5 Crucial Rangers Observations From AL Wild Card Series Sweep of Rays

Well that was easy. The Rangers' Wild Card Series was the first one to start in the MLB postseason and also the first one to end, with the Rangers only needing about 27 hours from start to finish of their sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ending the series so quickly gives us some time to celebrate, but there's not much rest in October. Attention now also turns ahead to the AL Divisional Series and a matchup against the 1-seed Baltimore Orioles.

We only had 18 innings to watch the Rangers in the first round, but some things really stood out that could have a big impact on the ALDS.

Here are our five key observations about the series.

Rangers News: 5 Key Observations From Wild Card Sweep of Rays

1. The Rotation is World Series Quality

This one has to be the easiest takeaway from the series. Giving up just one run across 18 innings to the Tampa Bay Rays is no joke, and the starters were nails.

Jordan Montgomery looked like he could've thrown a complete game if we needed him to. He struck out five with 0 walks and 6 hits through 7 scoreless innings, and his final inning only saw him face four hitters. There's no doubt that he's got what it takes to be a World Series ace.

There were some concerns about Eovaldi coming into this one, given the way he struggled to close out the regular season. But those concerns have fully been erased.

It wasn't quite seven scoreless, but Eovaldi only allowed 1 run through six and two thirds, striking out eight with no walks and 6 hits.

It's also not like this was a soft matchup for either pitcher, as this Rays offense ranked No. 4 in the MLB in runs scored in the regular season, with top-four marks in team batting average, on-base percentage and slugging.

You're not making a deep playoff run without dominant starters at the front of your rotation, and the Rangers have what it takes.