Predicting The Over/Under on Rangers Infield Projections

Adrian Beltre

• ZiPS projection – 3.3 WAR
• Over/Under – Over

Another head scratcher here from ZiPS. Adrian Beltre hasn’t had 3.3 WAR or fewer since his last year with the Mariners in 2009. Almost eight seasons ago. In fact, he’s only produced less than 5.0 WAR once in that same span.

Even at the ripe young age of 37, Beltre had one of the best seasons of his career in 2016. Not only did he do it at the plate helping him finish seventh in American League MVP voting, but he also won his fifth Gold Glove award.

More from Nolan Writin'

• Framework for a potential Max Fried trade to the Texas Rangers
• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?

Beltre will turn 38 on April 7th, yet he still shows no signs of slowing down. He was a handful of players in 2016 to have more RBI than strikeouts. He hit more than 30 home runs for the first time since 2012 and produced his highest defensive rating as a Ranger.

Until someone can convince me that Adrian Beltre is in fact a human, I refuse to believe he will ever be affected by Father Time. He will continue to have a huge impact on and off the field, as the unofficial captain hopes to lead the team to the playoffs for the fifth time in his tenure.

Prediction – 5.7 WAR