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AL West Notebook: Gallardo to make 6th straight Opening Day start; Aiken undergoes TJ surgery

Matt Kartozian / USA TODAY Sports

Every Friday, theScore's MLB editors will bring you a roundup of everything you need to know from around the division with the AL West Notebook.

Los Angeles Angels

Expert advice. Mike Trout provided fantasy baseball players with some valuable advice this week: pick Mike Trout No. 1. If you're not lucky enough to have the first overall pick, Trout recommends drafting Miguel Cabrera, Clayton Kershaw, Andrew McCutchen or Albert Pujols in the first round.

Proceeding with caution. Manager Mike Scioscia is not keen on the idea of right-hander Garrett Richards returning to the rotation by April 12. The club will proceed with caution following Richards' devastating knee injury last year, so it may be late April before he takes the mound in a meaningful game.

Seattle Mariners

Walker wants it. Right-hander Taijuan Walker is literally zeroing in on the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation. Walker has now tossed 18 scoreless innings over five spring outings to gain the edge on Roenis Elias and Erasmo Ramirez.

Strike a pose. Robinson Cano and Felix Hernandez are on the latest regional cover of Sports Illustrated's MLB preview. The Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals are also featured on various newsstands across the country.

Oakland Athletics

Old is new again. Veteran southpaw Barry Zito continues to impress at A's camp and some scouts believe the 36-year-old will crack the 25-man roster to begin the season. He may not earn a spot in the rotation, however, but rather out of the bullpen as the long man.

Getting closer. Closer Sean Doolittle is expected to play catch Friday for the first time since being shut down with a sore left shoulder. Manager Bob Melvin has not yet named an interim closer to begin the season, but it's expected to be Tyler Clippard.

Texas Rangers

New ace in town. Former Milwaukee Brewers righty Yovani Gallardo has been tabbed the Opening Day starter in the wake of Yu Darvish's season-ending Tommy John surgery. It will be Gallardo's sixth consecutive Opening Day start, but he's struggled this spring, as evidenced by his lofty 11.32 ERA.

Chicks dig the bunt? The Rangers are hoping Prince Fielder's return to the lineup will lead to a drastic improvement in run production, and the big man debuted a new weapon in his arsenal this week. Fielder pushed a perfect bunt up the third-base line against an infield shift to earn a single in a spring game against the Angels.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Houston Astros

Achin' Aiken. Brady Aiken, the first overall pick in the 2014 draft, underwent Tommy John surgery Thursday. Remember, the lefty turned down a $3.1-million spring signing bonus from the Astros to pitch at IMG Academy.

Love is in the air. Catcher Jason Castro received an unusual request from a high schooler earlier this week that resulted in his car being vandalized.

Hopefully, the date situation worked itself out.

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