Rangers Recap: Starting Rotation Among League's Best
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The Leadoff
At this point last year the Rangers were 7-15. 14-11 is a lot more fun.
Stats of the Week
*Rangers starting pitchers lead Major League Baseball with 18 quality starts. Their rotation ERA (3.22) ranks 2nd best in the American League.
*A.J. Griffin has gone 32 straight starts going at least 5 innings. Talk about a reliable guy that a pitching coach must love.
*The Rangers have turned 37 double play, 34 of which have come on the ground. Both figures are best in baseball. Their fielding percentage (.989) is second best the American League.
*Prince Fielder became the 281st player with 1,000+ career RBI and the 13th active. He and his father, Cecil (1,008), are just the second father-son combination each with 1,000+ RBI, joining Bobby and Barry Bonds.
Quote of the Week
"It was an awful throw to Adrian Beltre and I was like 'Oh my gosh!' but then I saw his Gold Glove and I remembered I'm in good hands!" -Tom Wilhelmsen about his low throw to Adrian Beltre that was a part of a 1-5-2-5 fielder's choice putout in a rundown between third base and home during the 7th inning of the team's 7-2 win over the Angels.
Covering the Bases
*Ian Desmond got the start in centerfield Friday night with Colby Lewis on the mound. Insignificant? Maybe. Fueled by Delino's offensive struggles? Definitely a part of it. But I think it is also a sign of how confident the Rangers feel with him patrolling the middle of the outfield considering Colby's fly ball ways. He's made the transition "from the dirt to the grass," as Jeff Banister likes to say, so seamlessly that we forget how tough it actually is. He's gone from shortstop to more-than-capable left fielder to more-than-capable centerfielder in less than two months. Wow.
*Four players are tied for the team lead in HR (3). That's about right. My prediction prior to the season was that this team would be without a 30+ HR hitter, but would likely end with 5 or 6 guys reaching 20+. They're obviously trending below that at this rate, but I expect it will pick up a bit.
*We love to talk about offense and pitching, but what about defense? The Rangers have been sterling through the first 25 games with the leather. The numbers are above, but the eye-test paints the same picture. Desmond and Nomar Mazara have been the two most impressive, relative to expectations, but the usual suspects and doing their thing and then some, too. This is so important because of the team's low strikeout rate thus far, leading to more chances than a defense would typically face over the course of a game.
*Elvis Andrus has had a great start to the season both offensively and defensively. I know certain defensive metrics suggest certain things about him defensively and I respect that, but the guy I've watched with my eyes so far this season has done a super job in the field. At the plate, his clutch hitting with runners on base has been vital.
*A lot has been said about Nomar Mazara and how impressive he has looked. One thing that has stood out to me, maybe not more than anything else, but that hasn't gotten much play? The guy is so comfortable making plays on the warning track and near the wall.
*MLB.com listed the Top 10 strangest contracts in MLB history. This is awesome.
The Walkoff
Well, I had about 1,000 words typed up about what the Rangers would have to consider when both Shin-Soo Choo and Josh Hamilton return to the club. With Josh Hamilton's setback, I'll hold off on that for now and instead examine what the club should do when just Choo returns. While Hamilton's return is certainly possible, it isn't as imminent as it once was.
Without further ado...
If everyone currently on the 25-man remains healthy and Nomar Mazara's level of contribution is simply in the same zip code as it currently is, it's pretty simple, really.
LF: Nomar Mazara
CF: Ian Desmond
RF: Shin-Soo Choo
4th OF: Delino DeShields
While Mazara has dazzled in right field and possesses more of a right fielder's arm than Choo, the net gain defensively seems to be higher with Choo returning to a position of greater comfort than one in which he experienced significant struggles in 2014. Thus, Mazara in left plus Choo in right is better than the reverse.
Desmond as your everyday centerfielder is easy. In a short time, he's gained a degree of comfort that causes us to forget that he's only recently made a transition from being a career-long shortstop to the outfield.
DeShields, while a fourth outfielder, does not get lost in the equation. He'd start against some lefties and, perhaps, some righties. In addition to being a lineup spark plug, he'd offer speed off the bench, something the Rangers currently don't have. While you wouldn't necessarily need him as a defensive replacement, he would be your only legitimate backup centerfielder.
The real question comes with how the Ranger arrange their starting rotation and, in response, the rest of their roster when Yu Darvish returns. That is what we'll examine next week.
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