Entering the 2025 MLB regular season, the Texas Rangers had some question marks with the pitching staff.
The injury thinned out the depth of the starting rotation, and John Gray and Cody Bradford hit the list of injured pre-season. These were hard blows, especially given the history of the injuries of Jacob DeGrom and Tyler Mare.
As Gray and Bradford were on the sidelines, it also meant that both rookie Kumar rocker and Jacklighter would have to start the season with the opening day rotation.
When mixed with the uncertainty of the bullpen situation in the late game of the Rangers, it was easy to understand why there was considerable skepticism about the campaign.
However, the pitching staff answered calls when needed and helped Texas float as the attack seemed to go smoothly.
There was a truly dominant performance by The Rangers on the Mound, highlighted by Nathan Eovaldi’s Cincinnati Reds’ complete game shutout.
He, Degrom, Leiter, Mahle, Jacob Webb and Robert Garcia of Refievers all have ERA+ 126 numbers (100).
Once pitching began, Texas proved impossible to win, allowing less than three runs to go 6-0.
However, the lineup has not yet progressed. Utility man Josh Smith, left fielder Wyatt Langford and right fielder Adris Garcia are the only starters over 100 years old.
Second baseman Marcus Semien, designated batsman Joc Pederson and center fielder Leody Tavares all have OPS+ numbers less than 20-10 games.
Despite the struggle at the plate, Rangers are surgently increasing MLB.com’s power rankings.
The AL West leader jumped over multiple spots to go from 10th to 5th. It may not be high enough as it is tied to the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres to win the second in baseball. Only the Dodgers in Los Angeles have nine Dodgers.
Texas is as dangerous as any baseball team. Despite the offensive issues, it ranks in the top five in MLB, which is inevitably hot as the season progresses, making it very impressive.
If shortstop Corey Seager, one-base-hand, Jake Burger and other established veterans find a gap, we’ll show you why they’re once again legal World Series contenders after missing out on last year’s playoffs.
