Who's hot, who's not? A check in on key Rangers performers as playoff race heats up

While the playoffs are getting ever closer, the Texas Rangers are showing signs that they might actually sniff the postseason, if they can keep playing like they are in July. Bruce Bochy's squad is 9-5 so far this month, even better than that, they're 4-1 against the leaders of the AL West and AL Central in their last five games.

Can the Rangers keep this streak up? Can they really climb back into the playoff race? As long as the guys who are red hot can stay close to that and the guys who aren't can finally turn things around, there's a chance. Below, we'll take a look at both.

HOT: Corey Seager is blazing hot

If there's any one single player to credit for how the Texas Rangers have played offensively in July, it's Corey Seager, who appears finally to be fully healthy. He's slashing .346.460/.635/1.095 in July with 3 homers, 10 runs scored and 12 RBI. That's good for a 204 wRC+ for the month.

NOT: Evan Carter continues to have a rough 2025

If the Rangers are going to make a real charge for the playoffs, they're going to need Evan Carter to eventually figure things out. The young outfielder was one of the team's top prospects but he continues to not put up the kind of numbers that justify that.

He's had some hot streaks this season. That's a good thing. However, entering the final 10 days of July, he's struggled mightily this month slashing just .200/.289/.325/.614 equals just a 74 wRC+ for July. Only Ezequiel Duran and Sam Haggerty have put up worse offensive months and neither one of those guys are leaned on for offense the way Texas would like to lean on Carter.

HOT: Kyle Higashioka has been the Rangers' secret weapon

Kyle Higashioka has largely been an offensive afterthought for the Rangers this season. He was downright awful in May and June, but July has been a whole other story.

The catcher has slashed .378/.385/.676/1.060 in July with 3 homers and 9 RBI. That's good enough for a 191 wRC+ which is second among Rangers regulars behind only Seager's insane month.

HOT: Nathan Eovaldi has somehow been even better in July

If anything is standing in the way of Nathan Eovaldi's Cy Young campaign this season, it's that he's missed several starts due to injury. That includes Sunday night's outing, where he would have faced off against the Tigers' Tarik Skubal.

Still, if he wins the award, July is going to play a big part in why. As good as he's been all season, he's taken it to another level this month. In 16 innings pitched he's allowed a single earned run, good for a 0.48 ERA. He also leads the team in strikeouts this month with 19 Ks over 3 outings.

If the Texas Rangers really want to get back into the playoff race, they're going to need Eovaldi to get healthy.

NOT: Luke Jackson is pitching himself off the Texas Rangers roster

Luke Jackson entered 2025 as someone Chris Young and Bruce Bochy hoped would be a high-leverage reliever they could count on. He's been anything but that. His 6.40 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 5.01 walks per nine are bad enough but July has been quite a bit worse.

This month, over 4 outings, he's allowed 5 runs and posted a 13.50 ERA. Because he's been so bad, he's only posted 3.1 innings pitched in those 4 games, and has more walks (3) than strikeouts (2). It feels like decision time is coming for the Texas Rangers and he might be about to get traded, if there's any demand at all, or DFA'd should the team acquire a reliever at the deadline.