It's felt like the longest season for the Texas Rangers. In a horrible AL West, the Rangers finally have some momentum into the All-Star break and lead the division by 1.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.
Jacob Latz is the only All-Star representing the Rangers in 2026, as he's made an incredible comeback after losing the last starting pitching gig to Kumar Rocker. But Latz looks like he's found his niche, as he won AL Reliever of the Month in June. He logged an MLB-high 11 saves with a 1.13 ERA across 16 innings.
Since then, ending the month of June with a six-game win streak, the Rangers are starting to look like a team. It's still a narrow lead, but at least there's some momentum to go off here.
The Rangers are finally taking charge of their weak division
The Rangers had a struggling start, which isn't the end of the world, but it was frustrating to see them look mediocre in arguably the worst division in the American League.
Texas has been breathing down Seattle's neck for most of the season, and it looked like the Mariners were running away with the division in early June, but the Rangers have the last laugh -- at least for now.
A lot of that had to do with Corey Seager, their star shortstop, going through the worst slump of his career. 0-for-27 and 11 strikeouts isn't good for anyone, but especially not the face of the team. Apparently, he was trying to get over an injury, but still, it wasn't the best look for the leader to go through such a slump.
Most of that slack has been picked up by the others, like Ezequiel Durán, a surprise dark horse who's energized the team, Jake Burger, who's leading the team in home runs, and Josh Jung, who's leading the team in batting average with a .298.
The Houston Astros are three games back, but there's not really a race after that. The Athletics and Los Angeles Angels are eight games and 11.5 games behind the Rangers, respectively.
There's some clear momentum here, but they have to keep it going all the way to September. Still, anything can happen, but this is about the most confident they have looked all year.
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