MLB Preview 2015: Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers 2014 Record: 67-95

Team Overview:

The injury bug hit the Texas Rangers in the worst way last season. A team that couldn’t even get out of the gates, limped to the finish as one of the worst teams in the league. How this group responds, and how they can hold up is key because there is talent on the roster, but with much of it coming off a surgery and a long rehab anything is possible.

Two of the key players they need to come back were 2013 off-season additions, and both are coming off a surgery and rehab process. Prince Fielder didn’t really a get a start to his season before he was sidelined with neck surgery. He says he feels fine and like the old power bat he was but neck surgery is a serious procedure and he will need to be monitored early on. Shin Soo Choo was supposed to lead the outfield and the batting order but he got off to a rough start only to reveal he has been dealing with an ankle injury that required multiple surgeries to fully heal. The two are both over 30 years old and that is a bar where I start to monitor when the decline may be coming. Adding injuries to both may hurt, and honestly I am more questionable if Choo can get back to himself, but it is safe to say this team may need both to be core leaders at the top of the lineup. For every 30-32 year old that starts a decline there is a 35 year old Adrian Beltre who plays third almost every day and can continually bat over .300. He saw his power take a turn this season but it may have been the lack of lineup protection that Fielder can add. They have a possible replacement in the minors and could move Beltre to more DH time but at the moment the team has Mitch Morland and Prince Fielder both as left handed hitting first baseman, and it is presumed Moreland would play first and DH so long as he can hit left handed pitching. Elvis Andrus will join the other four as a second hitter in this top 5. He brings speed and consistent defense to shortstop, and is typically a good on base candidate. He doesn’t provide power but he brings more than enough to speed that the rest of the lineup can move him. Two names towards the bottom of the lineup to watch for are Center fielder Leonys Martin and second baseman Rougned Odor. Martin is only 27 but has shown he is an everyday starter, a defensive pro, and a base stealer on the diamond. Odor is only 21 and is less proven but has basically won his position for the season. The defense up the middle should be good with Andrus adding to the glove of the young buck. The team has a stopgap at catcher and in left field but when looking at the whole of the lineup there is plenty to like given that Fielder and Choo can be healthy and productive.

The pitching had even worse luck than the hitting and was forced to throw 15 different starters last year. That has spiraled into a myriad of question marks entering this 2015-year. Yu Darvhish turned question marks into the “here we go again” feeling as he was announced in early spring to be out for the season with a torn UCL. This almost kills a staff that doesn’t have a core, and needed top end strength from an ace. Derek Holland will have to step up and be the teams most relied on pitcher. He missed almost all of his 2014 with a series of problems, but he does have upside and is only 28. He probably is at best a number two guy and would honestly be better as a middle of the rotation guy so given Darvishs’ injury he will be a must watch player as a guy needed to front a rotation. Given how the pitching didn’t last in the past, the Rangers went out and added Yovani Gallardo and Ross Detweiler. Both are twenty-nine and both are in better spots than they were and they should look to be solid options, but would look better as a 4-5 in a rotation, than they do having to hold down a rotation. The last spots will be rounded out with a group of potential names. Martin Perez and Matt Harrison return but are still rehabbing yearlong injuries, and Harrison will be happy to pitch at all with serious back injuries. The team has some young names in Nick Tepesch, Anthony Renaudo, and Nick Martinez to battle the old vet Colby Lewis for the five spot. The Darvish injury provides a chance to shine for some of these guys in 2015, but it won’t be easy. They may spend most of their early summer finding out who can fit and who they don’t trust going forward. The bullpen can use one of the pitchers who can’t hold a rotation spot for the pen and they may need it. Neftali Feliz is a closer that needs added to the list of players returning from injury but the addition of him doesn’t make this a high quality pen to me at this point.

What to Watch For?

There is youth already given everyday starter status and there is youth to compete to round out the rotation. The Rangers also have the luxury of 2 potential players who will start the season in the minors, but could certainly finish in the MLB.

Ryan Rua comes in as the most MLB ready and may be the left fielder before we know it. He can play most positions but would most likely slot in as a third baseman or outfielder, and with Beltre never aging, left is his best chance to start this summer. Rua hit over .300 in 2014 between AA, AAA, and the MLB. Although his sample size of 105 career MLB at bats is small, he has upside at age 24, and he has a chance to be a spark plug in a proven lineup.

Another potential name to watch out for is Alex “Chi Chi”Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a 2013 first round pick and has progressed up to AA last year and has been somewhat dominant on his way. I would suspect he starts the season in AAA, and while he may slot in around 7 or 8 on the Rangers starting pitcher plans in 2015, they did throw fifteen out there last year. Also given the uncertainty of most of the guys above him, it is possible he can even earn a spot by July.

Where Do They Rank?

The Rangers couldn’t even get out of the gates again to hear their chances may have crushed. The injury of Darvish is debilitating and to recover it may take until July, due to the questions in the rotation. There were questions with a healthy Yu, and to add no Yu makes it one of the weakest in the league. The lineup should be better than before but they do feature players over age 30 and with injury concerns so it doesn’t make for the most promising offense. They will need a potent offense to be competitive and it will be a grind for them to stay alive past July. Until I can see the big bats carry a load and win 7-6 games nigh in and night out this team ranks 5th in the division, and they may have to be selling come July.

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