The Rangers Lineup Should Be Much Better Than We’ve Seen

Fans of the Texas Rangers are growing weary of the lack of offense. All of last season, they heard that the team was going to start hitting. Just wait, it will turn around, they were told. It never did. At least not anywhere close to the clip that they scored in their championship season of 2023. So when the club made a conscious effort to improve the offense this past offseason, there was reason to be optimistic.

And yet, after the first 23 games, the offense as a whole has been worse than even last season. Sure, the team has a great record of 14-9. After Monday’s win over the Athletics, the Rangers are still in first place in the AL West. The club has found a way to win five of its six one-run games, which has helped tremendously.

Over the course of a 162-game season, there are sure to be ups and downs for just about every hitter. The issue has been the number of guys who are starting out the season slumping. It’s not everyone on the team, but it has been a significant number. And they aren’t just struggling, they aren’t hitting at all.

It has also been some of the main guys who, on paper, looked to be the keys to turning the offense around in 2025. Will they start hitting? They should. Historically, they are solid hitters who are simply cold at the moment.

Joc Pederson and Jake Burger Are Struggling

Texas added some key bats in the offseason. Specifically, they went out either in free agency or via trade and targeted players with power who could hit the fastball. Both of those things were issues last season.

Bringing in Jake Burger, Joc Pederson, and Kyle Higashioka was supposed to help the offensive numbers. Higashioka has been extremely solid and has paired well with Jonah Heim, giving the Rangers a salty two-headed monster behind the dish.

But to date, Burger and Pederson have had little positive influence on the offensive production of the team. Through the first 23 games, the Rangers are averaging a measly 3.26 runs per game. That is even a far cry from last year’s 4.22 runs per game. Only the Rockies, Royals, and White Sox are scoring less runs per game to start the new year.

Burger is slashing .186/.230/.343, has three home runs, a 64 wRC+, and -0.2 fWAR. In 74 plate appearances, he has a 2.7 BB% and a 28.4 K%.

Pederson is hitting (or not!) .052/.141/.069, has not only zero home runs, but also no RBI. Over 65 plate appearances, he has a -37 wRC+ and -1.0 fWAR.

Not quite the production thus far that the Rangers were expecting out of their two big splash power bats that they added.

No Walk in the Park (Pun Intended)

Tim Hyers left Texas to become the hitting coach for his hometown Braves in the offseason. That paved the way for new hitting coach Justin Viele to reunite with Texas’ offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker. The pair worked together in San Francisco in 2020-2021. Seth Conner is also still with the club as the assistant hitting coach.

So even though the Rangers officially have a new hitting coach this season, the approach at the plate seems to be the same as last year. The team is aggressive and is seeing many fewer pitches than their opponents. Part of the lower pitches seen total is the fact that the Rangers aren’t hitting as well and thus have fewer opportunities. But much of it has been their aggressiveness.

Entering Wednesday’s slate of games, the Rangers have seen the fewest number of pitches in MLB at 2,916. No other team has seen under 3,000 pitches. The Cubs lead MLB with 3,970 pitches seen. Yes, that is over 1,000 pitches more than Rangers hitters have seen this season. The Cubs have played two more games than the Rangers, but you get the point. Texas isn’t seeing enough pitches.

The real indicator of that fact is the low number of walks that the team is working. The Rangers are last in baseball in total walks (52) and second-last in BB% (6.6).

Corey Seager is a notoriously aggressive batter who doesn’t take many pitches. And while that works for him, the rest of the team doesn’t need to be following suit. In 2023, the team was ready to pounce on their pitch and do damage. Last year and through the start of this season, the team seems to have expanded their zone and perhaps is having a hard time recognizing their pitch.

There Are Some Bright Spots

Not everyone in the Rangers lineup is hitting badly. There are just as many or even more that are doing well.

The previously mentioned catching duo of Heim and Higashioka is performing great. Seager isn’t on his MVP caliber path quite yet, but he does have four home runs, an .813 OPS, and a 135 wRC+. It’s nice when those numbers are off his expected output.

Wyatt Langford is back from his oblique injury and has been hitting well all season. He is slashing .292/.386/.625, has five home runs, a 12.3 BB%, 17.5 K%, and 189 wRC+. Extension anyone?!

Statistically, the best hitter on the Rangers team has been utility hero Josh Smith. Ever since he had to step in for Josh Jung early last season, Smith has performed at a high level. He is hitting .367/.456/.571, leads the team in runs scored with 11, and has a 200 wRC+.

Jung and Adolis Garcia aren’t performing to their peak, but they are doing decent. Garcia smashed the walk-off home run on Saturday to take down the Dodgers. And rookie Dustin Harris has been a bright spot since being called up a few weeks ago.

Will the Texas Rangers’ Offense Get Going?

So, back to the big question. Are the Texas Rangers going to get their offense going in 2025? The easy answer is that they should.

In addition to Burger and Pederson struggling, both Marcus Semien and Leody Taveras have been terrible thus far. Semien’s hitting line is .160/.231/.247, and he has only scored six runs. Taveras has a slash line of .197/.210/.246 with only a 1.6 BB%.

Some of the guys that are hitting good can, and more than likely will, hit even better. And as for Pederson, Burger, Semien, and Taveras, well, they honestly can’t do much worse at this point.

There have been many rumblings about getting Semien out of the leadoff spot, and if he doesn’t turn things around quickly, that should most definitely happen. Texas can’t afford to be giving up outs both at the bottom of the order and the leadoff spot, and expect their main guys in Seager and Langford to be able to drive anybody in.

Perhaps a pregame movie is in order for the Rangers. Moneyball should be the choice. In fact, maybe the team should watch it every day until the offense decides to focus on getting on base and not chasing after every pitch that they see. Narrow where they are looking and pounce when they see it.

Look, this offense is still one that can go off at any point, even though they haven’t. They have yet to score over six runs in a game and haven’t beaten anyone by more than four runs. Thank goodness for the outstanding pitching that they have received.

Hitting is hard, and yet the guys on the Rangers have a track record of crushing it. When they all get going, and yes, I do believe that they will, they are going to be a force. The positive is that they have struggled and are still leading the AL West. Now it is time to get all the bats and their patience, going to extend that lead.