Series Thread: Traveling to Kauffman Stadium to play the Royals

[donaldson79]

2B Rougned Odor raking at Round Rock

Premier prospect and second baseman Rougned Odor, who was banished by the Rangers to Triple-A Round Rock on May 11, could be returning soon. He has found himself at the plate.

Odor went down with a .144 batting average. But he has been tearing it up lately for the Express with a six-game hitting streak, which includes five multi-hit performances, four doubles and a triple. He has raised his batting average to .349 and cut down his strikeouts markedly. He has fanned just seven times in 98 plate appearances after racking up 25 in 90 at-bats with Texas.

"He's made some really nice improvements offensively, keeping both hands on the bat, barreling the ball much better," Jeff Banister told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "He's not chasing as much; he's controlling the strike zone."

It's great for Odor to be doing so well now. But the last thing we need/want, or can even afford, is to bring him back and see him get overwhelmed again. That could cause some serious and long term problems for him and us too.

Besides, Alberto is doing a pretty good impersonation of the 2014 Odor right now. Although he's exhibiting some of those same characteristics too. Like seeing all of SEVEN pitches last night in 4 AB.

I'm all for letting Odor continue to play well in the minors for now, build some confidence and have a little longer term success before yanking him back up.

 

[Bmurph]

It's great for Odor to be doing so well now. But the last thing we need/want, or can even afford, is to bring him back and see him get overwhelmed again. That could cause some serious and long term problems for him and us too.

Besides, Alberto is doing a pretty good impersonation of the 2014 Odor right now. Although he's exhibiting some of those same characteristics too. Like seeing all of SEVEN pitches last night in 4 AB.

I'm all for letting Odor continue to play well in the minors for now, build some confidence and have a little longer term success before yanking him back up.

I personally think they should wait and see what he does through the ASB, unless theres an inju........well never mind, you know what I mean

 

[Bmurph]

Rangers 2B Hanser Alberto gets three hits on Saturday

Rangers second baseman Hanser Alberto recorded a career-high three hits in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Royals. Alberto also hit his first-career double and scored a run.

In eight games since his call-up from Triple-A on May 29, Alberto is batting .344 (11 for 32) with a double, a triple and three RBI.

A good reason to let Odor continue raking at RR, oh and Hanser has played pretty good in the field as well

 

[donaldson79]

I think the 3 of us are on the same page with Odor, and Alberto.

Now, let's get a win today for the sweep, and get the hell outta town before KC wakes up again and starts playing the ball we all know they're capable of.

 

[romeo212000]

I think the 3 of us are on the same page with Odor, and Alberto.

Now, let's get a win today for the sweep, and get the hell outta town before KC wakes up again and starts playing the ball we all know they're capable of.

I'm with you guys. Give Odor at least through the ASB to let his confidence grow. Also, bringing him up with both Hamilton and Beltre injured could cause him to inadvertently put increased pressure on himself to produce. Bring him up when you can hit him 8th or 9th.

 

[Bmurph]

LF
D. DeShields Jr. (R)
RF
Shin-Soo Choo (L)
DH
Prince Fielder (L)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
3B
Joey Gallo (L)
SS
Elvis Andrus (R)
CF
Leonys Martin (L)
C
R. Chirinos (R)
2B
Hanser Alberto (R)

SP-Colby Lewis vs. Jeremy Guthrie

 

[donaldson79]

LF
D. DeShields Jr. (R)
RF
Shin-Soo Choo (L)
DH
Prince Fielder (L)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
3B
Joey Gallo (L)
SS
Elvis Andrus (R)
CF
Leonys Martin (L)
C
R. Chirinos (R)
2B
Hanser Alberto (R)

SP-Colby Lewis vs. Jeremy Guthrie

I would like to see EA in the 6 hole permanently. And depending on the pitcher, maybe even 7th.

But overall, I like this lineup.

 

[romeo212000]

I would like to see EA in the 6 hole permanently. And depending on the pitcher, maybe even 7th.

But overall, I like this lineup.

That's probably pretty close to where he winds up if DDJ continues to produce. I think he's probably hitting 7th when everyone is healthy.

DDJ
Choo
Fielder
Beltre
Moreland
Hamilton
Andrus
Rua????
Chirinos

 

[Nightcrawler]

I'm with you guys. Give Odor at least through the ASB to let his confidence grow. Also, bringing him up with both Hamilton and Beltre injured could cause him to inadvertently put increased pressure on himself to produce. Bring him up when you can hit him 8th or 9th.

The bad thing about Odor is he's a lefty. I don't think this lineup can really take anymore lefties at the plate. The Chicago series is going to be a good challenge for the team. Sale and Rodon are pitching again, this time with home field.

 

[donaldson79]

That's probably pretty close to where he winds up if DDJ continues to produce. I think he's probably hitting 7th when everyone is healthy.

DDJ
Choo
Fielder
Beltre
Moreland
Hamilton
Andrus
Rua????
Chirinos

Let's assume Rua handles 2nd base, and we send Alberto back down.

Hanser is only 22 years old and he's played 3rd/SS/2nd in the minors. So do you think maybe he could be or UIF for 2016?

 

[romeo212000]

The bad thing about Odor is he's a lefty. I don't think this lineup can really take anymore lefties at the plate. The Chicago series is going to be a good challenge for the team. Sale and Rodon are pitching again, this time with home field.

