Dark Horse Teams That Could Win the American League in 2020

Heading into Spring Training, many pundits believe that it's a two-horse race between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees to win the American League in 2020. However, there are a couple of teams that can follow the 2019 Washington Nationals' underdog script and steal the AL pennant away from the favorites.

With that in mind, here are three dark horses, based on FanDuel Sportsbook's preseason odds, that can win the American League in 2020.

3. Los Angeles Angels (+1800)

Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani celebrate during a game against the White Sox. / Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

You can never count the out the Los Angeles Angels as long as Mike Trout is in the lineup, and they might have surrounded the perennial MVP candidate with just the right talent to help the club make a deep postseason run. On paper, the Halos' will be hard to beat now that Anthony Rendon joins Trout, Justin Upton and Shohei Ohtani in what should be a one of the league's most imposing lineups. Additionally, the Angels have vastly improved their pitching staff by adding Julio Teheran and Dylan Bundy this offseason. There are still plenty of question marks surrounding this squad, and playing the Astros 19 times during the regular season doesn't help their cause. But if everything clicks and they sneak their way into the postseason, the Angels could prove very tough to beat.

2. Chicago White Sox (+1600)

Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez celebrate against the Tigers. / Duane Burleson/Getty Images

It seems like every year that pundits consider the Chicago White Sox under-the-radar playoff contenders, but this could be the season they finally put it all together and sneak into the postseason. The South Siders boast one of the most improved — and powerful — lineups in baseball, headlined by last season's AL RBI leader Jose Abreu (123 RBI). Joining Abreu are Yasmani Grandal, Yoan Moncada (.315 batting average) and slugger Eloy Jimenez (31 homers). Additionally, the Sox should see a huge improvement on the pitching front in 2020, with Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez shoring up a rotation headlined by dark horse AL Cy Young candidate Lucas Giolito. The AL Central won't be easy to navigate with the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians standing in their way, but if everything clicks, the White Sox are poised to make a deep postseason run.

1. Tampa Bay Rays (+1100)

Blake Snell throws a pitch against the Astros. / Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have flown under the radar for most of the offseason, not getting the kind of recognition the favorites have. However, there may not be any team better positioned to knock off the Yankees and Astros. The Rays had arguably the best pitching staff in the AL last season (No. 2 with a 3.67 ERA), headlined by 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, Charlie Morton (16-6, 3.05 ERA) and Tyler Glasnow (1.78 ERA in 12 starts). The Rays also boast a well-rounded lineup featuring Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Hunter Renfroe and Austin Meadows, who broke out and finished tied for seventh in the AL with a .380 weighted on-base average (wOBA) and seventh with a .268 isolated power (ISO) mark in 2019.

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Mike Esposito is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Esposito also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username espo6891. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.