2014 Outlook: Texas Rangers

There are not many things to not like about the 2014 Texas Rangers. They have great pitching. A very solid bullpen. A very strong front of the rotation. Great balance of power and contact hitters. They are not overloaded on one side of the plate versus the other.

The two biggest splashes the Rangers made in the offseason certainly made big headlines. 

The first was shipping off, what seems to be, a bitter Ian Kinsler to Detroit for Prince Fielder. The Rangers could not have made a better trade. Prince Fielder is going to fit in great in this lineup. In Detroit, Fielder really carried a large weight in that right-handed heavy lineup. For the most part, he delivered, but when it came down to crunch time, especially in the playoffs last year, Prince was almost non-existent. In this lineup, Prince will definitely be the headline bat, but he doesn’t have to be the only guy to deliver because there are so many other guys that can be just a dangerous. I fully expect Fielder to return to his 30 home run status, if not more. I do believe in that ballpark and that league, Fielder could very well hit 40 home runs.

The other acquisition I really like is Shin-Soo Choo. Choo is an on-base machine. I alluded to his ability to be one of the game’s most balanced offensive players. A career OBP .389 is absolutely stellar, and if he’s leading off or in the two-hole, Choo will be dangerous. He posses great speed, power and makes excellent contact. In Texas, Choo could be a 20 homer, 20 SB, and easily a 100-run scored player. It was an expensive contract for Texas (7-years, $130-million), but I think one they will find a lot of value in having Choo in their lineup for at least four of those seven seasons.

The 2014 Texas Rangers should also continue to score a ton of runs, and they are going to be able to do it in just about any way. They could do it with the long ball, thanks to the aforementioned Fielder, along with Adrian Beltre, the newly acquired JP Arencibia, and even Alex Rios could provide them some nice pop in the lower part of the order. The Rangers in 2013 were a top 10 offense in just about every category, and there’s a few guys I look at, if they get a shot at full-time playing shares, could put this team at the top of the league in every category.

The first guy I look at is Cuban-import Leonys Martin. I’ve long been a fan of this very quiet Cuban. He started 2013 sharing time in the outfield with the departed Craig Gentry. I thought from the get-go Martin should have been the man in centerfield, but my man Ron Washington (that’s sarcasm by the way, I loath Wash with a burning fire that runs deep into my sole) thought it be better to platoon the two speedsters. After about a month, Martin won the job because one, Gentry was terrible, and two hurt rather frequently. 2014 is Martin’s year to break out. (Again, I thought it would be last year, but Wash had other plans) When Martin was committed and had no one looking over his shoulder, he was terrific. He was a very streaky hitter at times, but I think with a full big league season under his belt, he should be in for a great year. Based on his minor league track record, I could see Martin hitting anywhere from 10-15 homers, and getting upwards of 20 stolen bases. A consistent contact hitter should put Martin at the very top of this lineup, if not a glorified number 8 hitter. All that to say, I like Martin 2014.

The beauty of what the Rangers have going on, is they have one of baseball’s former top prospects sitting in the wings, waiting to bust out. My hatred of Ron Washington really has a lot to do with how he has handled Jurickson Profar. This kid has about as much talent as any player right now, but I think Texas did him an absolute disservice by moving him all over the diamond last year, and moving him in and out of the lineup. Profar would have been better served to spend about half the season in Triple-A, getting consistent at bats, and if need be, learning a new position, rather than be shuffled all over hell (in Texas sometimes it feels like a literal metaphor). I found no sufficient or legitimate reason why he was even at the big leagues last year. But, Profar is definitely young enough he can still come around, and I find no reason why 2014 can’t be a solid year. I think the kid still needs some seasoning at the big league level, the inconsistency of being in and out of the lineup has yet to show if Profar can handle playing everyday. (I don’t doubt he can, but stamina is an early and formidable challenge for a young player to face) Profar may look like a top prospect some nights, and play like an inexperienced player others.

We all know about what Yu Darvish has done since his arrival to Texas, and having an ace like that at the top is an almost guaranteed Texas won’t have many of those five game or better losing streaks. But there’s a couple young arms I think could make a difference this year in Texas.

The first is Alexi Ogando. Ogando has long been very versatile. He has been shuffled back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen, back to the bullpen, and sporadically used as a starter. Ogando seems to have worked himself into a rotation spot finally in the Texas rotation. Ogando may be too old to give Texas 200 innings or better, but the lanky right hander can easily provide this team a lift in what seems to be a slim rotation at this point, especially with the loss of Derek Holland for at least half the year. I think Ogando gives the Rangers a very viable option in the middle of this rotation. (I also take very little stock in his poor performance this spring)

He has a decent fastball for his age, a very nice breaking ball, and despite his poor spring so far, I think he is needed in this Texas rotation. He may not be an ace, but he’s effective, and that is what Texas needs.

The arm I think Texas has that should be a great contributor this year is Martin Perez. Perez is a very highly regarded lefty who’s stuff very much resembles Johan Santana. I’m saying Perez will have a Johan Santana type year, but he can definitely be a top of the rotation guy. If he even goes 150-175 innings, with a 3.25-3.75 ERA, he could become one of the American League’s best young pitchers.

A also look at a young pitcher like Robbie Ross who could be a difference maker. He’s got good stuff. He’s really been effective out of the bullpen, and I’d like to see him earn a spot in the rotation. It might be a long shot, but he’d a solid fourth or fifth starter.

The Rangers also have a great bullpen. Not to elongate the point, but they have three good closers, and maybe a fourth if Neal Cotts can be a considered a closer. I think he’s more of a setup guy. For the Rangers to have three guys that could be viable closers on a lot of clubs, that is going to make it difficult for teams to come back after six innings.

The Texas Rangers have as balanced of an offensive attack, one through three starting pitchers, and as good of a bullpen as any franchise in baseball. I fully expect Texas to make a return to the postseason, and even contend for a championship.