Texas Rangers: 3 players who have something to prove down the stretch

Leody Taveras

The promising center-field prospect and 2021 Opening Day starter for the Texas Rangers hasn’t been good as a big leaguer this year

Leody Taveras is back, tell a friend!

In the wake of roster re-shuffling due to a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak, Taveras was among the names called up to replace the infected players.

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As the Opening Day center fielder for the Texas Rangers in 2021, the 22-year-old really struggled to capitalize on the momentum he’d found after making his big league debut in 2020, as he’s hitting just .078/.145/.224 this season with no home runs.

He was optioned to the minors in late April, where he showed off his power (17 homers in 322 minor league at-bats) and seemed to re-kindle his stroke while keeping up with his solid outfield defense.

And then in his first game back with the Rangers Tuesday in Cleveland, he went… 0-for-5 with two punchouts. Not great!

If Taveras wants to make his case for the center field job again in 2022, he’ll need to really kick things into gear with this second chance he’s being given in 2021. Though he’s still young at 22 and has time to figure things out, the leash can’t be elongated forever.