After finishing second in the AL West last year, the Texas Rangers feel they have what it takes to win the division. Club President Nolan Ryan even thinks that his team has the talent and ability to win 92 games this season. Whether his prediction comes true or not will come down how his players step up to the challenge.
Offense
Ian Kinsler is the first batter in the Rangers’ lineup, as one of the more powerful leadoff hitters in the game. A fantasy beast for the past couple years, Kinsler hit career highs in homeruns (31) and RBIs (86) last year, all while stealing 31 bases. While he did only hit .253 last season, in 2008 he posted a .319 average, showing his ability to get on base. Kinsler will have to set an example at the top of the lineup if the Rangers are going to make a run at the division.
Vladimir Guerrero, a free agent pickup after the Angels released the franchise player, is looking to find his old form, where his combination of speed and power could not be matched. Last year Vlad hit 15 homeruns and drove in 50 RBIs in 100 games while hitting .295.
While Guerrero is injury prone, a full, healthy season will allow him to find his rhythm and increase his homerun and RBI totals. He has hit .300 for his entire career, so no matter what, look for his average to maintain itself this season.
For the Rangers to have a shot at winning the division, Josh Hamilton will have to find the stuff that made him such a good ballplayer two seasons ago when he hit 32 homeruns and drove in a whopping 130 RBIs. If he can come back from the injury that kept him out of 73 games and form a fearsome pair with Guerrero, then the Rangers might be able to pull off an upset of the defending divisional champion Angels.
Rounding out the lineup will be Jarrod Saltalamacchia at catcher, Chris Davis at first, Michael Young at third (he batted .322 last season), 21-year-old Elvis Andrus at short, Nelson Cruz in left, and Julio Borbon in center.
Pitching
When Nolan Ryan took over as the Texas Rangers’ president, he made it his priority to build a strong rotation that could weather the storm of the long season.
Ryan’s first major splash into the free-agent pitching market was the signing of Rich Harden, most recently of the Chicago Cubs. Last season Harden won 9 games with a 4.09 ERA, while striking out 171. He will provide a seasoned starter for the front end of the Ranger’s young rotation.
Second in the Rotation will be Scott Feldman, who broke out last year with a 17-win season and a 4.08 ERA. Another season of such caliber will go a long way for the Rangers’ hopes of a division title.
Derek Holland, who is only 23 years old, takes over the third spot, Brandon McCarthy will pitch fourth, and another 23-year-old in Tommy Hunter will take over the fifth spot in the rotation.
Frank Francisco returns as the Rangers closer, where he saved 25 games last season.
Prediction: The front end of the Texas offense is a deadly as any in baseball. The combination of Kinsler, Young, Hamilton and Guerrero will give any pitcher a hard time, and should provide enough run support for the pitching staff to maintain leads.
If the young players keep developing and a third strong pitcher emerges from the back of the rotation, the Rangers will have a shot at the division. In my opinion, though, they will not have what it takes to beat out the Angels as the season winds down.
But the race for second, between Texas and Seattle, should be a fun one to watch and could be a major factor in the AL wild card race..