2009 Preview: Texas Rangers

2008 was a successful year for the Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton dazzled, Ian Kinsler amazed, and Chris Davis emerged. They finished second in the division and took a giant leap toward becoming a contending team. The team should be happy with how the season went, even though they finished 79 – 83.

Projected Lineup:
C – Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B – Chris Davis
2B – Ian Kinsler
SS – Elvis Andrus
3B – Michael Young
LF – David Murhpy
CF – Josh Hamilton
RF – Nelson Cruz
DH – Hank Blalock

Projected Rotation:
#1 – Kevin Millwood
#2 – Vicente Padilla
#3 – Matt Harrison
#4 – Brandon McCarthy
#5 – Jason Jennings
Closer – Frank Francisco

Position Battles:

C – If Jarrod Saltalamacchia does not perform well; the Rangers have two more catchers behind him that will step in for him. I believe that the Rangers won’t hesitate to do so because Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez are solid catchers. For now I believe Salty has the job and he should keep it for the season because he has some real talent.

LF/RF – This is not a real big position battle, but other players (Marlon Byrd, Brandon Boggs, Andruw Jones, and maybe even newly acquired prospect Greg Golson) might be switching into these spots throughout the season. For the most part it should be pretty consistent.

SS/3B – If Elvis Andrus is not playing well and is not ready for the majors then Michael Young will move back to the SS spot and Travis Metcalf will probably move to 3B. This is not a real position battle either, it is just a certain scenario that could happen which would move some players around.

2009 Outlook:
The Rangers have an unbelievable offense and they will probably rank very high in most of the hitting categories. Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, and Chris Davis should have really big years and anchor the offense. The problem that I see with the team is their pitching. Kevin Millwood is their number one starter and yes he is a good pitcher, but he is not a number one starter anymore. They do not have an ace on the staff and that is going to really hurt them. I do not think they have enough pitching to make a real run at the playoffs this year, even though they should have a very potent offense.

Projected Finish: 3rd Place, AL West