Texas Rangers: Five Reasons Corey Seager Will Have a Better 2023

By most measurements, Corey Seager had a solid season in 2022.

For obvious reasons, expectations for his arrival in Arlington were massive after he agreed to a 10-year, $325 million contract shortly before the winter lockout. Seager accepted his deal one day after Marcus Semien secured his own seven-year, $175 million pact with Texas, which left long-suffering Rangers fans eager to see what the duo could accomplish together in 2022.

While the Rangers won eight more games this past year than they did in 2021, the club’s overall performance was disappointing and often puzzling. However, Texas Rangers fans should be optimistic about the team’s outlook for 2023, specifically when you consider a few key reasons why 2023 could be Corey Seager’s best year at the plate so far.

5 reasons Corey Seager will improve in 2023

Reason 1: He won’t be hitting into a shift

In 2022, defenses shifted on Corey Seager in 607 out of his 654 plate appearances for a whopping 92.8%. That number is astronomically high, even for a left-handed hitter considering most MLB teams shifted left-handed hitters between 55% and 65% of the time in 2022. For Seager, the result of the frequent shifts was a wOBA that was 70 percentage points higher when defenses didn’t shift.

Thankfully for Seager and for Rangers fans, the shift will no longer be allowed in 2023. The players and owners agreed to eliminate the shift as a part of the new league Collective Bargaining Agreement. It will be interesting to see how much Seager’s batting average and OBP improve as a result of the rule change.