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AL West: 3 storylines to watch down the stretch

Troy Taormina / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

A proverbial changing of the guard took place in the American League West this summer, with the upstart Houston Astros emerging as a force to be reckoned with after years of cowering to the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and Los Angeles Angels.

Even without an overly compelling divisional race, the AL West is still home to one of the league's best stories from 2015 and some of the most important players to keep an eye as awards season looms.

Here are three storylines to watch in the AL West in September:

Astros go for division title

Despite boasting the youngest lineup in the majors, the Astros have produced more home runs and isolated power than every team in baseball this season except the Toronto Blue Jays. Their talented starting corps, anchored by a Cy Young candidate in Dallas Keuchel, has provided more value than any other AL rotation. And their bullpen, fortified this offseason by Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek, similarly ranks among the game's elite. As such, it's not hard to see why the Astros remain four wins shy of their highest win total since 2008, and in position to capture a division title for the first time in a decade-and-a-half.

Correa, 20, eyes AL ROY

Over the last two decades, not a single shortstop other than Alex Rodriguez managed double-digit homers and steals in his age-20 season while also producing an OPS more than 30 percent better than league average. Then Carlos Correa showed up. Recalled from the minors on June 8, Correa continues to demonstrate why comparisons to a young Rodriguez are so apt. Just 70 games into his MLB career, the Puerto Rico native has already been labelled by some as the game's best shortstop, ranking fifth at his position with 2.8 WAR despite spending a third of the season riding buses around Fresno, Calif. Among AL rookies, Correa's value is unrivaled this season, while the former No. 1 pick is just the third rookie ever to record at least 15 homers, 15 doubles, and 10 stolen bases with on-base percentage above .340.

Player OPS+ HR SB G Year
Alex Rodriguez 161 36 15 146 1996
Carlos Correa 135 16 11 70 2015

Trout's 2nd straight MVP in jeopardy

There probably isn't a member of the BBWAA who wouldn't have voted Mike Trout for AL MVP as recently as six weeks ago. When the season recessed in July for the Midsummer Classic, the 23-year-old led the AL with 5.3 WAR - no other player had more than 4.4 - and was pretty much unrivaled in every offensive category. Things have changed over the last few weeks, though. Trout, who turned 24 in August, remains mired in perhaps the worst slump of his career, as the four-time All-Star enters Wednesday hitting just .221 with a .699 OPS and one home run over his previous 30 games. The recent performance of Josh Donaldson, meanwhile, has cast further doubt on Trout's chances of landing a second straight MVP nod. Donaldson, who boasts a 1.107 OPS with 15 homers since the break, has since eclipsed Trout in WAR and helped the Blue Jays into first place in their division while the Angels remain 3 1/2 games back of the second wild-card spot.

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