3 reasons to be excited about Texas Rangers’ rookie center fielder Eli White

Eli White has been turning heads in Texas Rangers’ camp, and here’s why his name should be at the forefront of your mind.

Eli White has taken Texas Rangers’ camp by storm and has made himself, arguably, the best player in camp this spring.

He has solidified himself a legit big league option, even after struggling in his first taste of the major leagues in 2020.

Could he be the Opening Day center fielder over Leody Taveras? Absolutely.

We’ll see how the Texas Rangers decide to go about making that decision, but in the meantime, here’s three reasons why Eli White should get you excited.

Game-changing speed

Eli White is a speed demon on the base paths for the Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers have always acquired outfielders with solid speed over the years, such as Craig Gentry, Delino DeShields and more recently, Leody Taveras.

All three of those guys were considered some of the fastest men in the big leagues, but Eli White may take the cake for me.

In 2020, Eli White ranked 8th in the major leagues in sprint speed, whereas Leody Taveras ranked 19th.

His average sprint speed was 29.4 ft/second in 2020, putting him ahead of guys like Fernando Tatis Jr., Jo Adell and Harrison Bader.

Over four seasons in the minor leagues, White stole 56 bases, also adding 36 over three seasons at Clemson.

His skipper has praised White’s pure athleticism for years, but specifically mentioned his speed in 2019.

No doubt his burners are raring to go in 2021 as he looks to take over centerfield for the Texas Rangers.

A hot bat

Eli White is tearing the cover off the baseball at Texas Rangers spring training

The young center fielder opened eyes this spring when he came out of the gates hotter than the sun.

He has since cooled off as the spring has progressed, but is sitting on a .276 batting average currently.

Add to that a .400 OBP, three stolen bases, one homerun and four driven-in over 29 at-bats, and you’ve got the makings of a quality big leaguer.

Undoubtedly the hottest outfielder not named Joey Gallo, Eli White has far surpassed that of his main competition in Leody Taveras.

Taveras has struggled mightily to start the spring, but has begun to find his rhythm and more plate discipline of late.

Is White’s hot bat enough to propel him into the starting lineup over Taveras? Maybe, but a lot can happen over the last few spring games.

So far, he is the leading candidate to take the Opening Day job, solely based on performance, but if Taveras heats up, it will make for a difficult decision.

As for White, though, he’s more than done his part.

Final Thoughts

Eli White is making a name for himself this spring at Texas Rangers camp

Eli White’s offseason featured plenty of adjustments.

As noted by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, he stayed home this off-season and worked with his former hitting coach Matt Morella on fine-tuning his swing.

“I tried to put myself in a better posture to hit those pitches. I also had a relatively big leg kick and a lot of movement in my pre-swing last year, and I tried to just simplify that and just to be on time, more consistently.”

His diligence has paid off so far and for it, he is on track to become an everyday big leaguer in his first full season at the game’s highest level.

With Opening Day just over a week away, the Texas Rangers and manager Chris Woodward will have a very difficult decision on their hands regarding the centerfield job.

Do they start Taveras and use White as a utility player? Or do they start White and find Taveras back in the minor leagues?

These questions and more will be answered soon enough, but the presence and maturation of Eli White has made them even more difficult to answer.