Texas Rangers April Report Card

Offense: B

MLB Ranks – Offense

.234 Batting Average: 21st

30 Home Runs: 15th

.687 OPS: 21st

267 Strikeouts: 5th

A “B” grade is somewhat sympathetic given the losses of Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor. The Beltre loss is devastating; however, he missed only a handful of games in April, in which the Rangers went 3-2. They’ve had to dive into the minor leagues and Jeff Banister has been challenged to find the proper lineup construction without the team’s stars.

What to like

Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara have taken command of the offense. Mazara has been consistent from the start. He’s currently hitting .286 and ranks third on the team with 12 RBI. Alongside, Joey Gallo is showing off his customary power, already with eight home runs and 20 RBI. The duo’s success is a phenomenal sign for the Rangers, and it foreshadows a lethal middle of the order combination for a long time to come.

Additionally, it’s nice to see a few usual role players experience success with consistent playing time. The Rangers have given Jurickson Profar opportunity after opportunity to prove himself, but he never does enough to stay in the lineup on a routine basis.

Now, with Andrus and Odor out, Profar has taken on an everyday role and has done a nice job. He’s reached base at a 34% clip. He’s done a lot of little things to help facilitate the offense and he even displayed some pop with a long home run in game two of the series in Toronto.

Of course, the stand out newcomer is Isiah Kiner-Falefa. His simple approach has been appreciated by Jeff Banister, as Falefa has earned a daily spot at the top of the batting order. It will be an intriguing watch to see if the 23-year-old can do enough to remain on the roster once Odor returns from injury.

What needs to improve

Hitting with runners in scoring position has been detrimental to the Texas Rangers offense. The bunch ranks 12th in the AL with a .205 batting average with runners on second or third, or both. They also rank 11th with 55 strikeouts in such situations.

From an individual standpoint, Delino DeShields needs to get going. The Rangers offense is another animal when DeShields is on base creating chaos. To this point, the speedster is hitting .229 with a .289 OBP and only three stolen bases. An early injury has held him to only nine games. Hopefully, DeShields will get into a rhythm soon. Texas needs him to.