American League: Who Are the Contenders and Pretenders?
By Phil Akre
Texas Rangers
The reigning AL West champions haven’t gotten off to the start that they had hoped, as the team sits at 2-4 through its first six games.
With a starting staff that currently ranks in the bottom half of the league, a lot of the Rangers’ struggles can be attributed to the arms on the hill. They’ve given up the most walks in the league with 18, and the bullpen has an ERA of 6.43. Yikes.
Offseason addition Mike Napoli is hitting a putrid .091 with just two RBI through his first 22 at-bats. Jonathan Lucroy is hitting just .133 without a home run or RBI.
However, these are the Rangers we’re talking about, a 95-win team just a year ago. We shouldn’t write off a team that still owns one of the best 1-2 duos in Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. Lucroy is still one of the games best catchers, and a rebound is likely.
The best part for the Rangers, though? They are in possession of a young, talented core. Nomar Mazara looks like a budding star in right field. Joey Gallo is finally getting steady playing time after a few years of fine-tuning in the minors. As for Rougned Odor, the 23-year-old is just getting started with his .313 average, steady defense and hard-nosed mentality.
In an AL West where the Houston Astros are the only other significant threat, the Rangers are well-positioned for another postseason run.
Contender