Constructing the ideal Rangers lineup ahead of 2025 Opening Day

We are less than a week away from the start of the 2025 regular season. On March 27, the Texas Rangers will welcome the Boston Red Sox to Globe Life Field to kick off their hunt for a second World Series title.

On Sunday, manager Bruce Bochy made his first decision, selecting Nathan Eovaldi to start Opening Day for the second straight season. The Red Sox will oppose Eovaldi with hard-throwing lefty Garrett Crochet. With that in mind, here's the ideal lineup for the Rangers for that Thursday afternoon game in Arlington.

Here's the ideal lineup when the Rangers take on the Red Sox on Opening Day

Before you see the lineup itself I want to clarify that the Rangers have to face a left-handed pitcher and that automatically puts them at a disadvantage with some of their go-to options. So there will be some absences, notably Evan Carter and Joc Pederson which have a bad track record against left-handed pitching. Instead, the lineup will look eerily similar to last year's Opening Day lineup with the addition of newbie or two.

Rangers to leadoff with the usual top three

1. 2B, Marcus Semien

2. SS, Corey Seager

3. DH, Wyatt Langford

There's not any difference here at the top of the lineup than it was 90-100 games last season. This is likely the best one, two, three punch of contact, power and speed that the Rangers can put together and we all know the best plan to start a game is with an effective top of the lineup to get things going offensively. Some fans might want Semien to move off the leadoff role but I still think he has the skillset to be one of the most effective leadoff hitters in Major League Baseball.

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4. RF, Adolis Garcia

5. 1B, Jake Burger

6. 3B, Josh Jung

The big change in the middle of the order is the addition of first baseman Jake Burger. Burger was a fantastic grab for Texas after they were searching for much needed power and slug that was missing from the 2024 lineup. This is the part of the lineup where we'd likely see Pederson but I venture to guess he will sit this one out due to Crochet being a left-handed pitcher.

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Down in the order but setting the table for the top

7. LF, Kevin Pillar

8. C, Jonah Heim

9. CF, Leody Taveras

I love what I've seen from Pillar this spring and I think not only will it pay off with an Opening Day roster spot but also the starting bid in left field. We finish the starting nine with Heim being the plate and Taveras in his usual position at center field. This is another example of facing a lefty, where Evan Carter will likely sit out Opening Day against one of the best lefties in MLB in Garret Crochet.