Texas Rangers July 4 Week in Review: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Jun 27, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Texas Rangers catcher Robinson  Chirinos (61) hits a home run during the fifth inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

3. Robinson Chirinos

Chirinos is in his third season with the Rangers, a team that has been struggling to find a good catcher over recent years. Chirinos played in 93 games in 2014, hitting .239/.415/.705 with 13 home runs in 338 plate appearances. So far in 2015, Chirinos has played in 54 games and has hit just .202/.300/.416 with 8 home runs.

This past week, Chirinos played in six of the seven games and hit .150/.227/.450 with two home runs in 20 at-bats. He had shown signs of improvement in May, hitting .241/.378/.534 but crashed back down in June by hitting .222/.290/.397.

The only other player to play catcher this season is Carlos Corporan, who has appeared in 28 games and has managed to hit worse than Chirinos. He has been hitting .198/.269/.333 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 110 plate appearances. With top prospect Jorge Alfaro out for the season with injury, the top two options for a replacement catcher are Chris Gimenez and Tomas Telis. Of the two, Telis has had the better hitting season, having hit .298/.337/.424 with five home runs and 25 RBI in 255 ABs.

Also considered for this spot: Leonys Martin has continued his struggles as he hit .217/.280/.261 with just one run scored. It is looking more and more that he will be losing playing time in the coming weeks.

Next: Gonzalez hits speed bump

Jul 3, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Chi Chi  Gonzalez (21) is pulled from the game during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

2. Chi Chi Gonzalez

Gonzalez had a rough week in his two starts. After not giving up a run in his first two starts over 14.2 innings, Gonzalez has given up at least one run in his last five starts and has given up over three runs in his last three starts. For the season, Gonzalez now has a 2-4 record with a 3.74 ERA in 43.1 innings.

This past week Gonzalez took the loss in both of his starts. Against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, Gonzalez gave up three runs on four hits over 6.0 innings. He struck out three and walked four and the Rangers ended up losing the game 2-3. In last night’s game against the Angels, he gave up six runs on five hits in just 1.2 innings and saw his ERA climb from 2.59 to 3.74. He struck out one and walked two and the Rangers ended up losing 2-8.

Gonzalez has been struggling recently but at just 23-years-old has plenty of time to get back on track. As a new pitcher, Gonzalez had the upper hand as teams had never seen Gonzalez pitch in the big leagues before. Teams now have a better scouting report on him and have taken back the upper hand. It is up to Gonzalez to figure out how to get things back in his favor so he can get back to the way he pitched in the beginning. If he can’t, he could see his spot lost to the return of Matt Harrison or Martin Perez.

Next: Martinez optioned

Jul 1, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop

(2) rounds the bases after hitting a home run off Texas Rangers pitcher Nick  Martinez (22) in the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

1. Nick Martinez

Martinez continued his struggles from June in his most recent start. After an incredible 0.35 ERA in his first four starts, Martinez started to slide with a 3.25 ERA in 6 starts in May. He fell even further in June with a 6.35 ERA in his five starts. For the season he has a 5-5 record with a 3.43 ERA in 16 starts.

In his start this week, Martinez gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 6.2 innings. He has taken the loss in his last three starts after giving up 13 runs over 18.2 innings. Martinez was optioned to Triple-A and will be given extra rest along with taking time off for the All-Star break. He could be recalled after the All-Star game but the role he plays for the team, starter or reliever, will depend on how the rest of the rotation looks.

Martinez is still just 24-years-old so he still has plenty of potential to be a solid starter in the big leagues. He could use some time in Round Rock to regroup and could come back stronger and ready to return back to the dominance from his first several starts. Like Gonzalez, he is going to need to figure out what adjustments he needs to make.

And now, a look at who has been hot in the past week.

Next: Odor's triumphant return

Jun 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned  Odor (73) hits a single against Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre. Blue Jays beat Rangers 3 – 2. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

3. Rougned Odor

Odor has continued his success since his return, after hitting .391/.453/.587 in the month of June. The second base position was a major weakness since he struggled early in the season then was sent down to Triple-A Round Rock. Including his problems early in the season, he has hit .228/.315/.352 with 11 extra base hits in 165 plate appearances.

This past week, Odor has continued his hot streak by hitting .400/.429/.600 with three extra base hits and three RBI. He has been bouncing around the order but spent the most of the games at the leadoff spot in four of his six games, a game in the second spot, and one game hitting eighth. In his four games at leadoff he went a combined 5-for-17 and went 3-for-5 in his game batting second. When Delino DeShields Jr. returns, Odor will likely bump back into the second spot and they could combine for a tough combination at the top of the lineup.

Also considered for this spot: Josh Hamilton, who hit .364/.364/.455 in his first three games since returning from injury.

Next: Moreland Continues Hot Streak

Jun 30, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Mitch  Moreland (18) hits a two run home run in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

2. Mitch Moreland

Moreland has continued his strong play for the season and although he often remains overshadowed to the rest of the country he is an important piece for the Rangers. He has put up career best numbers of .298/.344/.542 in 244 plate appearances and is on pace for his most home runs and RBI in a season. Moreland finished off his strong June performance in which he hit .323/.362/.636 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 25 games.

This week, his numbers were a little down compared to his season averages, hitting .241/.267/.759 in 29 ABs. The highlight of his week was he hit five home runs and drove in eight runs in just seven games which is the reason he is so high on this list. He finished off the month by hitting two home runs in back-to-back games, going 4-for-8 in those two games. Moreland is making a name for himself and is a possible candidate for a reserve spot in the MLB All-Star Game.

Next: Gallardo Untouchable

Jul 2, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yovani  Gallardo (49) pitches during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

1. Yovani Gallardo

There is no doubt who should be in the top spot this week. Gallardo has been as on fire as any pitcher can be and continued that dominance this week. Gallardo extended his scoreless inning streak to 29.1 innings. On the season, Gallardo has a 7-6 record with a 2.56 ERA in 102 innings.

Gallardo made two starts this week, giving up just 5 hits and holding batters to a .109 average over 14.1 innings. These two starts came against the tough Toronto Blue Jays lineup and a powerful Baltimore Orioles lineup. These two teams had the number 2 and 3 best OPS in the month of June across the major leagues. Gallardo held the Blue Jays to just 3 hits over 8.1 innings and picked up the win. Gallardo continued his June dominance with his first game in July on Thursday in his two hit, six-inning shutout over the Orioles.

Gallardo was in contention for the American League Pitcher of the Month but lost the battle to starter Chris Sale. Sale had a 1.83 ERA and 75 strikeouts in just 44.1 innings. It would be tough for any pitcher to top that kind of dominance but an argument can be made for Gallardo’s 0.54 ERA in 33.1 innings. Gallardo is a major candidate to make the MLB All-Start team after the type of success he has had recently.

Next: Texas Rangers Sign Two Top International Prospects