Texas Rangers 3-point checklist to conclude the season

The 2021 Texas Rangers have been exactly what we’ve expected them to be: bad.

But we shouldn’t just evaluate their season through the prism of their on-field performance. They’ve been downright pitiful in that regard, and this shouldn’t be surprising given the ongoing rebuild.

Instead, we should focus our attention towards positive developments like drafting Jack Leiter, seeing young players get called up and have success and unearthing diamonds in the rough like Adolis Garcia. These are all wins for the Texas Rangers organization in 2021, even if they don’t show up in the standings.

Along this theme, here are three things we’d like to see happen in the season’s final month to ensure the Texas Rangers’ path back to glory continues on its upward trajectory.

The Texas Rangers need to keep losing and secure a top-five pick in 2022

Ironic, I know.

But the truth of the matter is, losing more games in 2021 will help benefit the future of this team immensely.

How? A high draft pick in 2022, just like they had this past July.

Selecting Jack Leiter in this year’s draft was one of the highlights of the season, and his anticipated arrival and top prospect ranking in the farm system gives the Rangers the kind of optimism they haven’t had in years. Elite talents like Leiter don’t come around later in the first round, so ensuring a top-five pick in the 2022 draft to select a high-level prospect once again is critical.

The higher the pick, the closer Texas will be to potentially being able to select Elijah Green. Just imagine a farm system with Jack Leiter AND Elijah Green. We’re giddy at the thought.

One element this organization lacks is star power at the top of the farm. The depth is there, but the Rangers could easily vault into the top 10 systems in all of baseball next year by losing more games down the stretch in 2021 and positioning themselves to land another big time name in next summer’s draft.

The Texas Rangers need to play Leody Taveras and Nick Solak regularly down the stretch

It’s make or break time for Leody Taveras and Nick Solak in the last month of the season. We know this because both were optioned to the minors for extended periods this year. But both have since returned with success.

The Rangers have a lot of infield prospect depth that will bubble up to the surface, as well as some intriguing outfield prospects, not to mention the expectation that the team is expected to spend in the off-season.

So time is ticking for Taveras and Solak. That means they should be playing regularly down the stretch to see if they’ve earned looks at 2022 spring training.

In a sense, how both players perform in September will determine Texas’ free agency strategy. Do they need to trade for or sign a franchise center fielder? Do they need to move Isiah Kiner-Falefa to second base to accommodate a big name shortstop, pushing Solak out? Or perhaps Solak plays some outfield.

The only way to answer these questions is to let Leody Taveras and Nick Solak play consistently down the stretch. It seems the team is doing that already, and that should continue.