Starting Rotation
The starting rotation has done a great job so far this season despite injuries, however, I might worry about them in a playoff series due to a lack of power arms. Even though the Kansas City Royals won the World Series last year without the best rotation, they had guys like Johnny Cueto, Yordano Ventura and Edinson Volquez who could strike you out.
One guy who certainly can is Cole Hamels who is pitching like the ace the Rangers thought they were acquiring last year at the deadline. Hamels is 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA, though his FIP is almost two runs higher.
Colby Lewis hasn’t lost all year and continues to be a consistent winner for the Texas Rangers. Martin Perez hasn’t gotten a ton of run support this year, but he continues to be solid. Yu Darvish and A.J. Griffin are both injured right now. Griffin may be a week or two away from returning but he can’t really be counted on to stay healthy. While the Rangers have had Nick Martinez and Cesar Ramos fill in in the rotation at times this year, but that is probably less than ideal for them.
Next: A mighty pen?