Jacob deGrom just raised Rangers' World Series ceiling with masterful performance

Jacob deGrom's return to Cy Young form is extra life that the Texas Rangers need to help boost them over the ceiling to contention this year. If the offense can play along as well.

Rangers' fans entered the season a lot of hope and confidence thanks to the live arms at the top of the rotation and evolving offensive output of young players like Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung.

There are always X-factors throught the season, including roster health, production from your proven all-star caliber players and how the front office reads and reacts to adversity.

So far, the biggest wild card that has come up aces for the Rangers is deGrom and the return to Cy Young form after missing most of his first two seasons due to injury. Sporting a record of 4-1 with an 2.29 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, the right-hander just threw his best (and longest) outing as a Ranger, delivering a dazzling eight inning, seven strikeout performance in Thursday's 1-0 win over the Astros.

It is a reminder that with the hurler performing like he did before his series of arm injuries, this team's ceiling is much higher than it was coming into the season. With deGrom commanding his slider low in the zone and painting the corners with upper-90s heat, he is arguably the best pitcher in Major League baseball.

The Rangers have also gotten their money's worth with the emergence of Tyler Mahle, but when you can roll out a guy like deGrom every five days at the top of the rotation, it gives the whole team an added boost and confidence. Add Nathan Eovaldi in to the mix, this team is in great shape with pitching.

We would be remiss not to add the requisite disclaimer regarding derGrom's ability to stay healthy. He has not thrown more than 92 innings since 2019, so we'll see how his body and arm hold up over the course of the season. He also hasn't logged a full season worth of starts in six years.

Still, if he can give the Rangers 200 innings at the level he has gotten back to so far this year, the sky is the limit for this year's squad.