Texas Rangers: Three players on the verge of breaking out this season

These three Texas Rangers players could break out in a big way in 2021.

2020 may have been yet another down year for the Texas Rangers, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some bright spots for the team.

A good number of young players received their first big-league call ups last season, while others got more extended looks.

This is the stage of the rebuild where the Rangers find themselves. 2021 will be all about evaluating which players could become part of the bridge leading to the next great Texas teams, and which ones could be left behind for greener pastures.

While that means sacrificing any legitimate contending aspirations for now, it also means getting excited about what the future might hold.

In this piece, let’s look at three players who could help their cases for remaining in Arlington by breaking out in 2021.

Keep in mind, this list only covers players who have seen some MLB action to this point (So not Josh Jung or Kohei Arihara, for example).

2021 Texas Rangers breakout candidate: LHP Taylor Hearn

This 26-year-old lefty was acquired along with prospect infielder Sherten Apostel in a July 2018 trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for reliever Keone Kela.

Hearn, drafted in the fifth round by the Washington Nationals in 2015, made his big league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2019.

Making just one start that year, the lefty recorded just one out in that contest.

Not much to see there, despite the ugly ERA figure.

2020 was much kinder to Hearn, as he made 14 appearances out of the Rangers’ bullpen. In those games, he had a 3.63 ERA, 4.11 FIP and 23 strikeouts across 17.1 innings pitched. That’ll work.

Though his WHIP was a bit high at 1.39, Hearn clearly flashed his potential when given more opportunities to showcase his talent.

With a full slate of games expected for 2021, the lanky southpaw will have more than his fair share of chances to build on an extremely promising 2020 campaign.

That should bode well for Hearn’s chances of truly breaking out.

2021 Texas Rangers breakout candidate: C Sam Huff

Sam Huff is the future at catcher for the Texas Rangers, but why not in the present as well?

After all, Huff is the organization’s second-ranked prospect coming off a MLB debut that saw the young backstop crush opposing pitching to the tune of a 1.136 OPS with three home runs in 31 at-bats (33 plate appearances).

Talk about leaving fans with a teaser.

Incumbent starting catcher Jose Trevino won’t give up his job without a fight, but if there’s anyone with the kind of abilities necessary to beat out Trevino, it would be Huff.

The former seventh round draft choice has immense power and a great throwing arm, which signals his penchant for throwing out baserunners, an important skill for a starting catcher to possess.

Additionally, like Trevino, Huff has been improving his defense gradually behind the plate.

With the offense already a known entity and the defense progressing, it won’t be long before Huff becomes the full package at catcher that the Texas Rangers have been eagerly anticipating for years.