BEST LINEUP

Trading Alfonso Soriano, which the Rangers finally did over the winter, isn't going to help their lineup. But it won't hurt nearly as badly as it might seem. Brad Wilkerson will hit at or near the top of the order and should push his on-base percentage near .375. After that, the lineup goes (maybe not in this order, but close) Michael Young, Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock, Kevin Mench and a DH (either David Dellucci or Phil Nevin). Every one of those guys is capable of hitting 25 homers a year (for Teixeira, it could be double that). The Rangers will score runs without Soriano. Lots of them.

BEST ROTATION

Not only are the A's starters embarrassingly good, there's also a barrel full of them. Barry Zito is the ace, but Rich Harden, Danny Haren, Joe Blanton and newcomer Esteban Loaiza all are very capable pitchers. Then there's former starters Joe Kennedy and Kirk Saarloos, both of whom probably will end up in the bullpen at some point in the season. A's starters were third in the AL with a 3.82 ERA last year. They'll be even better in '06.

BEST BULLPEN

Oakland closer Huston Street won the AL Rookie of the Year award last year, converting 23 of 27 save chances with a 1.72 ERA. What makes the A's bullpen so good, though, is the guys who set things up for Street. Justin Duchscherer, with a 2.21 ERA in 85-plus innings. Kiko Calero, Kennedy, Saarloos, even Jay Witasick (2.84 ERA in 60 appearances). This group is deep and versatile.

MVP

The AL West is stacked with good hitters, from Eric Chavez in Oakland to Mark Teixeira in Texas. But the one guy everyone still talks about is Vladimir Guerrero, the free-swinging Angels slugger. Guerrero was often injured last season with a shoulder injury and recurrent back pain. Still, he hit .317 with 32 homers and 108 RBIs. And he just turned 30. We haven't seen the best yet from the AL's 2004 MVP.

CY YOUNG

Some day, young Seattle fireballer Felix Hernandez (4-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 12 starts as a rookie in '05) could end up with a Cy of his own. For right now, though, he has plenty of competition in his own division. The AL ERA champ, Kevin Millwood (who had a 2.86 ERA with the Indians last year), now pitches for the Rangers. The reigning Cy Young winner is the Angels' Bartolo Colon (21-8, 3.48 ERA in '05). And then there's Oakland's Barry Zito, the '02 Cy winner. The early pick goes to Zito, who is pitching in the final year of his contract for a team that could go a long way.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

The Rangers slithered out from under a chunk of money by finally trading Alfonso Soriano, but what they're left with is Ian Kinsler, a 23-year-old who has shown some power (23 homers in 131 games for Class AAA Oklahoma in '05) but still is a great unknown. The Rangers won't hand over the second base job to Kinsler. Mark DeRosa will fight him for it in spring training. But if Kinsler can play solid enough defense, and maybe hit 20 homers, he can stick around for a long time.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Milton Bradley has worn out his welcome with just about every team he's ever been on, so it figures that maverick GM Billy Beane would take a chance on him. The A's hope that their free-styling ways will sit well with the often-hardheaded Bradley, who played in only 75 games last season with the Dodgers before a well-chronicled argument with teammate Jeff Kent and a bad knee paved his way out of L.A. Bradley should be recovered from offseason surgery. Will Oakland be the place where he finally realizes his potential?

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Officially he's a rookie, but the Mariners are expecting big things from catcher Kenji Johjima anyway. A .299 hitter with decent power in his 11 years in Japan, Johjima reportedly is a terror behind the plate, with a strong throwing arm and excellent defensive skills. The question is how he'll effectively communicate with his pitchers. But if he throws out some baserunners and hits a few home runs, he won't need to utter a word.