Many Texas Rangers fans forget that Matt Harrison was the Opening Day Starter for the Texas Rangers in 2013 and not Yu Darvish. Ron Washington decided that Matt had earned that eight after the great 2012 season he had (18-11, 3.29 ERA). Then Matt Harrison missed almost all of last season due to having to have back surgery and the Texas Rangers made Yu Darvish their undisputed number one pitcher.
Harrison was very disappointed with the way 2013 went for him, and all accounts I have read make me think that he has worked his tail off to get back to a premier pitcher. I would be super excited if Matt were to win 18 games again for the Texas Rangers in 2014, but I don’t expect it. I expect Matt to stay healthy and to be a good, not great pitcher. I think he will be a little rusty coming off of not pitching in so long, but as the season wears on I expect him to get stronger.
Matt is, in my opinion, one if the main keys to the Texas Rangers 2014 season now that Derek Holland is out for a large portion of the season. If Matt has a really bad season, then the Texas Rangers are going to have a tough time making the post season. Matt’s health is huge for this season, and is all of the rotations, but I think Harrison is a very big key. As Matt Harrison goes, so too will the Texas Rangers go, in my opinion.
