First west coast trip of the year - Rangers V. Halos 4/19-21

[True Rangers Fan]

After 16 games, the Rangers find themselves in last place, but with a record of 7-9 and 3 games out of first (only 1/2 game behind houston). There are 7 teams with worse records, so they aren't exactly tanking at the moment.

The staff is 15th in ERA (4.03), 12th in WHIP, and 5th in BB allowed (5th best). I think we can all agree that the pitching has been a pleasant surprise.

Hitting is still pretty bad. They're 3rd in the league in SB, but that's really the only positive stat. They continue to lead the league in K's with over 10 k/game.

MLB.com has them ranked 28. Big jumps, drops in latest Power Rankings

Now we get to face the best player in the game and the most dynamic player. Ohtani is the starter in tomorrow night's contest.

 

[DT LUNA]

After 16 games, the Rangers find themselves in last place, but with a record of 7-9 and 3 games out of first (only 1/2 game behind houston). There are 7 teams with worse records, so they aren't exactly tanking at the moment.

The staff is 15th in ERA (4.03), 12th in WHIP, and 5th in BB allowed (5th best). I think we can all agree that the pitching has been a pleasant surprise.

Hitting is still pretty bad. They're 3rd in the league in SB, but that's really the only positive stat. They continue to lead the league in K's with over 10 k/game.

MLB.com has them ranked 28. Big jumps, drops in latest Power Rankings

Now we get to face the best player in the game and the most dynamic player. Ohtani is the starter in tomorrow night's contest.

Your observation confirms what we started out to do.......evaluate. Leody and Tejeda simply can't hit but play defense well. Gibson and Dunning are a huge surprise. There are others but we now know our high and low points so I would consider us in good shape going forward. I hope to see more results of evaluation because several important decisions will need to be made and Gallo and Guzman are two of them. No doubt lack of offense (hitting) is a huge negative that has to be improved. Injuries have made the job harder and may have a lot in determining how we evaluate going forth. We have made progress to date and more to come hopefully.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Your observation confirms what we started out to do.......evaluate. Leody and Tejeda simply can't hit but play defense well. Gibson and Dunning are a huge surprise. There are others but we now know our high and low points so I would consider us in good shape going forward. I hope to see more results of evaluation because several important decisions will need to be made and Gallo and Guzman are two of them. No doubt lack of offense (hitting) is a huge negative that has to be improved. Injuries have made the job harder and may have a lot in determining how we evaluate going forth. We have made progress to date and more to come hopefully.

Expanding on the hitting train of thought:

Biggest positive right now is Trevino, in my opinion. He's second on the team in hits and by far the leader in AVG among the regulars. Calhoun is off to a nice start and I'm hoping it's the breakout year for that kid. Solak is putting up some nice numbers as well. Lowe is a mixed bag to me but he definitely needs to be in the lineup.

On the negative side, IKF has some good stats but his AVG, OBP and OPS leave a lot to be desired for me. I understand it's still early but to me it seems like he's at the plate with runners on and doesn't deliver as much as you'd like to see.

It's nice to see Joey's average higher than usual but his power hasn't produced yet. He has 1 extra base hit. Our backup C has 3. To his credit, Joey has 15 walks and his OBP leads the team. Honestly at this point, I'm wondering if Gallo should be hitting leadoff or 2nd.

 

[saddles]

Expanding on the hitting train of thought:

Biggest positive right now is Trevino, in my opinion. He's second on the team in hits and by far the leader in AVG among the regulars. Calhoun is off to a nice start and I'm hoping it's the breakout year for that kid. Solak is putting up some nice numbers as well. Lowe is a mixed bag to me but he definitely needs to be in the lineup.

On the negative side, IKF has some good stats but his AVG, OBP and OPS leave a lot to be desired for me. I understand it's still early but to me it seems like he's at the plate with runners on and doesn't deliver as much as you'd like to see.

It's nice to see Joey's average higher than usual but his power hasn't produced yet. He has 1 extra base hit. Our backup C has 3. To his credit, Joey has 15 walks and his OBP leads the team. Honestly at this point, I'm wondering if Gallo should be hitting leadoff or 2nd.

I think IKF is going to make a great utility player for us in the future. Maybe, as early as next year if we sign Story and Solak hits well this year.

When Huff proves he is ready, they are going to have an interesting decision with him and Trevino.

 

[saddles]

I would love to have Gallo, Story, and Huff together in some order in the lineup next year.

