With the 2017 Texas Rangers season now upon us, our staff chimes in on what they predict this season.
The Texas Rangers open the season Monday night against the defending American League Champion Cleveland Indians. Thus begins a 162-game marathon race to a finish line placed tentatively on October 1 against the Oakland Athletics at Globe Life Park. So, will they repeat as AL West champions or will they falter quietly after a season full of struggles? Our site experts give their takes on how they see the 2017 season unfolding for the Rangers.
What Reid Hanson has to say
Normally, I hate to agree with national predictions, but in this case, I’ll have to bite the bullet and say the Texas Rangers will miss the postseason. Pitching is obviously strong at the top, but I’m not a believer in Martin Perez or Andrew Cashner. I love the idea of Tyson Ross, but think his recovery is a flip of the coin. And that’s basically what I’m giving the Rangers this season.
The bullpen is ridiculously strong, and most importantly, nimble. As our very own Texas Rangers expert , Stephen Francis, said, manager Jeff Banister knows how to adjust his roster. If Dyson struggles, he has three other worthy candidates who can fill his shoes as closer. They’ll be overworked, but they will be the backbone of the team.
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The Rangers will do well with Shin-Soo Choo primarily playing DH. Overall, the lineup is strong but inexperienced. I believe a youth movement will lead the Rangers and show a ton of promise. But with youth come mistakes and with so much youth comes too many mistakes. This will be a building year for the Rangers that will lay the foundation for the next decade.
Here’s the biggest catch: If Ross becomes the Ross of old, the Rangers will have the best 1-2-3 in the AL. If not, they miss the playoffs completely. For better or for worse, Ross is the linchpin of the season.
Prediction: 2nd place in the AL West with 87 wins
What Stephen Francis believes
This might be one of the toughest Rangers seasons to predict in a while. I mean, we’re talking about the team that had the best record in the American League last season and nearly went coast-to-coast as number one in the AL West. They started the season as underdogs, yet overtook the Seattle Mariners on May 29 and never looked back. This Rangers team resembles that one.
Once again, most national media outlets aren’t giving them a chance to win the West. Sure, they lost Derek Holland and Carlos Beltran, yet those guys weren’t major parts of last season’s roster. The loss of Mitch Moreland will sting a bit, but bringing in Mike Napoli for a third stint in Texas certainly cushions the blow of that one.
Okay, I’ll give you Colby Lewis. Even though there’s still a scenario out there where he comes back mid-season, his absence hurts. That guy could go out there and give you seven innings on 110 pitches and walk back to the dugout ready to come out for the eighth because the score says 2-2.
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But there’s still a lot to like about this team. The Rangers have one of the game’s elite catchers in Jonathan Lucroy, three big power bats in Napoli, Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre and two bona fide aces in Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels. That’s why they’re the back-to-back defending AL West Champions, and until the Houston Astros can do something about it, they’ll remain so.