Texas Rangers Climb One Spot in FanSided MLB Power Rankings

One had to expect that this season would be a difficult one for the Texas Rangers. Yu Darvish was lost for the season after pitching one inning in the Cactus League. Then, during the first week of the season, Derek Holland was lost for at least two months with a shoulder injury. Right now, the Rangers have ten players on the disabled list, including two that are out for the season and five additional players on the 60 day DL. It may be a matter of time until they try to talk Nolan Ryan out of retirement to make a spot start.

Yet, even with all of those injuries, the Rangers were still sitting at 3-4 heading into last night’s game with the Angels. The fact that the Rangers have managed to be that close to .500 despite an ERA of 4.09 and a combined .197/.280/.299 batting line is moderately impressive. Of course, such a performance does not bode well for the long term fortunes of the Rangers, but it is still just one week.

Even with those injuries and the woeful hitting, the Rangers moved a slight bit in this week’s FanSided MLB Power Rankings. Initially rated as the 27th best team in baseball during the preseason, the Rangers moved up one spot to 26th. It may not seem like much, but this is still movement in the right direction.

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Of course, moving one spot after a week’s worth of baseball does not mean much. Yet, if the Rangers can keep finding ways to win and hover around that .500 mark, it would seem to be a matter of time before they rise up through the rankings. While one would not want to be counting on performances from the likes of Stolmy Pimentel or Wandy Rodriguez to see the Rangers through the injuries to their pitching staff, there is enough potential there where it may not be a complete disaster.

Likewise, the Rangers offense is not going to remain this anemic all season. Even the immortal Mario Mendoza, he who the Mendoza Line is named for, produced a .215/.245/.262 batting line in his career. I am willing to eat a pair of my boxers if the Rangers hit like Mendoza for the season, which seems like a pretty safe bet.

It is only one week, and only one spot in the standings, but the Texas Rangers have done better than could be expected given their statistics. Hopefully, once the pitching improves and the offense comes around, the Rangers will be able to continue to climb up the rankings and the standings.

Next: Texas Rangers Week in Review