It’s June and the Rangers officially have the local sports spotlight pretty much to themselves. Hockey season is over. The Mavs are better left undiscussed. XFL hysteria has died down. Only the Wings mania and the Rangers for the next two months.
In case you were otherwise occupied or distracted, here are five things we learned about the Rangers in May:
Nathan Eovaldi is a leader: Actually, this started to become evident earlier, but he really stepped into the role on April 29, a day after Jacob deGrom went to the IL with elbow inflammation. He pitched a complete game shutout against the New York Yankees that day. But since deGrom’s exit, He’s gone 5-0 with a 0.77 ERA, a 0.75 WHIP and a .166 opponents batting average. He’s basically a shoo-in to be the AL Pitcher of the Month for May, which is becoming the month when Rangers pitchers bloom. Martín Pérez won the award last year.
Leody Taveras may have finally arrived: This was a critical season for Taveras. Though only 24, he’d really not created a foothold in three previous looks and No. 1 prospect Evan Carter, currently at Double-A, is coming fast. Thanks to a new “foundation” at the plate that has Taveras a bit more crouched, he’s able to better attack pitches.
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The benefit of the failure over the last three years was learning his strike zone with experience. He’s chasing about 15% less than he did a year ago and has cut his strikeout-to-walk rate in half. He’s making contact more often and its harder contact than it had been. The results: a .368/.419/.516/.935 slash line for May. Those numbers may not be fully sustainable, but it sure seems his highs are higher and so is his floor than it was a year ago.
Texas Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras is dunked by starting pitcher Martin Perez after the Rangers 13-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Globe Life Field on Sunday, May 21, 2023. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
They can play defense: Their win Monday at Detroit, keyed by a fantastic double play, really emphasized the value of the improved defensive play. But, by any metric, the Rangers rank as a top-tier team. Runs saved? They are sixth (+15), according to Sports Info Solutions. Fangraphs defensive index? Also sixth.
The middle infielders have found a groove after a year of getting to know one another. Taveras is playing with more confidence and aggressiveness in center field. Adolis García has a Patriot missile battery for an arm. Jonah Heim is the best framer in baseball. And Bruce Bochy can’t stop raving about how consistently solid rookie Josh Jung has been at third base.
The Rangers have been a bad defensive team in recent years. They performed fundamentals of all types poorly. The improved defense speaks volumes about the renewed attention to detail. And one other thing: Defense tends not to slump. There’s not so much “regression” there.
They can play on the road: The Rangers played 19 road games, split between two grueling three-city trips to the two coasts, in May. The road is a challenging test for a team trying to develop an identity and the Rangers had failed badly the last six years, positing the sixth-lowest winning percentage in baseball (.384). Alas, the Rangers won each of their six series and went 13-5 on the road for the month. It matched the franchise’s most ever road wins in a single month, set in August 2013.
Enjoy the ride: This is a good team with flaws. Just like any good team. But the brand of baseball the Rangers played in May was perhaps the single best all-around month in a decade. If not more. Yes, the bullpen needs reinforcements. Yes, Pérez has been more inconsistent than he was a year ago. No, they are not perfect. But its been so long since the Rangers have played this well, that it’s worth reminding: If you obsess over what could go wrong, sometimes you miss the beauty right in front of you. It’s a pretty fun team to watch right now. Enjoy that.
Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
5 things we learned about the Rangers in May: Baseball is fun again in Texas
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