This veteran slugger turned out to be Rangers' underrated mid-season addition

Chris Young pulled no punches when it came to buying talent for a playoff push. He acquired a top of the line starter and multiple bullpen arms but his best move wasn't even a trade.

The Rangers offense has been historically bad for the franchise. Nobody is getting big hits, the lineup can't string together good at bats, but they can manage to get the job done. It wasn't until a random waiver claim that they began to look somewhat decent.

Rowdy Tellez was placed on waivers by division rival Seattle Mariners on June 26 and signed with the Rangers July 4. The by July 18 he was called to the big leagues and has been the Rangers' most impactful hitter by a country mile.

Tellez's impact on the lineup

The top of the line pitching staff has been hurting for a bat to give them support. Every loss seems to be a one run game that they just can't get a big hit in. This has changed for the better since the call up.

Since being called up July 18th, Tellez has slashed .288/.348/.542 for a .891 OPS and a 145 wRC+. His latest outburst came during their sweep against the Cleveland Guardians where he was a major catalyst for the teams success.

The rest of the lineup is seemingly stuck in a power outage while Tellez is enjoying one of his best career runs. When he isn't being disrespected by DFW sports radio, he can be found crushing baseballs in the middle of the Rangers lineup.

There is no coincidence that the Rangers hot streak was closely followed by Tellez Rangers debut. Scoring runs wins games and the Rangers couldn't do that before.

The timing of his addition couldn't have been better due to Jake Burger's string of injuries seemingly all year creating a void for a consistent bat, Tellez has filled this void and more.

Tellez is the best hitter on the Rangers during his 25 games, only Corey Seager even has comparable numbers. He has saved this team from being a bottom feeder and at least has them at a mediocre level with the potential for a playoff spot.

They are 18-17 since and easily could be much worse during that stretch without his bat. The gauntlet of a schedule they have played and are surviving has featured five playoff teams and two just outside the bubble in 22 of those 35 games.

They have recently gotten a boost up to 11.5% of a chance for the Rangers to make the playoffs. If Tellez bat stays hot, they have a chance to surge late despite the lackluster odds of that happening.