Justin’s Three Sleeper Teams
April 23, 2019
As the first pitch of baseball season is thrown out, every team around the country feels that this might be their year. The Phillies, Rangers and Mariners have all started the 2019 campaign off with a bang, gaining recognition from fans around the nation.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies went into last season with high expectations, but finished just below the .500 mark at 80-82. However, following the monster acquisition of outfielder Bryce Harper this offseason, the Phillies became the instant favorite to win the NL East, while the Nationals (Harper’s former team), is on the decline. (Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with Philadelphia). While the other teams in their division were relatively quiet over the offseason, the Phillies made some splashes by signing starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, outfielder Andrew McCutchen and catcher J.T. Realmuto. Philly fans haven’t seen their Phillies in the playoffs since 2011, but have hopes that their superstars deliver highlight-reel plays and that they perform up to their expectations.
Seattle Mariners
Seattle currently leads the AL West division, which is one of the tougher divisions in baseball. The Mariners opened the year in Japan with their star, Ichiro Suzuki, deciding to officially retire from the league after 19 seasons. Seattle was lacking power last season, but addressed the position by signing designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, formerly of the Cleveland Indians. Although Encarnacion is a strikeout-or-home-run type of hitter, he provides the big bat the Mariners have been lacking. With “King” Felix Hernandez still an ace for the pitching staff, Seattle has high hopes of winning the AL West and making a playoff push.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers entered this season with little to no playoff expectations or aspirations, but have started off fairly hot and are currently third in the AL West. Texas is a young team that has a great amount of firepower with outfielder Joey Gallo, first baseman Ronald Guzman and outfielder Nomar Mazara. The Rangers seem to be in a great position for the future, as their young core starts to catch fire. Texas’ starting rotation is solid, but the problems strike the Rangers late in games when their bullpen pitches. Their closer, Jose LeClerc, has started off the year with a 7.88 ERA. Texas also has problems with their starting rotation, as pitcher Drew Smyly has a 7.80 ERA and Shelby Miller has a 7.63 ERA. The Rangers are playing their final season in Globe Life Park and will move next door in 2020 to play in their new dome, Globe Life Field.
 
		








![Broadcast, yearbook and newspaper combined for 66 Interscholastic League Press Conference awards this year. Yearbook won 43, newspaper won 14 and broadcast took home nine. “I think [the ILPC awards] are a great way to give the kids some acknowledgement for all of their hard work,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Paige Hert said. “They typically spend the year covering everyone else’s big moments, so it’s really cool for them to be celebrated so many times and in so many different ways.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/edited-ILPC.jpg)





![Looking down at his racket, junior Hasun Nguyen hits the green tennis ball. Hasun has played tennis since he was 9 years old, and he is on the varsity team. "I feel like it’s not really appreciated in America as much, but [tennis] is a really competitive and mentally challenging sport,” Nguyen said. “I’m really level-headed and can keep my cool during a match, and that helps me play a bit better under pressure.” Photo by Kyra Cox](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/hasun.jpg)

![Bringing her arm over her head and taking a quick breath, junior Lauren Lucas swims the final laps of the 500 freestyle at the regionals swimming competition on date. Lucas broke the school’s 18-year-old record for the 500 freestyle at regionals and again at state with a time of 4:58.63. “I’d had my eye on that 500 record since my freshman year, so I was really excited to see if I could get it at regionals or districts,” Lucas said. “ State is always a really fun experience and medaling for the first time was really great. It was a very very tight race, [so] I was a bit surprised [that I medaled]. [There were] a lot of fast girls at the meet in general, [and] it was like a dogfight back and forth, back and forth.” Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kaydence-2.7-23-edit-2.jpg)
![As her hair blows in the wind, senior Brianna Grandow runs the varsity girls 5K at the cross country district meet last Thursday. Grandow finished fourth in the event and led the varsity girls to regionals with a third place placement as a team. “I’m very excited [to go to regionals],” Grandow said. “I’m excited to race in Corpus Christi, and we get to go to the beach, so that’s really awesome.” Photo by Addison Bruce](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/brianna.jpg)









 
		 
		















