' farm system. A few names that are still a ways away are popping up on top-prospects list, but none of them are sure things.

Keep An Eye On: Alfaro (C), Sardinas (SS), Gallo (3B) C+

Ballpark: Globe Life Park isn't the most exciting ballpark in baseball, but when it's all lit up at night, it isn't hard to look at. It's biggest shortcoming is that it doesn't do a whole lot to differentiate itself from other parks in the major leagues. Hitters like it. B-

Summary: Do you want to finally bring the Rangers a championship, when they've had one of the most rock solid rosters in baseball for nearly a decade? Well now may be one of your last chances. Fielder, Choo, Rios, Soto, and Beltre aren't getting any younger. Even though it may take a year, the foundation of this roster is well worth the wait.


Thanks for following! I hope everyone at OS enjoyed my trip through all of baseball's major league squads, their farm systems, and ballparks. I know how difficult it can be to find a team to start up a long-running franchise with and with the brand new cloud feature to transport saves to next year's game, the decision is more important than ever.