It's been an interesting season thus far for the Texas Rangers. The results have been extremely favorable despite the challenges Jeff Banister and the team has faced with injuries and early struggles from some of their stars. Not to mention having to look at the predictions on that SI issue with the Houston Astros on the cover!
Yu Darvish has made just two starts this year, Prince Fielder only recently with a HR surge in the past few games is now batting over The Mendoza Line at .202, Mitch Moreland along with Prince have been "unplugged" due to performance. Derek Holland has struggled to get any momentum going. Choo, Chirinos, Scheppers, Kela, Griffin, Hamilton, Stubbs and I'm sure I missed someone,have spent time on the DL. You'd think by reading all this they'd be at the bottom of the AL West. Well, turns out they are 15 games OVER .500 at 39-24. Just some more confirmation of Banny's control of the clubhouse and a testament to his ability.
Jurickson Profar and Nomar Mazara have been huge sparks and they look like they're here to stay. Elvis Andrus has quietly had a very stellar campaign thus far. Ian Desmond and Matt Bush have been amazing feel good stories. Desmond was a value pick up in the offseason and many thought he wouldn't pan out. He's actually leading the team in hits and RBI's. Bush has solidified the bullpen and has picked up the slack with Shawn Tolleson's struggles with a 2-0 record with 5 holds and a 1.35 ERA. Let's not forget fan favorites Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre and their contributions, they're both tied with Mazara for the team lead in home runs with 10.
The only problem the Rangers and Banister are facing, and it's a good problem believe it or not, is that they may not have room for all their talent when they're done tearing apart Double A Frisco and Triple A Round Rock. The likes of Joey Gallo, Yohander Mendez, Kyle Lohse (who signed May 14th), amongst others. This team is feared by the MLB and they're not even close to 100% potential. Here's some food for thought, the Rangers pitching staff is tied for 1st in MLB with 43 quality starts and they're starting rotation has been shuffled around quite a few times with Yu only starting two games and neither Holland nor Hamels have been on their A game. We'll see you in October.