Rangers storylines: Playoffs possible? Will Perez be traded? Where will Rocker land?
As the Rangers open the second half of their season in Miami, what lies ahead in the final 70 games of their 2022 season? Is it too late to think of a push to the expanded postseason playoffs? What additions or deletions will be made prior to the upcoming trade deadline? Will pitching prospects Jack Leiter or Kumar Rocker touch the Globe Life Field mound before the season sunsets on Oct. 5?
Here are five storylines to watch as the Rangers aim to improve on their third-place American League West standing, where their 41-49 record places them closer to the last-place Athletics (32-61) than the first-place Astros (59-32).
Is it too late to think playoffs?
General manager Chris Young is on the record saying it’s not too late. The team’s statistics say otherwise. The Rangers rank in the league’s lower third in most key areas. The offense ranks 20th in batting (.239) and 27th in on-base percentage (.299); the pitching staff’s earned run average ranks 21st (4.10); their fielding ranks 27th (.982).
There’s a glimmer of hope because MLB expanded the postseason to six teams in each league. The Rangers open the second half with the American League’s 11th-best record. They are 7.5 games behind Toronto for the final playoff berth. The Mariners (51-42) and their 12-game winning streak blew past the Rangers in the standings in the past month; even the perennial losing Orioles (46-46) have better odds at advancing to the playoffs. Vegas puts the Rangers’ odds at 0.7 percent chance of advancing.
In all likelyhood, the Rangers are facing thier sixth consecutive losing season. And that will be the franchise’s worst stretch since the franchise relocated from Washington, D.C., in 1973.
How’s the $500 million investment?
The Rangers made a big splash last winter with the signings of infielders Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million) and Marcus Semien (7 years, $175 million). Seager leads the team with 22 home runs, but has batted just .251; Semien is batting just .231 with 13 home runs and a team-high 17 stolen bases. Good numbers, but not the elite you’d expect from such high-profile expenditures. Both will need to big second halfs if the Rangers are to climb the standings.
And they need help. Outside of first baseman Nathan Lowe (.270) and catcher Jonah Heim (.262), no Ranger regular is hiting higher than Seager’s .251.
Will Martin Perez be dealt?
Perez has been the one stable force on the Ranges’ pitching staff. He’s an elite talent (7-2, 2.68) and he and the club have publcily said they’d like to work out an extension so he doesn’t head off to free agency. But if the team stumbles over the next two weeks, should Young consider trading him to a contender and continue to stock the franchise with prospects?
When will we see Leiter and Rocker?
Sorry to disappoint the hopeful, but neither of the last two first-round draft picks will likely throw a pitch at Globe Field this summer. Jack Leiter, the Rangers’ top pick in 2022, has struggled mightly at Double-A Frisco this season where he is 2-7 with a 6.30 ERA. His former Vanderbilt teammate, Kumar Rocker could join him in Frisco soon. The surprising third pick in the draft earlier this week, Rocker has only pitched 20 innings (for an Independent League team this summer) since leaving Vanderbilt more than a year ago.
It’s much more likely that both are given a chance to earn major-league roster spots out of spring training next year.
What’s the impact on the fans?
A year ago, the Rangers’ 26,052 average topped the American League. This season, the Rangers rank sixth at 25,007 per-game. They are on pace for their lowest turnstile count since 2008 when they averaged 24,021 per game. That’s also the last year the franchise failed to reach 2 million in overall attendance.
