[Music Pun Streak #4]
Somebody's gotta compile some numbers and check me on this, but I think the AL West is the single most injury-prone division in baseball. From the Astros' multiple position-player casualties, the Mariners losing Haniger right when he was taking off, the Angels losing, uh, EVERYBODY, and now the Rangers having their two marquee hitters, Joey Gallo and Hunter Pence, out before the stretch run.
I mean, I'm not saying those two ARE the Rangers, but...nobody else has stepped up as a star yet. You have guys like Danny Santana, Elvis Andrus and Shin-Soo Choo doing support work, and then you have Delino DeShields, Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara trying to nab that position but pedaling in reverse. You can see Willie Calhoun trying to stand out as a power-hitter, but he's too unpolished to get a great deal done. And you can see rookie Nick Solak making waves off the bench, but...it's too soon to say what his place on this team is.
The news-makers from this team have clearly been the pitchers. Lance Lynn and Mike Minor are both having not only career years, but are among the best arms in baseball this year. The fact that both of these guys were essentially written off before the year started, with Lynn only coming on late on a cheaper contract, and Minor not traded for...some reason...makes this even cooler. And having them locked up for a few more years while Brock Burke and Kolby Allard come into form could be pretty deadly for the rest of the AL West.
So, while this was not a great year to be a Rangers fan, I am thinking by the time their new stadium opens in 2020, they'll have a rejuvenated, and more impressive, team to run with.
Coming Tonight: A potential future HOFer mulls over his first-ever 'okay' season.
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