Texas Rangers: Can Rougned Odor Turn Things Around?

Rougned Odor’s first half of 2017 didn’t go the way the Texas Rangers were hoping it would go. Coming into this season as one of the league’s best second basemen, he was predicted to be a real slugger. That really hasn’t happen this season. Odor was in a slump for most of the first half.

Odor, 23, is 76-for-346, including 47 runs, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 17 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 88 strikeouts, playing in 88 games. He’s batting .220. While his first half this season isn’t a complete disaster it’s still not good compared to his 2016 season. Luckily, there’s still a lot of baseball left, but if Odor plans to turn his season around, he must do so immediately. We’re at the point of the season where every minute counts. The Texas Rangers are counting on him.

Odor’s 76 hits places in a tie for 55th in the American League. His .220 batting average puts him 83rd in the American League which is in the base of the mountain. Only five players’ batting average are worse than Odor’s in the American League, two of them being Joey Gallo and Mike Napoli, their batting averages both being .194.

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Odor’s slugging percentage of .413 puts him 64th in the American League. His on-base percentage of .260 places him second-to-last.

Shorty before Opening Day, Odor agreed to a six-year extension worth $49.5 million. On Opening Day, Odor blasted two homers on his first two at-bats. Starting this season on five-game hitting streak, Odor immediately fell into mediocrity and it would last until late-June when all of a sudden he started a hitting streak that went to ten games. His hitting streak snapped last Sunday in a 3-0 loss at home against the Angels. Odor was 19-for-97 during the month of April, 25-for-116 in May, and 22-for-106 in June. Furthermore, he only has one three-hit game this season.

The bottom line is Odor is not a good baseball player, but what he’s going through is common in baseball. Furthermore, he can find a way out. The likes of Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Pete Rose, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays all went into slumps at some points in their career and they all found a way out.

As far as Odor turning things around this next half, there’s no doubt he can. So far this month, Odor is batting .370 and has an .852 slugging percentage and a .433 on-base percentage. If Odor can continue to get hits and go on a long streak of getting a hit in game, it’ll help break out of his slump. Furthermore, he needs to try and get more than one hit per game. If he can hit more and strikeout less, he’ll definitely be heading in the right direction not only for the rest of this season for the future of his career. Odor is yet to be in his prime, so he’s got a lot of baseball in him.