Sale is probably going to eat us alive again.

 

[romeo212000]

Let's assume Rua handles 2nd base, and we send Alberto back down.

Hanser is only 22 years old and he's played 3rd/SS/2nd in the minors. So do you think maybe he could be or UIF for 2016?

Possibly, but dont ignore Rosales.

 

[DT LUNA]

The bad thing about Odor is he's a lefty. I don't think this lineup can really take anymore lefties at the plate. The Chicago series is going to be a good challenge for the team. Sale and Rodon are pitching again, this time with home field.

We have three RHH coming back to equal out the RH vs LH.

 

[donaldson79]

Possibly, but dont ignore Rosales.

I'm not trying to punt Adam (like some on here).

But, Rosales will be 34 early next season, will make about a million (maybe more), while Alberto will be 23, and makes chump change. Don't know his status contract wise, but from his age, I'm guessing we've got him cheap for a few years.

Alberto seems to have good range, live arm, but Rosales has a lot more power.

Again, I'm not trying to move Adam outta here, but he is a FA after this season.

 

[donaldson79]

The latest from Keith Law on who the Rangers will take 4th.

4 Dillon Tate

SCHOOL: UC Santa Barbara
HT: 6-2
WT: 185
POS: RHP

Analysis: I think Texas takes whichever big name gets to them; if Rodgers gets here, they take him, and of course if Swanson gets here, they'd take him.

 

[romeo212000]

I'm not trying to punt Adam (like some on here).

But, Rosales will be 34 early next season, will make about a million (maybe more), while Alberto will be 23, and makes chump change. Don't know his status contract wise, but from his age, I'm guessing we've got him cheap for a few years.

Alberto seems to have good range, live arm, but Rosales has a lot more power.

Again, I'm not trying to move Adam outta here, but he is a FA after this season.

A million is chump change and Alberto hasn't been a great 3b in the few games he's played there.

 

[romeo212000]

The latest from Keith Law on who the Rangers will take 4th.

4 Dillon Tate

SCHOOL: UC Santa Barbara
HT: 6-2
WT: 185
POS: RHP

Analysis: I think Texas takes whichever big name gets to them; if Rodgers gets here, they take him, and of course if Swanson gets here, they'd take him.

The general consensus seems to be there isn't a pitcher worth taking in the top 10.

 

[Bmurph]

I would like to see EA in the 6 hole permanently. And depending on the pitcher, maybe even 7th.

But overall, I like this lineup.

About as good as you can get with the guys we have out

 

[DT LUNA]

About as good as you can get with the guys we have out

How good does it have to be when you're winning? Pretty darn good right now and will only get better in a few more days.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Tell you what guys. Mike Maddux has made chicken salad out of chicken shit with this pitching staff. Especially the bullpen we have, and the turnaround they've made from April. Just look at our rotation.

Gallardo: A #3 at best in any legitimate rotation the Rangers could hope to have, and frankly no better than a #3 period. The guy eats innings and will keep you close, but he's no #1. That's for sure.

Colby: I love Colby. He's a bulldog and another innings eater, but let's be honest. This guy is a fringe #3 in any good rotation and probably more like a #4. I still want him in any playoff rotation regardless of who the Rangers have healthy. The guy shines under the brightest lights.

Wandy: The Braves thought so little of this guy they gave him his outright release this season. He doesn't have near the velocity he used to have, but all he's done is pitch 45.2 innings in 8 GS started for the Rangers and turned in a 3.55 ERA with 7.69k/9 and a 49% ground ball percentage. His FIP is 3.93 and his BABIP is .275 so there's evidence to suggest he's not simply getting lucky.

Nick Martinez: I still say this guy is pitching over his head and is due for a pretty decent regression, but he just keeps keeping us in ball games. I'm not going to complain about getting a little luck, but I feel like Maddux is largely responsible for him pitching over his head like he has been. That's not to say it will continue all season, but it's been impressive nonetheless.

Chi chi: only two starts, but wow. Gotta give this kid credit for saying, "I'm going to work on some things in AAA to be ready for my call to the majors and results be damned." It has certainly paid benefits, and I feel like management deserves credit for convincing this kid to go about his business this way. We'll see what happens when teams get a book on him, but he certainly has impressed from what I've seen of him. Point is, we've got a rookie 5th starter who so far has done a lot more than give his team a chance to win.

Never mind all of the dumpster fire starts from Detwiler. With this rag tag bunch excuse for a major league rotation has put up a surprising 4.11 ERA which is good enough for 15th best in baseball. Their FIP is 4.33 and their BABIP is .292 so there's reason to believe they're not just getting extremely lucky. Granted they are middle of the pack in many measureables, but to me this does not look like even a middle of the pack rotation on paper. What they've been able to do really is surprising.

Never mind the dumpster fire that was our bullpen to start the year has really made a turnaround. We're getting quality appearances from guys like Freeman, Ohlendorf, Bass, and a young rookie has turned into a reliable force. Maddux has once again done a bang up job, and reinforcements may be on the way.

Makes you wonder how loses their spot in the rotation when Matt Harrison who hasn't really pitched since 2012 is ready to return. Wish there were a way to keep Harrison at AAA and to pound out starts every five days.