Texas Rangers 2019 Season Preview: Fantasy Analysis
Contents
Texas Rangers 2019 Season Preview
2018 Record: 67 – 95
Projected 2019 Record: 71 – 91
2018 Recap & 2019 Team Outlook
The Rangers finished with less than 70 wins, as the organization struggled again. They will have a tough time again, as the rotation is one of the worst in baseball. This also ties into a rather poor bullpen too. The offense has some big home run hitters, but nobody hit over .270 last season.
Looking ahead at 2019, the offense should be fun to watch at times. Joey Gallo is a 40 HR hitter, when he makes contact. You have the young Ronald Guzman to watch full time this year, who showed a good source of power. There are definite positives here if you look deeper than the record and projected record.
Now we will also need to see if Texas moves on from a lot of these names at the deadline. They need to make moves, and if they want to compete sooner rather than later, it will have to be now.
2019 Storylines
The Rangers are a team somewhere in no man’s land. They have some young names, but building around them hasn’t gone as planned. Joey Gallo is a near .200 hitter, but gives you pop. The rest of the bats struggle to hit for contact as well, but offer up power upside. Will this be the way Texas continues to build?
Texas needed to fill their rotation, and they did by adding names that need to prove their worth. You have Edinson Volquez, Lance Lynn, Drew Smyly, and Shelby Miller. None of these names have been healthy or pitching well over the last few seasons. We will hope to see at least one emerge to be a decent starter.
2019 Starting Pitchers
The free agent signings were mainly about focusing on the rotation. They might have somehow gotten worse, but time will tell. Mike Minor has pitched well, but would benefit from a move out of Texas and into a better ballpark to pitch in. He had over a ten swinging strike rate last season.
Edinson Volquez is looking to make his return to a big league rotation. He is what he is at this point, which is a middling right-hander with a dropped velocity. Heading into Texas isn’t a good fit for him, but he likely couldn’t get offers elsewhere.
Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller are two arms that are desperate for a bounce back season. The odds of that happening are slim to none. Both have struggled, and mixing them in a hitters park isn’t big for their upside.
Drew Smyly was a name on the rise, but arm injuries derailed his career. He will get an opportunity to pitch in Texas. The flyballs are scary here, but Smyly has potential to bounce back and move out of Texas if the right team bites.
2019 Relief Pitchers
Texas has had a bad bullpen the last few years, and not much has changed for 2019. Jose Leclerc is the talented arm that can close the door in the ninth. He has a lively fastball and swinging and miss stuff.
Getting to him is going to be the problem for the Rangers. Both setup names have over a four ERA projected, with below average strikeout stuff.
Connor Sadzeck has a monster fastball, averaging 97mph. If he can control it and use his off-speed stuff more. He can be a nice addition to the pen.
2019 Hitters
There isn’t a ton of speed within this Texas team, as it is a lot of low average bats who hit for above average power. Joey Gallo for example is someone who can lead the league in home runs, but also be at the bottom of the average category.
Delino DeShields and Shin-Soo Choo will split time at the leadoff spot at times, but this will be Choo’s job. He is an enticing outfield option, who flirts with a .265 average and 20 HR this season. DeShields has a tough time getting on base, but when he does he has the green light.
Nomar Mazara and Rougned Odor are two younger names still that have been in the league for a few seasons. Both have huge potential to breakout, but their floors are rather safe. Both project for 20+ HR seasons, with room for improvement.
Ronald Guzman is the young bat that eyes will be on. He is going to get a full season under his belt, but the numbers projected aren’t pretty. He is going to take some time to get adjusted.
Projected Starting Lineup
- Shin-Soo Choo
- Rougned Odor
- Elvis Andrus
- Joey Gallo
- Nomar Mazara
- Asdrubal Cabrera
- Ronald Guzman
- Delino DeShields
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Noteworthy Fantasy Pitchers
None
Noteworthy Fantasy Hitters
Shin-Soo Choo – Shin-Soo Choo just continues to produce at his age, and will leadoff once again for the Rangers. He had a .264/.377/.434 slashing line last season, with 21 HR. He projects around the same this year. While the Rangers are going to lose a lot of games, their offense should be able to still be around league average with room to improve. Choo is a safe bet to score 80+ runs as well.
