White Cleat Beat
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How Do the Oakland A’s Stack Up Against The AL West

By Riley Wilkins

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 24: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics tags Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels during the game at RingCentral Coliseum on July 24, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-3. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JULY 24: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics tags Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels during the game at RingCentral Coliseum on July 24, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-3. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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Designated Hitter

(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
  1. HOU: Yordan Alvarez
  2. LAA: Shohei Ohtani/Jared Walsh/Albert Pujols
  3. OAK: Mitch Moreland
  4. TEX: Nate Lowe
  5. SEA: Ty France

Another even 50/50 split! While Mitch Moreland had a great year in 2020, this spot is a two-person race between the 2018 and 2019 AL Rookie of the Year winners.

Both Trevor and Sven picked Ohtani as the DH winner. They also both proclaimed that he would win MVP this year. Based on the incredible spring Ohtani is having, this might not be a horrible take.

My dad and I went with Alvarez for three reasons: Ohtani hasn’t been able to stay healthy for an entire season yet, he’ll only hit in roughly half of the Angels’ games, and Yordan Alvarez is really, really good at hitting baseballs.

The Cuban DH has demolished major league pitching in his short time in the show, and I don’t see any reason he can continue to do so. These two stars are also under 27, and it will be exciting watching these two develop to continue to shine.