4 pleasant surprises for the Texas Rangers so far this season

4 pleasant surprises for the Texas Rangers so far this season

2. Martin Perez

No one would blame you for being underwhelmed at the Rangers’ signing of lefty Martin Perez during the winter. But… he’s become arguably the most stable member of this starting staff early in 2022. Did you see that one coming?

Through six starts to this point, Perez sports a sparkling 2.10 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Both of those figures lead all Texas starting pitchers at the moment.

The Rangers’ starting staff has been a weak spot in 2022, although they’ve played better of late. A major reason for their turnaround has been the emergence of the lefty Perez.

Now don’t get it twisted, Perez isn’t an a staff ace. Texas still needs one of those, a true alpha on the rubber. But for now, it’s comforting to know there’s at least one quality option in this rotation, even if it isn’t who you expected.

4 pleasant surprises for the Texas Rangers so far this season

3. Jonah Heim

He’s become a fan favorite in 2022, and rightly so the way he’s been playing.

Jonah Heim has earned everyday catching duties even though the Texas Rangers traded for Mitch Garver from the Twins for that reason. Heim has seized the opportunity he’s been giving, with a 1.002 OPS so far this season.

That OPS figure is the pleasant surprise here, as Heim has always been renowned for his defense and pitch framing behind the dish. But rounding out his game and becoming a two-dimensional threat as a player? Heim is becoming the asset the Texas Rangers could only dream of behind the plate, and should he continue hitting at a clip even remotely close to his current one, it will make for a tough decision on what to do with him and Mitch Garver at the catcher position going forward.

4 pleasant surprises for the Texas Rangers so far this season

4. The bullpen

It’s incredible to think that at one point this season, the Texas Rangers’ bullpen was considered a liability, and a liability it was.  Since early May, however, the unit has done a complete 360, emerging as a team strength to the pleasant surprise of everyone.

Among the reasons for the bullpen’s turnaround? Brock Burke and Matt Moore, each of whom have provided tremendous production in the form of long relief. Dennis Santana, Joe Barlow, Spencer Patton, John King and others have also picked up the slack in the bullpen for the Rangers, giving the team ample options for both long relief and closing out tight games.

Having a solid bullpen is a luxury, especially for a non-contending team like this one, and this group will only get better with the eventual returns of Jonathan Hernandez and Jose Leclerc this summer.