Whether it’s a good team, a bad team, or just a run of the mill team, it all gets started February 12 when pitchers and catchers report. 

That’s two weeks from today.

It will be the most anticipated pitchers and catchers reporting day in Rangers memory. Because this might turn out to be the best rotation the Rangers have ever had. Of course, when you consider most Rangers rotations, even remembering back as far as 2019, saying this is the best ever is the tallest midget syndrome to be sure.

But if Corey Kluber is back to form, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be, the Rangers will have three bona fide aces in Kluber, Mike Minor, and Lance Lynn. In fact, they would have a chance at their first Cy Young Award winning pitcher ever. That’s how lackluster Rangers pitching has been.

To round out the rotation, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles, even if they end up pitching ineffectively, are vast improvements over the money this front office squandered on Volquez, Smyly, and Miller last season. The Rangers can waste money with the best of them.

Will this rotation be enough to make up the 19 games they finished out of second in 2019 or the 29 games from first? That’s too much to ask of Kluber, who would have to shoulder most of that load. But it can give Rangers fans a reason to tune in. Marquee starting pitching.

Usually the pitchers who report to pitchers and catchers are met with all the enthusiasm of a “Saved By The Bell” marathon. This one is, finally, different.

Whether they score is another thing. That’s up to the rest of the squad, which reports February 17. That’s when reality sets in.