Four Texas Rangers who will have breakthrough seasons in 2019

Player development can be just as important as free agent signings. Here are a few Texas Rangers who could take a leap next season.

We all love the thrill of the chase. Checking Twitter every hour becomes a habit this year, hoping the Texas Rangers signed a franchise altering free agent. And while there’s nothing like your favorite baseball team landing a star, I find it way more satisfying when a homegrown player turns into a star themselves.

There’s nothing like watching a young player make improvements to their game and turn weaknesses into strengths. You get to see them overcome their early career struggles and become national stars. It’s why I’m usually unwilling to give up on a player that came up through the Rangers’ farm system, sometimes to a fault.

With that in mind, here are four Rangers that I think will have a breakthrough season next year. If you have someone else in mind, comment below.

Jurickson Profar Will Show Why He Was the Number One Prospect in Baseball

Last season, Profar posted career highs in almost every category that matters–average, OPS, home runs, RBI, and walks. This came despite playing at least ten games each at four different positions. Baseball players thrive on consistency, a luxury Profar has never been given in his time with the Rangers.

That’ll change next season. Profar is penciled in as the starting third baseman. Adrian Beltre left big shoes to fill, but I think Profar will succeed in keeping the hot corner productive. He won’t have to think as much about his defensive responsibilities, helping him focus at the plate. I think his batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS will all improve.

The 25-year-old even flashed some base running ability last year, swiping ten bags in ten attempts. He profiles as a perfect lead-off hitter, something the Rangers have been missing lately.

Joey Gallo Will Post a Career-High On-base Percentage

With just fifteen additional walks and twenty additional hits, Gallo would have posted a career high on-base percentage of .372. That’s a big increase from his OBP of .312 from last season, but it’s not unreasonable. Next year will be Gallo’s third full season in the majors, and the game should start to slow down for him.

Gallo will never hit for a high average. That long, looping swing that’s responsible for so many dingers also causes a lot of strikeouts. But if he improves his plate discipline even a little, his OBP should go up tremendously. Combined with his phenomenal power, that would make Gallo one of the Rangers’ most valuable players.

Rougned Odor Becomes an All-Star

After a promising 2016 season which earned him a $49 million contract, Odor struggled in 2017, hitting just .204 and posting a career-low .252 on-base percentage. It seemed like 2018 was going to be more of the same until Odor turned it around in July. The Rangers’ second baseman hit .305 in July and August before tailing off in September. He still finished with a respectable .253 average, a nice bounce-back from a dismal 2017.

But more important than the numbers was the eye test. Just watching Odor play, you could see he’d figured things out. He was a completely different player the second half, and I think you’ll see that carry over into 2019. Odor is just 25 years old. It’s easy to forget how young he is because he broke into the majors so young. There’s still room for improvement, and I think you’ll see it next year.

2019 will be Rougned Odor’s first All-Star appearance, with many more likely to come. It’s time to get your hopes back up for the Rangers’ slugging second baseman.