Rangers spoiled golden opportunity now that key division rival has finally gotten hot

The Rangers had a chance to put their division rivals in a bad spot, but couldn't capitalize.

Eric Cole

Seattle Mariners v Texas Rangers / Sam Hodde/GettyImages

If you were to draw up the ideal start to the 2024 season for the Texas Rangers, it would probably start with exactly how their biggest division rivals have played. The Mariners were below .500 with an offense that wasn't scaring anybody and the Astros haven't looked worse in years thanks to loads of injuries to their pitching staff and some under-performers on offense.

This was a fantastic opportunity for the Rangers to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the AL West.

Unfortunately, that is decidedly not what happened. Not only are the Rangers sitting at 12-12 at the moment with a bunch of their own issues to deal with, but Seattle got hot and could be a real problem to try and keep up with in 2024.

Mariners' hot streak could spell trouble for the Rangers this season

While the Astros probably won't stay THIS bad the rest of the way, they are going to have to earn their way back into the discussion. However, Seattle has won seven of their last 10 games despite the fact their offense hasn't come close to reachings its potential yet. If Julio Rodriguez's first homer against the Rangers is a sign of things to come, the Mariners present a number of problems for Texas this season.

First and foremost, Seattle's pitching staff has been dominating as they are fourth in fWAR (3.1) and sixth in team ERA (3.33). With Luis Castillo, George Kirby, and Logan Gilbert leading their rotation, and multiple relievers off to strong starts including Trent Thornton and Gabe Speier, Seattle is going to stay in a lot of games even on nights when the offense underperforms. If Rodriguez and former Ranger Mitch Garver get going, the Mariners are going to be a tough opponent for anyone.

Conversely, the Rangers have a lot of uncertainty at the moment. Evan Carter is starting to show flashes of brilliance, but Wyatt Langford's career isn't off to the start many expected while Corey Seager has looked decidedly ordinary at the plate in 2024. Combine that and the sheer number of Texas players that have gotten hurt, one struggles to see the Rangers putting together a run of their own anytime soon, which makes not taking advantage of Seattle's slow start feel even worse.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.