Texas Rangers Top 10: Best players of 2020
By Taylor Dunn
Even bad teams, like the 22-38 Texas Rangers, have good players.
The Rangers offense ranked 29th in Major League Baseball in OPS (.648) in 2020. The pitching wasn’t much better, ranking 23rd in ERA at 5.02.
To put those numbers in perspective, the world-champion Dodger’s offense, lead by MVP candidate Mookie Betts posted an OPS of .821. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles pitching staff recorded a league-best 3.02 ERA.
Needless to say, the Rangers have a long way to go if they want to compete with with the “big boys” for a title.
There’s a chance that, even as a Rangers fan, you checked out of the 2020 season and didn’t follow the team as closely as you normally might. This was a weird season, to say the least, and our Rangers were a bad club. If you fall under that category, this top 10 list is for you.
These were the best players for the Texas Rangers in 2020:
10. Jose Trevino, catcher
Key stat: 10 XBH in 24 games
The Texas native was drafted by the Rangers back in 2014, but didn’t make his MLB debut until 2018. Trevino quickly proved he could hit in the big leagues and gave us memorable moment on Father’s Day in 2018.
The 27-year-old just played 24 games for Texas in 2020. Even still, Trevino placed second on the team in doubles with 8 and added a pair of homeruns. Before going down with a wrist injury in mid September, Trevino had proved himself to be one of the Rangers best hitters, regularly hitting 5th in the lineup.
Trevino offers solid play at the catcher position for Manager Chris Woodward next season and serves as a threat in the lineup.
9. Kyle Cody
Key stat: 1.59 ERA in 5 starts
Cody only made his debut in late August, but man did he ever flash talent.
Drafted out of the University of Kentucky, Cody was 6th round pick by the Rangers in 2016. The righty immediately showed promise and heads into 2020 with a shot at cracking the Opening Day roster.
The Rangers gave Cody a short leash, as teams often do with young pitchers, as he only recorded 22 innings pitched. But in those innings, the 26-year-old allowed only 4 earned runs and struck out 18.
Cody relies on 4 pitches and throws his slider the most. He demonstrated an elite ability to limit hitters to hard contact in his brief 2020 play.
Walks are a big issue here and he needs more experience. But moving forward, Cody is a player to watch as the Rangers rebuild.