Texas Rangers Lineup Review – Is It Enough?

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Old Hands

Yes, Leonys Martin qualifies as a returning veteran. After two years patrolling the outfield, this looks to be the year that Martin makes the centerfield spot his own.

Watch For – Defensively Martin’s speed to the ball and his cannon arm make “The Cuban Missile” someone opposing baserunners think twice about before stretching for that extra base.

Watch Out For – Martin appears to be Banister’s choice for to hit lead off and we’ll see how that decision squares with his career .316 on base percentage.

Elvis Andrus could be the best Rangers shortstop never traded to the Yankees. Of course that guy hit 156 homers in 3 years here, most landing somewhere near a pharmacy. Andrus has 20 jacks in six years. Entering his seventh year and signed through 2022, Elvis looks to be the long-term investment that Michael Young once was.

Watch For – Few ball players enjoy playing baseball as much as Elvis. When he’s at the top of his game, it’s a joy to behold.

Watch Out For – Elvis has not yet returned to the All-Star form he displayed in 2010, a performance that earned him the large contract and sent the Rangers to the World Series. Come back, Elvis, come back.

Adrian Beltre is the cornerstone of the infield. Sometime this summer he’ll trot out to third base for the 2500^th time as a Major Leaguer and he is still the consummate professional. Beltre has the All-Star credentials, Gold Gloves and has been a legit MVP candidate. He should be a serious contender for the Hall of Fame just on his fielding skills, not to mention his fifth homer this year will be number 400.

Watch for – After all this time, Beltre still has as much fun playing the game as most Little Leaguers. It’s also possible his glove is magnetized.

Watch out for – Beltre’s one weakness is his legs – knees, quads, hamstrings… 18 seasons is a long time. If he can keep the wheels working, it’s hard not to expect good things.

Next: The Injury Concerns

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

 The Returning Wounded

Mitch Moreland will be the Rangers designated hitter. That’s a thought that causes a little concern. Moreland hits about 20 homers a year and has never hit above .275 in a season. The issue is that Moreland is very obviously a Major League quality player – but where do you put him? He’s been a first baseman, but Prince Fielder now owns that. He was a pitcher in college and played some outfield… What do you do with Mitch Moreland?

Watch for – Good instincts and some timely hitting.

Watch Out For – Returning from season ending ankle surgery, Moreland has looked like he’s ready this spring. Time will tell.

Shin-Soo Choo and the Rangers are both looking for value from the 130 million dollar deal they made to acquire Choo. He gutted his way through a series of nagging injuries through 2014 and saw his production crater. His batting average dropped 40 points and his on base percentage almost 100. No one was more happy to say goodbye to 2014 than Choo. This year his talents move to right field.

Watch for – Choo has an almost mystical ability to get to first base. He can hit to get on, take the walk and gets hit by pitches at a painful rate.

Watch Out For – Choo’s rehab has reportedly gone well but with last year’s issues with his triceps, elbow and off season ankle surgery, there’s a lot of recuperation that had to happen.

Prince Fielder has always been a horse – the man averaged 162 games a year – 158 starts would be slacking. So, last year’s turn as the big injury that let the air out of the season, turned into a time of rest and rediscovery after his neck fusion surgery (see Manning, Peyton W. for reference.) The Big Guy sounds like he’s fit and ready to come back to the game with a stronger body and a revitalized love of the game.

Watch For – Homers and lots of ‘em. If Fielder returns to form, the Rangers could have a middle of the lineup that can put serious hurt on the opposing bullpen.

Watch Out For – The Neck. He’s stronger and fitter, but the true test is at the plate against big league pitchers.

Next: Today's Youth

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Puppies

Ryan Rua takes over left field from… well, who can really remember who was out there last? Maybe David Murphy? Rua came up for the 40 man cup of coffee last year when the front office wisely decided that the last half of the season would be better spent seeing young talent against real competition. It wasn’t pretty, but there were flashes, and Rua seems to have put those game experiences to good use. His spring battle with Jake Smolinski for the left field spot was a joy to watch.

Watch For – An honest to goodness major league left fielder. Rua is a home grown Rangers 2011 draft pick who has steadily advanced through the system and performed at every level.

Watch Out For – There’s always the chance that AAA was his peak, but his work this spring and mopping up last year was solid.

Rougned Odor seems like he should be a veteran but this is the first year he’s even old enough to have a beer on road trips. He stepped into the swirling black hole that was second base and stabilized the right side of the infield with effort and ability well beyond his years. Nobody was saying, “Ian who?”, but this could be the season Odor makes that happen.

Watch For – Glove work at the pivot. Hopefully Rangers fans could be getting in on the beginnings of a really good double play combination as the Elvis and Odor show gets comfortable turning two. Plus, Odor already has half as many career homers as Elvis, in fewer than 120 games.

Watch Out For – The sophomore slump, but it didn’t seem to be an issue in Surprise this spring.

Robinson Chirinos caught just 3 games in 2013 and then came into his own when pressed into service last year as Geovany Soto had his share of on and off field issues. (There’s a joke somewhere about groin injuries and marijuana arrests, but let’s not try too hard.) Chirinos stepped up, hit the ball, unveiled an arm that can shoot down base runners, and generally showed he was the man for the job.

Watch For – As Chirinos, Andrus and Odor get some time with a regular rotation of pitchers, it should become harder for base stealers to move up.

Watch Out For – Chirinos will have a have his first real year to work with a steady rotation, how he handles the pitchers will have a lot to do with how a staff down its Ace can move through the season. Catching is just flat hard and there are a lot of moving parts. Fortunately, there’s a guy named Pudge in the front office who is available to offer a few tips.

Next: What are the Rangers?

Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

That’s a quick look at your Texas Rangers as they take the field for 2015. Time will tell, but it appears as though they have to hit the ground running. The season starts with a bang as the first four games are on the road in Oakland. And of the first 20 games of the year – all of April – only two games against the D’Backs are outside of the AL West.

If the Rangers can start hot, they can put some distance on the rest of the division. The other side of that coin is, if they don’t get cooking early, this could be another long summer, where one, if not more of the old hands, are sent away for more young pups.

What do you think of the Texas Rangers chances this season? Do they have enough firepower to contend in what should be a tough American League West? Let us know in the comments!

Next: Rangers sit 27th in Fansided Power Rankings