Texas Rangers: 3 up, 3 down, and 3 players to watch in Week 2 of Spring Training

3 Down

Starting Pitching Health

The Rangers have placed a lot of their hopes for success this season on the health of a fragile starting rotation. We are 12 games into camp and the members of that starting five have made six starts in those 12 games. It was announced last week that Nathan Eovaldi would be resting for a few days due to tightness in his left side. Jon Gray was set to make his second start on Saturday, but was pulled with back tightness. He's now scheduled to start on Wednesday. deGrom could see game action either later this week or early next week. There are about 3.5 weeks until Opening Day. The good thing about these injuries is that none of them are serious and all of the pitchers should be ready to go for the start of the season. This isn't going to be a year where the five members of the rotation make 30 starts each. For the Rangers, it's about making sure they stay cautious so that they do not have these players suffer an injury that will keep them out for a long period of time.

Josh Jung

I've been debating about whether to include Jung on the list. He's healthy, which cannot be said for everyone, but he's been struggling at the plate. He has played in seven games so far and is 4-17. The bright side is that he has two extra-base hits and only three strikeouts. He's having some good at-bats. He just isn't having as much success as I'm sure the Rangers were hoping for. The defense has been there, too. He made a good diving play on a ball at third base this past week. It's not all bad, and he has time to improve and really get ready for the season. I had to include him though because he's not exactly making an impression like many expected.

John King

King is in competition for a bullpen spot this spring. So far, it's not going well for the former Houston Cougar. He's entering his fourth major league season and is hoping to be on the Opening Day roster. His performances so far make that unlikely. Last week he made two appearances. He pitched against the Brewers on Thursday and gave up two runs on three hits. He followed that up with an appearance against the Angels on Sunday and proceeded to give up three runs on four hits in an inning. King needed a good spring to secure a roster spot. The Rangers signing Will Smith to a contract, and with the way Cole Ragans has performed, it seems likely that King will at least begin the season at Round Rock.