Texas Rangers: 3 players who need to play better in the last two months

The second half swoon of Leody Taveras

Taveras was one of the massive success stories in the first half. He was playing so well that people stopped talking about Evan Carter taking his job. He had his first multi home run game in Tampa. He was playing good defense in center, was stealing bases, and hitting the ball with force. He looked like a more complete version of the Taveras that fans have been looking to see for the last five years going back to his time in the minors. Tavares went into the break with a .295 batting average, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, nine stolen bases, and 15 doubles, and two triples.

Taveras had a hot stretch prior to the All-Star break in 2022 and did not follow it up with a productive post-All-Star break. He is doing that once again post-All-Star break. Taveras has a .191 batting average, a .536 OPS, with one home run, and 12 RBIs. He also has 28 strikeouts to just four walks in the 24 games he has played since the break.

The lack of production from both Taveras and Duran is hurtful as Bochy normally hits them back-to-back at eight and nine in the lineup. One thing about Taveras is that when he is struggling he rarely makes contact and tends to strike out more. That has continued as he strikes out nearly every game and has three games this month with multiple strikeouts.

Bochy continues to insert him into the lineup and so he will have plenty of opportunities. There is word that J.P. Martinez, the Round Rock center fielder, is reportedly being called up on Friday. That could be to both get Taveras some rest and maybe some competition for the center field job.