The fourth American League team I will be breaking down, are the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are coming off a horrendous season, finishing in last place with a 22-38 record. Texas is currently rebuilding, but they are not in a position most rebuilding teams want to be in. They are quite literally caught in the middle, as they have players who are ready to win and will be expecting to be getting paid soon, like Joey Gallo, as well as having guys that make a lot of money like Rougned Odor. In order for the Rangers to be in a better position, they have to part ways with those kind of players, in order to get a haul back that will speed up the rebuilding process. With that being said, this past offseason they put together a competent team, but not one that I expect to be competitive.
Projected Starting Rotation
| 1 | Kyle Gibson |
| 2 | Dane Dunning |
| 3 | Kolby Allard |
| 4 | Mike Folynewicz |
| 5 | Jordan Lyles |
You can’t expect much from the rotation, given the fact that they are rebuilding. They are just putting together pitchers that will go out every 5th day and pitch. But for the sake of the blog, I will touch on Dane Dunning and Mike Foltynewicz. Dunning will be entering his first season with Texas after being traded from Chicago White Sox. Dunning was a top pitching prospect in Chicago but they never really gave him a shot to make the rotation. He may experience some difficulties, but that’s what comes with getting used to pitching in the big leagues. Mike Foltynewicz is a reclamation project as he was released last year by the Atlanta Braves. During Spring Training he has shown improvement and will most likely break camp with the team, but will his success carry over is the question that remains. I think Foltynewicz has a bounce back year, but the rest of the rotation will struggle.
Projected Line-Up
| 1 | SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa | R |
| 2 | DH Willie Calhoun/Khris Davis | L/R |
| 3 | RF Joey Gallo | L |
| 4 | 2B Nick Solak | R |
| 5 | 1B Ronald Guzman | L |
| 6 | LF David Dahl | L |
| 7 | C Jose Trevino | R |
| 8 | 3B Rougned Odor | L |
| 9 | CF Leody Taveras | S |
The lineup is what will excite Ranger fans. But even then, the lineup only has about two things to look forward to. I think names to look out for are Joey Gallo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Gallo is the biggest name on the team and has lived up to the hype of being a top prospect. He has even improved his game, by being a great defensive player, a power hitter, has a strong arm, and has speed. The one part of his game he needs to improve is his strikeouts. If he cuts down the strikeouts he will be a better player. He will most likely be shopped prior to the trade deadline and he will be someone who teams will be interested in. Kiner-Falefa is a guy a lot of people will want to root for. His story alone is a great one. He has moved from position to position in order to find his way into the lineup. He went out of his way to learn how to be a professional catcher, learned to play the outfield and now is getting his chance to be an everyday starting shortstop.
2021 PECOTA AL West Projections
I agree with PECOTA when it comes to the Rangers projection. I don’t see them finishing above anyone in the division and the team shouldn’t want to either because they are rebuilding. They have to continuously get high draft picks in order to have a future to look forward. So the Rangers will finish in 5th place.
