Guys and Dahls

 This week, Rougned Odor, who was one of the faces of the Texas Rangers for 6 seasons, was traded to the New York Yankees for some strange reason. The Yankees intend to use the now-beardless, strikeout-prone hitter as a utility infielder and a backup for D.J. LeMahieu. Hopefully he will take after Jay Bruce and learn to start hitting again.

But this, and the departures of Shin-Soo Choo, Lance Lynn and Elvis Andrus, leave the Rangers without much of an identity. They have a marquee star in Joey Gallo, but he's only really had one or two good years. There's no real ace, only one man in the lineup is over 30 [Brock Holt], 2 rookies have starting positions and only 4 players who came up through the team. 

And yet there have been some intriguing things going on in the first week of play. Right now, the biggest crowd-pleasers are a couple of guys pinched from other teams- Nate Lowe, former Rays infielder, has the highest average of anyone right now, and already has 3 homers; Nick Solak, former Yankee farmhand, has already stolen 2 bases; and David Dahl has been a contact success away from Colorado with 7 hits and an RBI already. They may not be where they wanted to ease into in the bigs, but they're helping the Rangers forge a new identity. Kiner-Falefa, Trevino and Gallo are more of the homegrown faces, but Dahl, Solak, Lowe and Dane Dunning are proof that the GM is capable of spinning contracts for up-and-coming stars. 

The pitching is a little scarier, though. Kyle Gibson was thankfully able to have a lights-out start today, but his first start consisted of him retiring only one batter and giving up 5 earned runs. Kohei Arihara is an alright pitcher who relies less on strikeouts and more on leverage, but his early ERA is shaky. And the Mike Foltynewicz experiment isn't going to work unless he figures out how to stop opposing offenses. The bullpen also has a few guys stinking it up right now, but hopefully after a few more series things will even out.

The Rangers aren't looking to be especially competitive this year, especially with a roster of rejects from other teams, but they're figuring out what to emphasize and how to get by. And taking a few games away from the Blue Jays is a nice start.

Coming Tonight: The rare pitcher who's allergic to Atlanta, and needed San Francisco to replenish his former numbers. 

A Dahl's House

Kind of weird that a team that seems to have a lot of its roster, including its lineup, set in stone, is in last place in the NL West.

Look, with this division in its weirdness, a bad week can land a team in last, and recently the Rox have had several bad weeks. The entire month of July was atrocious for this team, with so many consecutive losses, and only 6 wins throughout the entire month. It's not really indicative of the team, as it's really the rotation that's slipped a bit, and Wade Davis has become less consistent.

The lineup is...pretty damn solid. The obvious standouts are Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Tony Wolters, but...David Dahl has come into his own in the outfield, and has platooned with Raimel Tapia and Ian Desmond for a relatively strong outfield combo. Hell, even Ryan McMahon has looked sharp, which definitely helps, considering that he looked pretty pathetic last year. And while Daniel Murphy's numbers are the most pedestrian that they've been since his Mets days, he's still got 59 RBIs and a .289 average, which isn't bad.

I honestly doubt this team will spend a great deal more time in last, considering who's on, and what's working. They're tied with the Padres for last, and they have a bit less right now, but...the Rockies' starting pitching, aside from Jon Gray, has become a bit more concerning, and the ERAs are the type of high that can be expected from Colorado.

I'm not thinking they're gonna accomplish much else this season, but the goal should be to stay out of last. Shouldn't be too hard.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of last place teams, this guy's looking like a serious performer for this specific one.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2018: Rockies

The Colorado Rockies...a year after just missing the playoffs, managed to sneak in, and go up against the Brewers for a little bit. Granted, they weren't going to win, seeing as the Brewers became unstoppable at that exact moment, but they managed to chase them for a little bit.

And oddly enough, it was a year that their core was a little less consistent than in 2017, despite better years from Trevor Story and Tyler Anderson. Plus, there was a slight improvement from Ian Desmond, whose average was a bit higher over .200 than it was last year. The guy's still far from his Nationals numbers, but he's still a fine first baseman.

 Chris Iannetta's first year in a Rockies uniform since 2011 was...not bad per se, but he's still one of the more unspectacular catchers in the league. He's not known for his offensive numbers, and he only had 4 errors behind the plate, so while he's not quite indestructible, he's still a solid defensive catcher. The Rox do seem intent on keeping him around, but I'd prefer them to pick up a younger, steadier catching option.

 After missing a year due to injury, David Dahl finally bounced back onto the Rockies' lineup, and did fairly well for himself, with a .273 average and 16 homers over 73 games. He's probably guaranteed a starting spot next to Gerardo Parra and Charlie Blackmon next year.

 Antonio Senzatela's role in the Rockies' pitching setup was greatly diminished compared to 2017, but he still pitched well enough. Senzatela only started 13 games, and only had 66 strikeouts, but with a 4.38 ERA. So he's inoffensively okay. Still, the core five of this rotation may continue to outdo him for time, and he may just be an extra option in the case of injuries. So hopefully he'll rise to that occasion.

Seung Hwan Oh was a late addition, dealt from Toronto to bolster the weak bullpen, and he definitely delivered, giving up only 6 earned runs in 22 innings, and leaving with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.031 WHIP. Thankfully Oh will be staying in Denver for 2019.

Coming Tomorrow- Three years ago they won a World Series. Now...ugh.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2016: Rockies

For third place, the Rockies had a pretty productive year.

Numerous starters had positive averages and a good amount of home runs, Trevor Story had a start to remember, Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez cemented their statuses as Rockies to remember, and DJ LeMahieu had another start so nice that I forgot to make a custom of him this year. It's weird.

This was a year where the pitching staff was made up of a few surprisingly nice arms, like Tylers Chatwood and Anderson, as well as a great rookie year from Jon Gray. With some re-tooling and consistency, the Rockies could be a lot better on that front than they've been in years.

David Dahl's rookie run, starting midway through the season, is a nice sign of what's to come, as there's clearly got to be a shirt to give Dahl room. He had a great streak during the season, giving the Rockies a sign than Dahl could be the future, after CarGo's assumed trade and some other moves. That's a nice bet to make.

Coming Tomorrow- The Royals did not repeat...but they didn't exactly tank either.