Predicting The Over/Under on Rangers Infield Projections

Elvis Andrus

• ZiPS projection – 1.5 WAR
• Over/Under – Over

It is hard to believe that Elvis Andrus will be entering his ninth season as a Ranger. The two-time All-Star has seen his production decrease noticeably since early in his career. However, 2016 was his best season since 2013 and the best season at the plate in his career.

Elvis set career highs across the board and became a key piece in the lineup. A majority of his success came from the ninth spot in the order. Elvis could once again act as a second leadoff man in the bottom of the order.

While he was great offensively, his poor play on defense was out of character. For the first time in his career, Elvis had a negative defensive rating. His -15.4 UZR was second worst among qualified shortstops.

This was uncharacteristic from an otherwise good defender. If Elvis can revert back to form defensively, he can be one of the more valuable players on the team. Elvis may not hit as well as he did a season ago, but it’s hard to imagine him performing that bad defensively again.

My bets are high on Elvis having another strong campaign and even performing better than a season ago. While he may never be a All-Star again, Elvis could still be in the top-half of shortstops.

Prediction – 2.8 WAR