Texas Rangers: Has Ryan Rua Earned An Everyday Role?

One of the hottest bats this spring has been Ryan Rua, who is crushing the ball right now in Spring Training. He has forced his name into the everyday conversation for left fielder, and if this trend continues he might win the job.

How many people thought Ryan Rua would be the Texas Rangers Opening Day left fielder? Yeah, I’d say maybe a handful of people, but Rua is making serious strides this spring, and could legitimately open the season as the guy in left.

This spring he’s hitting .340 with two home runs and a team leading 11 RBI in 50 at-bats. The even more impressive stat is that he’s collected 17 hits in 17 games thus far. Rua has been on a tear, and doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down.

Last season Rua hit .258 with eight home runs and 22 RBI in 99 games with the Rangers. He played mostly left field, and some first base. His defense isn’t perfect in the outfield, but if he can hit like an All-Star it won’t matter too much.

More from Nolan Writin'

• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?
• Martin Perez accepting the qualifying offer looking like solid deal for the Rangers
• 4 outfielders the Texas Rangers can still pursue this winter

When spring began he was fighting for just a utility role off the bench, but his fantastic start has forced the Rangers to consider him. Infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar is the main player he’s battling for the role in left field.

Profar is coming off a strong performance in the most recent World Baseball Classic tournament. If healthy the Rangers want Profar to be involved as much as possible, but he does have some problems. His arm strength is not great, in fact it’s pretty weak for an outfielder.

Next: Doug Fister Coming to Arlington?

It’s passable, but not something you would want from an everyday outfielder. It’s not a deal breaker though, and what happens the last few weeks of spring could determine who gets the Opening Day job in left field.