3 bold predictions for the Rangers going into the second half of the season

The Rangers are coming off of an underwhelming and somewhat disappointing first half of the season. While many fans were expecting the Rangers to once again be near the top of the American League, instead the team has struggled mightily to win games at a consistent level and currently sits at third in the Al West, four games under .500 at the break.

While the Rangers have had a lackluster start to the season, there is still a lot of baseball to be played, and the Rangers' schedule is significantly easier in the second half of the season than it was in the first half. A little over half of the Rangers' series throughout the second half of the season will be against opponents who currently hold records below .500.

With the second half now underway, these three bold predictions could hint at how the second half will play out for the Rangers, and whether or not we'll see improvement.

The Rangers will finish the season above .500.

For the majority of the first half of the season, the Rangers have remained under .500, which is somewhat shocking due to how competitive they were throughout all of last summer. While the Rangers have not had the start to the season that fans were expecting, the team has recently been showing signs that they are starting to turn things around and are beginning to resemble last year's team.

With slugger Josh Jung nearing his return to the field and the bats starting to come alive over these past few weeks, it appears that the Rangers are due to have a more successful second half of the season compared to their first half. 

The Rangers will have to face several tough opponents throughout the second half, including the Baltimore Orioles this weekend to start things off, and two series with the New York Yankees, the team that had arguably the most dominant first half of the season in the AL. Luckily, the Rangers will also face several of the weakest teams in baseball, including the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s and several other teams that have had disappointing first halves to the season (and the Yankees aren't what they used to be, either). Due to the Rangers' favorable second half schedule, the team should be able to move past .500 and finish above that marker for the second year in a row.

The Rangers will not win the division.

Although the Rangers have been showing signs of turning things around lately, they spent the first half digging themselves into a deep hole in the division, and it will be quite a challenge for them to win the AL West, something the team has not been able to do since 2016.

Due to the Mariners having such a hot start to the season, they currently hold a commanding five-game lead over the Rangers, along with a narrow one-game lead over the Houston Astros, a team that's posted a remarkable past month of baseball after a lackluster first few months of the season.

While it is too early to count the Rangers out of the division this season, it will be a daunting task for the team to get past both the Mariners and Astros, and so far, the Rangers have not appeared to be up to that kind of challenge. 

While a run for the division similar to the run they went on last year would be joyful, this year appears to unfortunately be different, as the Rangers have been dealt several bad hands. A multitude of the roster is dealing with myriad injuries, and several Rangers are underperforming greatly compared to last season.

The Rangers will not make the playoffs.

While the Rangers have shown signs of improvement this past month, the team still does not appear consistent enough to be playing baseball this fall. 

One of the biggest obstacles standing in the Rangers' way of returning to the postseason is how competitive the American League is this year. Currently nine out of the 15 AL teams have a record of .500 or better. Due to the competitive nature of the American League, it will be extraordinarily tough for the Rangers to clinch a playoff spot, especially with the team still remaining somewhat discombobulated. 

Overall, as disappointing as it is, this will most likely be an unremarkable year for the Rangers. While we are still a few weeks away from the trade deadline, and the team still has the potential to shake things up, the odds of the Rangers having a finish similar to last year are quite low.