Can Lance Lynn be the Texas Rangers ace?

The Texas Rangers signed starting pitcher Lance Lynn to a three year deal this offseason, can he be the ace they’ve been searching for?

Normally you save an answer to a query of this nature until the end of the article. But in this case I feel obliged to answer the Texas Rangers question now, and explain it later.

As many said under their own breath upon reading the title, the answer is “no”. To some, it may be a really big fat “NO”. For as much as many of us may have liked Lance Lynn over the years, he’s never been realistically considered ace material.

But depending how you define the word, “ace”, he may be closer than you think. Some consider ace to be another word for “elite” while others define it simply as the No. 1 starter in a starting rotation. To them you may be the second coming of Tanner Scheppers, but if you’re starting on Day 1, you’re the staff ace.

Even if Lance Lynn bounces back from Tommy John and becomes the man he once was, it still wouldn’t be good enough to meet the demands of the first definition. Because by that definition, there’s probably only about 10 aces in all of MLB.

But by the second definition, Lance Lynn has a chance of being the staff ace since he has a chance of being the No. 1 starter this season. Mike Minor (edit) is penciled in by some as the opening day starter, but it’s no guarantee he’ll even be with the club this spring. Even if Minor is, Lance has a decent chance of beating him out for the rotation’s top spot.