Corey Seager surging is exactly what the Rangers needed to get on track
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The Rangers have had a disappointing first couple months of the season. The team was expected to rely again on the potent offense we saw last year, but it hasn't been there. While the offense as a whole has not been the same, at least one piece of it has returned to form.
En route the World Series title last season the Rangers averaged 5.44 runs per game during the regular season. So far in the 2024 season, the Rangers are averaging 4.45 runs per game. They ranked third in the MLB last season in runs scored — this year they are just 11th. The lethal top-to-bottom lineup that offered no at-bat off to opposing pitchers last year has been largely absent.
The bulk of the lineup has just yet to find a groove in the 2024 season. Nathaniel Lowe has had a disappointing .691 OPS. Jonah Heim is 100 points below his 2023 OPS at .653. Evan Carter is lower than both of them at .633 and has been a shell of the player fans saw called up in September of last year. Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien actually had pretty hot starts, but have both hit major slumps and fallen to an OPS of .732 and .736, respectively, which are below their standards. Josh Smith is second on the team with a .792 OPS this season, the lone positive surprise from the offense so far.
All of this was added to the fact that Corey Seager struggled worse than all of them out of the gate. As the Rangers best player and one of the most feared hitters in the league, his contributions had been sorely missed — key word being "had." Seager is no longer slumping, and in fact may be hotter right now than he has ever been in a Rangers uniform. The offense's North Star has returned.
Seager hit eight home runs in eight games from May 19-29. He leads the league over the last week in home runs and OPS. He's had a 1.596 OPS over the last week to go with his flurry of homers. He's been simply unconscious. Zooming out to the month of May as whole, the numbers are still staggering. Seager has hit 11 home runs in the month of May to go with 21 RBI and a 1.047 OPS. Through the first month of the season at the end of April, Seager had just two home runs and eight RBI's and his OPS sat at .631. Just a month later he has 13 home runs, 29 RBI, and an OPS of .828 on the season.
The two-time World Series MVP getting hot is just what the Rangers offense needed. The Rangers were 27-10 in games Corey Seager homered last season. After a rough majority of May, they have won four of their last five. When Corey Seager plays well, the Rangers win games.
He is a transcendent hitter that keeps you in any close game because of how lethal he's proven to be time and time again with one swing. The rest of the offense needs to provide more support if this team wants to make the postseason and become a true contender again. But they can and should continue to win more games with Corey Seager back to top form.