Texas Rangers 2017 preseason preview: Elvis Andrus

Going into the 2016 season, things didn’t look all that great for Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. Now one year later, the tide has turned.

After signing a huge eight year/$118M contract prior to 2015, Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus went through a pretty rough stretch. At one point, he was labeled the worst shortstop in Major League Baseball. But then, something changed and he had the best season of his career.

Andrus was making big money and at this moment is actually the second-highest paid shortstop in the game. He was a two-time All-Star, yet his first season under that deal left many fans feeling like the Rangers had gotten the short end of the stick. But as if a light went off suddenly, Elvis seemed to find a zone last season.

What we saw in 2016

His batting average was the biggest noticeable difference. Prior to last season, he had a career batting average of .270. He came out of the gate in April and batted .329. It was very uncharacteristic of Andrus, who’d had a career April batting average of .248 leading into 2016.

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His average dipped the following month, but then steadily climbed back up through season’s end. Yet, Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister tried something in May with Elvis that foreshadowed what we’d later see out of him. He wouldn’t do it again until August, but on May 20 against the Houston Astros, Banny batted Andrus in the ninth slot of the batting order.

After his fantastic April, things had slipped a bit in May. Banister had tried moving him around the lineup, batting him second, sixth, seventh and then eighth again where he had started the season.

That night at Minute Maid Park, Elvis quietly went one-for-three after seeing just six pitches all evening. It may not have seemed like much, but it was an improvement on what he’d been doing that month. Why Banister waited so long to try him there again, we may never know.

But on August 2, he returned to the ninth spot. Elvis took the final spot in the order in back-to-back nights in Baltimore and batted two-for-five with an RBI. He found himself in the nine-hole again on August 6 and rewarded everyone with a three-for-three with three singles.

From then on, he bounced around the lineup again. Yet, he never hit in other slots like he did batting ninth. He hit .349 with a .409 on-base and a .446 slugging percentage in the ninth slot.

He then went on to put up a September/October slash line of .349/.419/.627. Elvis closed out the season in unstoppable fashion with 29 hits, four home runs (which beat his 2012 and 2014 season totals and tied his 2013 season total) and 13 runs batted in.

In 2016, Elvis started better, progressed better and finished better than he had in any previous season. He finally showed how good of a hitter he can be.

What we’ll see in 2017

The most pressing concern for Elvis this season will be his recovery from his “sports hernia.” He underwent surgery in November and it’s looking like he’ll make his spring training debut this weekend.

So the looming question is, “how will this affect his readiness for the upcoming season?” According to Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, Elvis started running in early January to get himself back into shape. But until he starts seeing pitches in live games, there’s not a great way to predict his readiness.

Don’t be surprised then, if Andrus starts things a little slow. He’ll rapidly improve as the season goes on and his legs get stronger and will finish the year batting around .296. He’ll hit about five home runs, drive in 65 runs and continue to improve his strikeout rate with just 66 whiffs.

Next: Rangers preview: Sam Dyson

Like he did last season, Banister will give Elvis regular days off to keep him fresh and so his total number of games played will be about 145. But he likes it that way and will have another solid September/October. And more October baseball is exactly what Texas Rangers fans would love to see.

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