Apr 19, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland (18) laughs during the game against the Seattle Mariners at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Mitch Moreland made his MLB debut on July 29, 2010. Moreland was essentially the replacement for the formerly highly touted, Justin Smoak, whom was packaged together in the trade with Seattle that sent Cliff Lee to Texas. Since Moreland’s debut in 2010, he has accumulated 1.2 fWAR over 315 games. Sure, Moreland has exhibited flashes of prodigious power, but his obvious Achilles’ heel has been his inability to hit LHP. For his career in 223 PA against LHP, Moreland has posted a 57 wRC+ and a wOBA of .267, which is truly awe inspiring for all of the wrong reasons (awe inspiring for the fact that Ron Washington trusts Moreland to be the everyday first baseman in 2013). Conversely, Moreland has been above average against RHP. In 889 PA against RHP, Moreland has posted a 109 wRC+ and a wOBA of .344. If utilized correctly in a platoon role, Moreland would provide the Rangers with some marginal offensive value, but as an everyday first baseman, Moreland is well short of getting the job done. To prove my point, since 2010, out of 39 qualifying first basemen, Mitch Moreland ranks 31st in wRC+ and 30th in wOBA, which is simply not acceptable for a first division team.

So sure, the 2013 season is still young, but the odds of Mitch Moreland suddenly becoming able to hit LHP are unrealistic to put it politely. In his current role as an everyday first baseman, Mitch Moreland WILL grow to be an albatross in the Rangers’ lineup. If utilized correctly in a platoon role, Moreland would effectively provide some marginal offensive value.

Mitch Moreland has exhibited exactly the kind of player he is. It is simply a matter of Ron Washington deterring from his gut and utilizing Moreland in the proper role.

Coming into Friday, the Rangers were dealt with some disappointing news when the team learned that Matt Harrison will be undergoing back surgery on Tuesday to repair a herniated disc, thusly relegating his return to after the All-Star break. It was an unfortunate blow to the rotation, however it appears that Colby Lewis is continuing to have a successful rehab and is on schedule to return to the team on June 1st. An effective Colby Lewis in the rotation would be huge, so that’s that. Now here are some observations on the Rangers’ sweep of the Mariners.

• In total for the series, the Rangers outscored the Mariners 23 to 3. Regardless of the competition and other factors, it was good to finally see the Rangers’ offense put together some good innings. We’ll see if this ends up carrying over to Anaheim.
• As of Friday, the A’s led the Rangers for 1st place in the AL West by 2.5 games. As of Sunday, the A’s have been swept by the Rays and the Rangers have swept the Mariners, meaning Texas now holds the division lead by 0.5 games.
• In the first game of the series, Yu Darvish got the win against the Mariners, pitching 7 shutout innings and allowing just 3 hits to go along with 10 strikeouts. It was evident early in the game that Darvish had little, if any command of his fastball, which seems to be a trend in all of Darvish’s starts sans the near-perfecto against Houston. It’s pretty remarkable that Darvish possesses such dominating secondary pitches that he is able to pitch deep into ballgames regardless of his fastball command. Interestingly enough, all three of Darvish’s wins this season have come after Ranger losses.
• On Saturday, the Rangers received a scare when Nick Tepesch was hit on the wrist by a line drive off of the bat of Jesús Montero with two outs in the second inning. Luckily enough, Tepesch appears to be ready to make his next start. In relief of Tepesch, whom had to leave the game, Derek Lowe delivered in surprising fashion with four hitless innings. Also, A.J. Pierzynski and David Murphy, whom have both been scuffling as of late, hit homers to support the cause.
• In the finale of the series, Justin Grimm made his second start of the season and delivered mightily, pitching 6 innings, surrendering just 6 hits and allowing just one earned run to go along with 9 strikeouts. Grimm’s curveball was the difference maker in the game, as Grimm exhibited plus command and break with the pitch. In support of Grimm, Leonys Martín hit his first career home run off of Seattle starter, Aaron Harang. As for Harang, he gave up a big home run in the bottom of the fourth to Mitch Moreland, which sailed to Greene’s Hill in center field. Harang later went on to load the bases in the fifth inning only to surrender a grand slam off of the bat of Nelson Cruz. In other words, it was not a good day for Harang.
• Not to pick on the guy or anything, but Justin Smoak had a dreadful series, going just 1-for-11 with 6 strikeouts. I know it’s still early in the season, but I think that any hope of Smoak’s bat finally developing is all but gone.

Mitch Moreland comes to Surprise hungry.
(Photo credit: caller.com)

Here’s the beautiful thing about Moreland’s makeup. He’s hungry. Maybe even literally so since he has dropped 15 pounds. By all accounts it’s his job and by his account, moving out of Young and Napoli’s shadow is not a problem. Ron Washington has removed any perceived pressure by telling him to “relax and have some fun”. Washington adds that he doesn’t have to live up to anyone else’s standards but his own. Those are probably some pretty high standards since he worked hard in the off-season and removed the platoon demons from his back by working with his own left-handed pitcher.

Moreland was actually quite a surprise to most fans when he showed up. He leap-frogged Chris Davis and the much heralded Justin Smoak which also allowed the Rangers to make the Cliff Lee deal with the Mariners. A healthy everyday Moreland gives us a much needed left-handed bat in our lineup.  He’s not a defensive liability either.  He’ll get rest by being spelled by Lance Berkman. All of this is part of “The Plan”.

I know in the Moneyball days a lot of the old ways are gone. The whole “when you know, you know” idea has been minimized. Hey fantasy guys…can you say sleeper? With everything I have seen from Moreland and his ability to fight through an injury and passed two other first baseman, I’m feeling pretty good about Mitch this season.  We are putting some stock in our system this season. Mitch Moreland is exhibit A.