Rangers Notebook: Update On Derek Holland

By Jared Sandler | @SandlerJ

The Texas Rangers return home Monday to play Kansas City after going 5-2 on a seven game road trip in Houston and Tampa Bay.

Playing Pepper (Random Rangers thoughts)

*It is silly how good this starting rotation has been when you consider that their two best pitchers, Yu Darvish and Derek Holland, are injured. That's tough for any rotation to withstand, but they've done it well so far.

*I'm not sold that Kyle Blanks will remain a productive offensive player throughout the year, but I'm enjoying it while I can. It has demonstrated the importance of a middle-of-the-order run producer, because it allows Shin-Soo Choo to hit at the top of the order.

*The Rangers are moving Triple-A Round Rock's Luke Jackson to the bullpen. He's one of the organization's esteemed prospects and, while he's been previously featured as a starter, it has long been believed by many that he'd end up as a back end of the bullpen guy. He's a high velocity guy who would be better served as a two-pitch guy coming in to dominate batters (hopefully) at the end of games.

*Joey Gallo ended the longest HR drought of his career on Wednesday at 11 games.

*I think it is crazy that a "check swing," which is a fairly common event, is undefined in the baseball rulebook, despite popular belief of what it might be.

*Derek Holland had his MRI on Friday. The results were positive, but he's not ready to begin his throwing program yet. The hope was that he could begin his throwing program on Saturday, but it is likely that he'll wait two weeks to start. He indicated that he didn't want to rush his return.

*Some were concerned that the Rangers were too "lefty-heavy" in their lineup, suggesting they'd struggle against left-handed pitchers. On the contrary, the Rangers have hit nearly 40 points better versus lefties, whereas they were MLB-worst .210 hitters versus righties entering Sunday.

Quotes of the Week

"I thought when I got elected that I had been given an opportunity to do the best job in the world, and I'm more convinced today than I was that day. It's been enjoyable, satisfying, great to be out talking to our players and visiting the clubs. I've had some great experiences with young people." -- First-year MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred.

Stat of the Week

The Rangers have failed to score more than two runs in 15 of their 31 games this year (48.4%), most in Major League Baseball.

Rangers Xtra Innings Call of the Week

How about this gem from Taylor in Royce City...

 Stock Up/Stock Down

Here's a weekly look at performances of Rangers players

UP: Shin-Soo Choo

The right fielder has a 10-game hitting streak, which is the longest active in the Major Leagues. He's hitting just .293 during the streak due to only two games with multiple hits, but his OPS is .982 thanks to a .634 SLG (8 2B, 2 HR). Choo has at least two more extra-base hits than every other MLB player in May.

DOWN: Rougned Odor

He's hitting just .144 so far this season and is just 3-for-his-last-30 with 12 strikeouts and one extra-base hit.

Elsewhere In Baseball...

A couple of great debuts in Major League Baseball...

*Angels catching prospect, Carlos Perez, ended his MLB debut in style.

*Twins OF/2B prospect, Eddie Rosario, made the most of his first ever MLB swing.

Good Reads

*The New York Times explains how "Exit Velocity" is a new way to measure hitters.

*Gerry Fraley on Roy Silver, who is a part of Josh Hamilton's accountability team.

*The Rangers are moving Luke Jackson to the bullpen. Here's Evan Grant's note about it.

*Buster Olney (ESPN) opines for a decrease in the 162-game schedule.

Good Listens

*Here's the Hello, Win Column! podcast with former MLB'er Mike Bacsik and me. We discuss Rougned Odor, the Rangers' starting rotation, the staying power of the Astros, and more.

*MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred joined Matt Hicks on the Warmup Show prior to the Rangers' series finale with the Astros.

Song

"See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa, featuring Charlie Puth.

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