 

[Kelleyman]

Maybe Solak Gallo but I still think they are pitching around Gallo. Better minds might know if he is taking hittable pitches and what percent are in the zone.
I think this deflates his stats

 

[Kelleyman]

Re Trevino. You really need 2 catchers and there may be a way to get both in the lineup if warranted

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Maybe Solak Gallo but I still think they are pitching around Gallo. Better minds might know if he is taking hittable pitches and what percent are in the zone.
I think this deflates his stats

I suppose they should keep IKF at leadoff for the time being, but with Gallo getting on base so much, I'd go this way:

IKF
Gallo
Lowe
Solak
Calhoun
Trevino
Garcia/Dahl
Culberson/Holt
White/Taveras

 

[scotsman1948]

Your observation confirms what we started out to do.......evaluate. Leody and Tejeda simply can't hit but play defense well. Gibson and Dunning are a huge surprise. There are others but we now know our high and low points so I would consider us in good shape going forward. I hope to see more results of evaluation because several important decisions will need to be made and Gallo and Guzman are two of them. No doubt lack of offense (hitting) is a huge negative that has to be improved. Injuries have made the job harder and may have a lot in determining how we evaluate going forth. We have made progress to date and more to come hopefully.

I give Leody and Anderson the benefit of the doubt and am willing to accept their shortcomings right now and give them the time

 

[DT LUNA]

I suppose they should keep IKF at leadoff for the time being, but with Gallo getting on base so much, I'd go this way:

IKF
Gallo
Lowe
Solak
Calhoun
Trevino
Garcia/Dahl
Culberson/Holt
White/Taveras

Gallo's trade value is in serious question and he certainly needs to get with the program he was expected to do or trade him if he can get decent return. Boras will demand a premium for him and then JD will have to do something. It's roll the dice time for me. Joey can be a big star or a strike out king but you never know what you will get. Bottom line is I hate to think the FO will bet on him with mega bucks and years when he has never shown he can be consistent.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Gallo's trade value is in serious question and he certainly needs to get with the program he was expected to do or trade him if he can get decent return. Boras will demand a premium for him and then JD will have to do something. It's roll the dice time for me. Joey can be a big star or a strike out king but you never know what you will get. Bottom line is I hate to think the FO will bet on him with mega bucks and years when he has never shown he can be consistent.

Couple things here:

Let's remember that JD isn't the GM anymore. Chris Young is. Not saying JD has zero input, but Young is our GM.

I think that, ironically, Gallo made an adjustment the Rangers wanted him to make (lower his launch angle), which is why he's hitting mostly singles now. But I definitely agree that he's losing some trade value.

 

[saddles]

Re Trevino. You really need 2 catchers and there may be a way to get both in the lineup if warranted

What about the idea of trading Trevino at some point. He could bring back more in trade than the value of having one of them on the bench. What we get for Trevino might make it a lot easier to trade for an ace in two or three years.

Then there is the possibility of starting one of them at 1B, but you would have to give up on Lowe quicker than you might want to.

Heim looks like he might make a more than adequate backup.

It will be interesting to see how it gets worked out.

 

[DT LUNA]

What about the idea of trading Trevino at some point. He could bring back more in trade than the value of having one of them on the bench. What we get for Trevino might make it a lot easier to trade for an ace in two or three years.

Then there is the possibility of starting one of them at 1B, but you would have to give up on Lowe quicker than you might want to.

Heim looks like he might make a more than adequate backup.

It will be interesting to see how it gets worked out.

I think we need to see more of Huff before trading Trevino.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

I think we need to see more of Huff before trading Trevino.

Heim too

 

[Nightcrawler]

I’m still going on record that we need to pick leiter or rocker. Stockpile more pitching.

 

[Uncle Siggy]

Week 3 Recap: Rise on the Road and Fall at Home

Could’ve been better, could’ve been worse

www.lonestarball.com

According to Baseball Reference, Texas has a .753 OPS on the road and at home .558 (this doesn’t include Sunday’s game stats.) They’ve scored 40 runs in seven games on the road and just 19 in nine games at home. That feels like a wildly different team and definitely something to keep track of throughout the rest of the season.

 

[Uncle Siggy]

I’m still going on record that we need to pick leiter or rocker. Stockpile more pitching.

I would be surprised if they didn't...

 

[Uncle Siggy]

I think that, ironically, Gallo made an adjustment the Rangers wanted him to make (lower his launch angle), which is why he's hitting mostly singles now. But I definitely agree that he's losing some trade value.

Until they can get someone right behind Joey to make the other team pay the price they will continue to pitch very carefully to or around him, especially now that he's being more patient...

 

[saddles]

I think we need to see more of Huff before trading Trevino.

There is no hurry.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

I’m still going on record that we need to pick leiter or rocker. Stockpile more pitching.

And what if neither of them are available when the Rangers pick?