Last year the Texas Rangers won 91 games and made it to the Wildcard play-in game. They failed to win that game and now have made some big moves in in hopes of getting back to playing some October baseball. Vegas odds have the Rangers at +225 to win the AL West, +800 to win the AL Pennant and +1800 to win the World Series.
Last year the Texas Rangers ranked 8th in runs scored (730), 8th in homeruns (176) and 7th in hitting, so even with the loss of Hamilton this was still a very good offense. This year they should be even better as they went out and god one of the best leadoff men in the game in Shin-Soo Choo and one of the better power hitters around in Prince Fielder. They did lose Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler, but this offense is still very set. Elvis Andrus returns after hitting .271 and stealing 42 bases last year. Also back is Adrian Beltre, who is off big year in which he hit .315, with 30 homers and 92 RBIs. Alex Rios and Mitch moorland will also provide some pop ad RBI’s in the middle of the lineup, but the 7-9 hitters will probably struggle for much of the year. Still overall I can see this offense being just a bit better than last year, especially with the additions of Choo and Fielder.
Last year the Texas pitching staff was solid as they were 10 th in ERA at 3.62. This year the staff may have to take a step back. Yes Yu Darvish is returning and is set to have another strong year, while Alexi Ogando is back in the rotation and has shown before that he is more than capable of being a very good starting pitcher in the majors. Martin Perez is slated at the number 3 guy and he is off a decent campaign, in which he went 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA. After those three it will be a patchwork staff until Derek Holland (60 day DL) and Matt Harrison (Back) return to the rotation. Tommy Hanson was in the mix, but was recently let go by Texas. I can see the bottom of this staff struggling out the gate. The Rangers pen was 4 th in ERA last year and should be solid one again. The do lose Joe Nathan, but Neftali Feliz has all the tools to be an elite closer, as long as he can return to his pre-injury form.
Outlook: the Texas rangers have added some more pop to their lineup and with Choo leading off I’m sure there will be plenty of chances to drive him in as he is an on-base machine. And then in the number two hole is a guy that stole 42 bases. This offense will put a ton of pressure on opposing pitchers, with a very nice combination of speed and power. The pitching staff will suffer in the early part of the year, but they will do enough to keep them in the race, while the bullpen will have another strong season. The Rangers are once again contenders in the AL West, but I feel that the Angels have just a bit more and thus Texas should finish second in this improving division.
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