The season is a week old. The Rangers have played two series. Two series in the books. Two series wins in the books. They are 4-2, on pace for 106 wins.
A few things of note.
One, Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t missed a beat. He’s started two games with one win and one no decision, given up two runs, and is pitching like an ace.
Jared Walsh appears to be the steal of the offseason. All he did his first two years in the big leagues was hit and hit and hit. So much so, he displaced a legend in Albert Pujols. Over his first week, he’s hitting .381. Where he fits when Nathanial Lowe gets back will be interesting.
Josh Jung needs to never go to Vegas. Nobody has worse luck. After injuries in 2021, 2022, and 2023, he injured his calf fifteen minutes into spring training of 2024, then broke his wrist four games into 2024. Foot, shoulder, calf, wrist. He’s like a testing ground for medical interns to learn on.
Wyatt Langford has started every game and got out of the gate fast. Good thing for him is he doesn’t have to carry this team. He’s hidden in a lineup of All-Stars. He just need to learn and adjust, learn and adjust.
Evan Carter is hitless. Yes, that happens. But he’s drawing his share of walks (six, and hit by a pitch once) so his on base percentage is a decent .318. But not only does he not have a hit, he hasn’t hit the ball very hard. Even after all his success last year, he’s still a rookie, and the longer a rookie goes without getting a hit, the more it weighs on his confidence.
Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith are going to have to step up again. Not only is Jung out for at least ten weeks, Corey Seager is still recovering from surgery, so he’s going to be rotated into the DH position a lot more than usual to give him extra recovery time.
Adolis Garcia is in early season Adolis-mode. Three home runs and six RBIs in six games.
Jose Leclerc needs to find the strike zone, or find a seat at the end of the bench and get used to being a 10/10 guy, the pitcher you bring in with a ten-run lead or ten-run deficit. In three appearances, he’s coughed up the lead twice, and gave it his best shot the third time. He’s walked five batters, hit one, and struck out just one. His WHIP is 3.00, meaning, he averages three baserunners per inning.
But David Robertson, Kirby Yates, and Josh Sborz are perfect in their appearances, neither having given up a run, earned or otherwise. Same with Jose Uriña, who has yet to stake out his role in the Rangers bullpen.
One week into the season and the Rangers are looking good. Comparisons to last season are inevitable. After six games in 2023, the Rangers were also 4-2, but 1-1 in two series, having swept the Phillies and lost 2-of-3 to the Orioles.
It’s an offense that’s deep, and will need to be, with two of their four starting infielders out. It’s an offense that needs to be deep because it is heavily relying on two rookies.
All in all, it’s been a really good first week.
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