Injuries, injuries, and more injuries did in the 2014 version of the Taxas Rangers, and so far in training camp, the injury bug doesn’t seem to be moving on.
Obviously the loss of Yu Darvish to Tommy John Surgery is going to hurt the Rangers rotation in 2015 and will likely set them back a great deal, I’m not sold this team won’t compete without him.
There isn’t a flashy bunch of names in this Rangers rotation, but there’s a few I think will step up and help provide some relief this year.
I have liked Ross Detwiler for some time, and thanks to an absolute overabundance of riches in the pitching rotation in Washington, Detwiler could never find a home. However, in Texas, I think this highly touted lefty should easily find a rotation spot.
That said, what can we expect from him in 2015?
I point to what he did in 2012 as almost a glimpse of what is possible for him. In 164 innings, he was 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA, 105 strikeouts to 52 walks. Not a great strikeout to walk ratio, but I think it should get better, especially since it did over the next few years, though much of his work was out of the bullpen.
Detwiler isn’t an ace, nor should he be expected to perform like one, but Texas now has two solid left handed starters in it’s rotation with Derek Holland. If Detwiler can produce like a 6th overall pick, Texas has the making of a decent rotation, even in the absence of Yu Darvish.
The addition of Yovani Gallardo was one that was tremendous for Texas. Before the injury to Darvish, Gallardo gave the Rangers a legit 1-2 combo at the top of the rotation, allowing Derek Holland to become the three starter he really is and the rest of the rotation to fill out among a handful of candidates.
I don’t want say the Rangers lose much with Yu going down because that would just be a silly statement, but I do think Gallardo will be that steady force at the top of their rotation.
Traditionally, Miller Park has always been viewed as a hitters park, and I know it may not be the same animal as Globe Life Park in Arlington, I think Gallardo’s 200 innings, 3.5-whatever ERA, close to 200 Ks and 15-20 wins still plays in Texas.
I like what Gallardo can bring to the Rangers in the absence of Darvish will ease the blow of his loss.
What’s interesting about the Rangers is they have three legitimate bounce back player of the year candidates. Not many teams can make that claim.
Coming off the big contract signing, year one in Texas was an utter nightmare for Shin Soo Choo. Fortunately for him, almost everything about last year was a nightmare for the Rangers, so it softened the blow in my opinion, otherwise, he may have received a lot of criticism than he did.
What we know about Choo is the guy is an on base machine and a complete stat stuffer. A .340 OBP would be tremendous for almost anyone, however, Choo has set himself up to make that look like a down year. a .242 average and only 123 games played is without question subpar for him.
In a healthy lineup that features Prince Fielder, Leonys Martin, Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus, I think Choo is primed for a big time year in 2015 and I look for him to get back to his ridiculous .370-plus OBP rates and regaining that form that got him the big time contract with the Rangers.
He has to right? If Fielder and others return to form, Choo not doing that only sticks out like a zit on an otherwise unblemished face.
And speaking of Fielder, here’s another candidate that is primed for a comeback player of the year award.
Hearing the words “fusion” and “nerve-root injection” when discussing season ending surgery is never, ever, in any way what you want to hear. If you have real concerns that Fielder can regain his form as a perennial power hitter, you’re not alone.
I cannot sit here and tell you he’s going to regain that form, because we just don’t know. Others have undergone the same surgery and returned to form, of course, Peyton Manning comes to mind.
I think comparing one of the best ever for the game of football and Prince Fielder is a little far fetched given the drastic differences in the games they play and the level at which the other plays, but I digress.
I normally am not one to point to preseason numbers and games, but, I think it’s more than fair to do so in case of Prince.
Through March 28, Fielder had just one home run in 35 plate appearances, but I think what is encouraging is the 11 hits and only two strikeouts. Fielder has never been an over-the-top strikeout guy, so I think it is encouraging it would appear he is seeing the ball well and squaring it up. As he starts to regain that game shape, I do believe those power numbers start to improve as well.
Can he reincarnate that 30+ home run form he had for so many years? I think only time will tell, but the balance of this Rangers lineup, to me, doesn’t need Fielder to be the long ball guy he has been. I think his balance at the plate to not just be a guy that goes deep has always been underrated and I truly believe if he can return and at the very least be a solid major league hitter that hits around .300 with 20-25 home runs and drives in 85-100, that will be plenty of contribution to make him worth his money and keep him in the middle of the order.
My final bounce back candidate in 2015 will be Derek Holland.
Making just five starts in 2014, Holland will be relied on much more this year, again, thanks to the Darvish injury.
In 2013, when he threw a career high 213 innings, Holland really wore down towards the end of the year, bumpin his ERA to a still solid 3.42, but it could have been a lot better. Of course the following year, he battled injuries that limited him to just the five starts last year.
Holland has proven to be a solid lefty that is going to approach 200 innings, if not exceed that, and keep you in most ball games he throws.
Coming off the freak knee injury, pencil Holland in for 175-200 innings and hopefully he can sustain his performance all the way through, and we could be looking at a career year for this hilarious lefty.
The Rangers should also get a nice shot in the arm later in the year when Martin Perez returns from Tommy John Surgery. The highly touted lefty was well on his way to a breakout year before the dreaded elbow injury bit, ending his campaign.
While 2015 may be just to regain his footing on the mound, there’s another quality arm the Rangers could have down the stretch that could provide a big boost as they try to maintain without Darvish.
Last year, I called for a career year for Cuban defector, Leonys Martin. A .274 average with 30 stolen bases, Martin did not disappoint. I was never a Ron Washington fan, nor was I a fan of the way he handled Martin early in his career.
At just the age of 27, Martin will now be the bona fide leadoff hitter he probably should have been a couple years ago, and with big boppers behind him in this lineup, I look for him to be a huge catalyst for this offense.
Martin scored 68 runs last year in what was a putrid lineup at times, and 66 the year prior in an even lesser part time role.
It is feasible Martin could score upwards of 80 runs this year with the simple lineup health and the fact he now has a concrete role and can stop worrying about “Wash” simply put, messing with his head with his ridiculous lineup shenanigans. (If you couldn’t tell, I couldn’t be more happy he’s not managing this team any longer)
One area of major concern I have is the catching position. Robinson Chirinos and Carlos Corporan don’t exactly instill a great deal of excitement or confidence.
It may be far fetched, but I can’t say I’d be surprised if the Rangers will move their athletic, and elite prospect Jorge Alfaro quickly through the minors this year.
I know a lot of Rangers fans can’t wait to see highly touted Joey Gallo get to Arlington, but Alfaro may just make the leap before him.
2015 could not be any worse than ‘14. If all these things come together, Texas could find themselves back in the postseason.
No comments:
Post a Comment