2022 Texas Rangers Award Winners: Who takes home the hardware?

Another season is in the books for the Texas Rangers, and after a disappointing year that started off with a bang thanks to a historic spending spree and raised expectations, the focus shifts to 2023.

The Rangers only won 68 games in 2022, which is surprising for a team that added Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, as well as Mitch Garver, Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller, Jon Gray and Martin Perez. The feeling was that 70+ wins was attainable, and they fell short of that. But that doesn’t mean all was lost from this campaign.

The best and worst of the 2022 Texas Rangers

Let’s highlight some of the best and worst performances from the 2022 season with our team awards.

Texas Rangers MVP- Marcus Semien

Surprised? Don’t be. The stat sheet may not say it all, especially after Semien’s slow start, but he finished the year with 26 home runs, 25 stolen bases and a .733 OPS. More importantly, he’s helping to change the culture in the clubhouse, bringing leadership and respect. He also played every day, in 161 out of a possible 162 contests. That kind of durability and dependability is a gold standard in today’s game, and should be appreciated greatly.

Texas Rangers Breakout Player- Nathaniel Lowe

What a year for the first baseman, who hit over .300 with a career-high 27 home runs and an .850 OPS. This is the player the Rangers expected to get and more when they swung a deal with the Rays back in December 2020. All that talk about whether or not Lowe could be the future at first base for this team should be all but squashed at this point. He’s become a fixture from the left side and a mainstay in this infield for years to come.

Texas Rangers Rookie of the Year- Josh Jung

Has to be, right? Jung, the team’s top prospect, finally made his MLB debut in September and didn’t disappoint even in a small sample. With all due respect to Bubba Thompson, Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and Cole Ragans, Jung made the most of his brief time with the big league club in 2022, and feels all but a lock to open 2023 as the Texas Rangers’ third baseman.

Texas Rangers’ Most Disappointing Player- Josh Smith

Josh Smith was disappointing in his big league debut season, recording a mere .556 OPS in 213 at-bats. It’s clear he wasn’t as ready for the Majors as we thought he would be. A contact hitter through and through, Smith just didn’t give us enough to be excited about heading into 2023.

Despite this, though, Smith is still an exciting player and his versatility will always give him a shot. But we’re going to need a lot more from this Joey Gallo trade piece next season.

Texas Rangers’ Worst Player- Brad Miller

Need we say more? Miller was signed to a two-year contract in February and was awful for the Texas Rangers, providing negative value when healthy, but mostly spending the year on the Injured List. Eat up the second year to clear a roster spot for a better player. Chalk this one up as a mistake.