Absurd Astros stat is fuel Rangers need to win the AL West

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Texas Rangers trail the Houston Astros by just one game for first place in the American League West with a 74-76 record. It's worth noting that the Astros hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers, so Texas needs to finish at least a game better than Houston to win the division. Also, the Rangers are only 1 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final American League Wild Card spot.

The Rangers are lucky they're still alive in the postseason race with a losing record and just 12 regular-season games remaining. Because of the weak AL, the club has a decent shot at reaching the playoffs.

Winning the AL West might be the easiest path for the Rangers to clinch a postseason berth. The Rangers have the best run differential in the division. It's a bad run differential (-44), but still better than any other AL West team, including the Astros (-53).

The Rangers' roster isn't full of stars. The team had just one representative in the All-Star Game: left-handed closer Jacob Latz. However, they still appear to be a much more complete team than the Astros, and one stat proves it.

The Rangers should be able to win the AL West

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Astros have just one qualified hitter, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, with an OPS above .800. Granted, the Rangers don't have a single qualifying player with an OPS above .800.

However, the Astros also have just one pitcher, right-hander Peter Lambert, who has thrown more than 100 innings. Meanwhile, the Rangers have five pitchers who have thrown more than 100 innings. Yet somehow, the Astros are in first place in the division with two weeks left in the season.

This absurd stat is proof that the Rangers have no excuse not to win the American League West. Texas is a better team than Houston and should be able to win the division.

Think about it this way: the Astros rank 10th in OPS with a .722 mark. That includes Yordan Alvarez's 1.016 mark. If we look at a minimum of 240 plate appearances this season, the next-best Astros hitter, Isaac Paredes, comes in at .795. Jeremy Peña is the only other batter with a mark better than .760, checking in at .768

Meanwhile, the Rangers' team OPS is a 16th-ranked .717 mark. Texas has five hitters (min. 240 plate appearances) with a .760 OPS or better, including two, Joc Pederson (.816) and Josh Jung (.804), coming in at over .800. It's clear that the Rangers' lineup, while lacking an Alvarez-like star, is significantly deeper.

As for the starting rotations, Texas comes in with a 15th-ranked 4.21ERA. Houston is 28th with a 4.93 mark. Bullpen performance does break in the Astros' favor, with Houston relievers recording a 4.12 ERA to the Rangers' 4.52 performance.

Still, it's pretty clear that Texas is the deeper and more well-rounded ball club, yet they've trailed Houston for most of the second half. If the season ends with the Rangers coming up short, it will be an embarrassment through that lens.

The Rangers have a relatively rough stretch coming up, with three games against the Boston Red Sox followed by three against the Toronto Blue Jays. However, the Red Sox are using struggling starting pitchers in the first two games of the series against the Rangers at Globe Life Field, and the Blue Jays are only 5-5 over their last 10 games. After the Toronto series, Texas will finish the season with a series against the NL East's last-place New York Mets followed by a series against the struggling Minnesota Twins.

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