In this lost season, Texas won’t have a losing record. At least there’s that. 

With the Rangers 7-3 win over the Guardians, they record their eighty-first win. So, even if they lose their final two games of the season, the worst Texas could finish is 81-81.

Perhaps this game was a peek into the keyhole of the future. Jack Leiter was dominate on the mound. Alejandro Osuna was the catalyst on offense. 

Both players took a while to get where they are. But that’s the nature of baseball. Unlike football and basketball where a kid comes out of college and immediately excels, baseball is hard. Very few players hit the ground on top. When it happens, it’s special. 

Usually, it takes a few seasons to figure it out. Jack Leiter was lighter fluid for many of his first starts, getting torched game after game. But that was the process. Having Mike Maddux and Bruce Bochy in his corner, with the patience, expertise, and understanding of how hard this game is, was invaluable. So was having a father who pitched successfully in the big leagues.

His first major league season ended with an 8.83 ERA. His second? 3.86, capped by a brilliant ten-strikeout, two-earned-run performance in his final start. The progress he made was remarkable. He will only get better his third season. Pardon the giddiness but it’s been quite a while since Texas has developed a quality starting pitcher.

Alejandro Osuna might be turning his career into something, too. Recall, he owned pitching in spring training. Hitting everything, and hitting it hard. He hit .429, with a 1.237 OPS, leading the team in hits. He continued pounding the ball at Frisco and Round Rock, racking up a .909 OPS in Triple-A before earning a callup when the major league team forgot how to hit. 

Osuna’s major league season hasn’t been spectacular. He hitting just .211 with a weak .586 OPS. But he’s starting to figure it out. And, unlike his lineupmates, he doesn’t swing wildly at everything, he has a measured approach at the plate, goes the other way, and shows smart plate discipline.

Now that he’s getting regular playing time with injuries to Evan Carter, Adolis Garcia, and now Wyatt Langford, he’s hitting .300 in the last month with a .364 on-base. His three-run homer last night in the first inning jumpstarted the Rangers win, after such a lackluster embarrassment of offense this team displayed the day before against Minnesota.

Osuna, along with Cody Freeman and Michael Helman, were the sparkpugs that helped the Rangers fool everyone into thinking they had a shot at the playoffs until their eight-game losing streak reminded them they didn’t.

This 2025 Rangers season was a frustrating failure. But there were a few bright spots. Leiter and Osuna were two. 

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