Texas Rangers Week 2 Review

Look Out, Here Comes Seager

Last time I wrote an article, the Rangers were 9-5. Now, they are 13-9, putting their record this week at 4-4. In this article, I will be examining these eight games relative to their season so far and assessing the Ranger’s position in the AL West. Just for reference, this is how I plan to write articles about the Rangers for the rest of the season—every week I publish a new article concerning these topics.

First, let’s start with the AL West, because the situation there has started to even out, now that we’re further than 10% through the MLB season. There are two big things to take note of: one, that the fifth-place team (the Athletics) is only 3.0 games behind the first-place team, the Rangers, meaning that this division could drastically change over the course of just one series, and it’s certainly still anyone’s game. Secondly, the worst record, held by the A’s, is only 10-12. If this keeps up, it looks like this division could finish a lot closer than anyone predicted, with the top three teams finishing within five games of each other.

Cal Raleigh

While this week wasn’t as glamorous or impressive as the first 14 games, there still was some success to be found. A sweep of the Angels accounted for three of the four wins this week, which was good to see given that the Angels had been sporting a could record with Trout seemingly heating up. However, the Rangers put all doubt that they were inferior to rest as they made quick work of them, outscoring them 12-4. However, the Mariners did the opposite: they had a slower start to the season, then proceeded to take three out of four from the Rangers, taking that doubt right back from the Angels and putting it in Rangers fans, as they are now sitting comfortably in second place one game back, not to mention Cal Raleigh, their superstar catcher, leads MLB in home runs with nine. (Interestingly enough, two more AL West players are also in the lead for home runs: Tyler Soderstrom for the A’s with nine, and Mike Trout for the Angels has the third most at eight.)

Tyler Mahle

Speaking of stat leaders, Tyler Mahle has earned himself the spotlight. The current leader of all eligible players in MLB has a 0.68 ERA, he has two earned runs in 26 innings with 25 strikeouts. His most recent performance was a seven-inning masterclass against a dominant Dodger's lineup, giving up only two hits and zero runs. Unfortunately, it was a loss, as the Rangers ran into the same problem they faced last week: lack of offense. The Rangers, with a solid 13-9 record, have somehow managed to accomplish a –14 run differential. This offense desperately needs a breath of fresh air, or at least a record setting blowout like the Reds unleashed against the Orioles, winning 24-2. That being said, this offense, while certainly not consistently dominant, has showed some signs of its past self.

Seager has started to heat up, and that phrase should not be taken lightly. In his last seven games, he’s put up a .400 average with .600 slugging, and an OPS at 1.064. While I won’t delve into the deeper stats like average exit velocity, it’s clear just simply watching his swing that he’s figured it out, and as the announcers wisely said, “he’s seeing MLB pitchers like high school pitchers.” Semien, however, still only has an OPS 11 points higher than Aaron Judge’s batting average. If he doesn’t start heating up soon, I doubt the remainder of his career will be productive, as he’s 34 years old and isn’t getting younger.

Garcia decided he wanted to have some fun, hitting a walk-off two run bomb against former Ranger's reliever Kirby Yates, beating the Dodgers 4-3 in the second game of the series. Wyatt Langford tried to do something similar in his return from the IL against the Dodgers but got thrown out with two outs trying to steal second in the bottom of the ninth.

Josh Smith

Josh Smith continues to be the best hitter on the team despite weighing 170, batting 0.378 on the season with a .995 OPS. Joc Pederson on the other hand probably needs to put down the shovel, because the hole he’s digging himself into is going to be virtually impossible to recover from: an 0.055 average and a .221 OPS.

In conclusion, the Rangers are still chugging along, with a developing lineup and some pithing gems to start the season. While most wouldn’t look at this team as another World Series contender, they have all the talent and potential necessary to be one, so the question remains: will they use that talent and potential? Rangers' fans need to see it soon.