The Texas Rangers have traditionally had a rough time with the second half of the season, but this season seems to be a little different. While they are winners of 7 out of 10 games, they do have hit a bump in the road with the AL-worst Oakland Athletics.  The Rangers were quiet during the trade deadline and stand only 4 ½ games back from the Angels in the West and only 3 ½ games back from the Wild Card as of the time of this writing (8/6/09).

With Nolan Ryan emphasizing pitcher endurance during the offseason, the fruits of his labor are being shown this late into the season.  The bright spot of the Rangers pitching spot has been the health of Kevin Millwood (until recently with a gluteus strain). Millwood, the ace of the staff, has 8 quality starts and a 3.39 ERA.  Pitching is keeping the Rangers afloat in the race, while the offense has tailed off.  Quite a paradox when someone considers that the Rangers have prided themselves on offense and offense alone.  Scott Feldman, surprisingly has 10 wins on the season and leads the club in wins.

Texas is now in the top 8 in the AL in strikeouts, BAA, quality starts, walks and ERA.  The bullpen is ranked as the fourth best bullpen in the AL.  While things are looking up on the pitching staff, the Rangers need to find their bats once again.  Their bats this season has landed them in the bottom five in BA, on-base percentage and runs scored.  In 2008, they finished the season first in all those categories.

Many critics had the Rangers finishing third in the West, but the Rangers find themselves in the playoff hunt with a month and a half to go in the regular season.  Pitchers like Derek Holland and Scott Feldman have filled in their roles as starters for the injured Brandon McCarthy and Matt Harrison, and have done a good job.  The bullpen is amongst the best in the league and Josh Hamilton is finding his groove back at the plate.

Texas had the number 1 rated farm system coming into the season.  We’ve seen many of those players in and out and they have produced.  One such player was Neftali Feliz, who struck out 4 straight and had a sickening 101 MPH fastball.  Another player that could be called up later this month is Justin Smoak, who is batting .379 in AAA.  He was drafted in ’08.

There is plenty of baseball to be played and not many expected to see Texas in contention this season.  Ron Washington’s job is safe for another season.  It’s anyone’s race in the West and it may very well come down to the last series of the season for the Angels and the Rangers.

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1B/DH Justin Smoak

“Chris Davis has had his struggles at the plate hitting .200 in June.  He is on pace to break the record for most strikeouts in a season.  For a batter, that’s not a good stat to lead in.  Biggest word from Rangers camp is bringing in offensive phenom Justin Smoak.  Smoak is tearing up the minor leagues and currently bats .355 at Triple A Oklahoma.  Smoak was last season’s number one draft pick out of South Carolina.  Josh Hamilton remains hurt and has not had a good rehab stint.  He may not be back until after the All-Star break.

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“All things considered, the Rangers were projected to finish next-to-last in the AL West, something they have been accustomed to this decade.  They have shown progress in pitching and defense, but now their main concern is to get the bullpen and Josh Hamilton healthy.  No one expected (me included) the Rangers to be over .500 at this point in the season and certainly not contending for the lead in the AL West.  June has traditionally been a good month for the Rangers, but not this season.  July is a month where they traditionally lose it. Perhaps their fortunes will turn around.”

Last season, two months into the season, the Rangers had nine players see the DL.  This season, two months in, the Rangers have only seen five.  The ability to stay healthy has helped, but they are finding out they can win without their star, Josh Hamilton.  With Hamilton out of the lineup, the Rangers went 9-6.  Andruw Jones has filled in nicely in Center and DH and Michael Young is playing well at third base.

The Rangers’ pitching staff is no longer the laughingstock of the league.  The impressive feat of the staff is getting more quality starts and getting quality holds and saves.  They rank in the top five in saves, quality starts, WHIP, and BAA.  It is impressive what a new mindset can do for the Rangers.  Nolan Ryan‘s preaching of better conditioning and healthier attitude is working.

While it is too early in the season to tell whether the Rangers will falter down the stretch, they are riding high on momentum which they have not seen since 1999, the last season they saw the playoffs.  The Angels are lurking behind, but the biggest question that remains is can the Rangers keep up this momentum past the All-Star break.  Traditionally, the Rangers have faltered after the break.  There’s a lot of baseball left to be played and right now, nothing can be ruled out.

Rookie SP Derek Holland

Rookie RP Thomas Diamond

Instead of finishing last in the league in team ERA, the Rangers are currently 11th in the league and 8th in quality starts.  Since the beginning of the season, Kason Gabbard has been traded back to the Red Sox and Kris Benson has seen two starts pushed back.  In comes the number one ranked farm system.  The Rangers had their first glimpse of highly touted farm player Derek Holland, a hard throwing left handed pitcher.  He has pitched five innings, struck out five and has hit 98 MPH on several of his pitches. Thomas Diamond has also cracked the pen and he will be an eager one to watch as the season progresses.  The future is definitely looking bright for the pitching staff given the recent struggles they’ve had with injuries.  Now that the farm system has a plethora of players to fill in the gaps the pressure is staved off for the time being.

First place in the West? Possibly, but health and pitching need to be their first priority.

If you like what Wayne has to say about the Rangers, please visit him at Texas Rangers News.

On the offensive and defensive side of the ball, the Rangers did very little in the offseason. Signing Andruw Jones was a win-win situation. The ten-time gold glove winner will compete for a starting position in an already crowded outfield rotation that includes Josh Hamilton, Brandon Boggs and offensive terror Nelson Cruz. If Jones makes the 40-man roster, he will see split time with Hamilton and possibly see some time as DH. Rudy Jaramillo has helped work on the Jones’ swing and approach to the plate and appears to be in the position to make a run for a roster spot. If he doesn’t make the roster, the Rangers won’t pay him a roster bonus and can leverage him for a trade.

Despite the signings of Jones and journeyman Omar Vizquel, Texas played it conservatively. Still reeling from the Alex Rodriguez signing of yesteryear, the Rangers are limited with what they can do monetarily, however, developing the players in the minor league system is also important.

The rest of the AL West was quite busy as well with Anaheim and Oakland landing key offensive players to make a run at the AL Championship, but the true test of the Rangers will be to determine whether or not the group of core veterans, Michael Young moving to third and a healthy mix of highly touted rookies can push for a playoff spot, division winner or not. 2009 will be an important year for Ron Washington. If the defense and pitching don’t turn around he could be out of the job before the All-Star break.

This season expect the Rangers to find some gems in their pitching staff. Their offense will remain the same: dominant. The Rangers are still a season or two away from contending. Pitching will remain an issue for the Rangers because of their lack of experienced pitchers in the rotation. Despite Kevin Millwood and Vincente Padilla, the other projected starters are either in their second season of play or have bounced from bullpen to starting rotation.

Projection for 2009: 87-75, second place AL West. No playoff spot.

If you like what Wayne has to say about the Rangers, please visit him at Texas Rangers News.