The 2020 campaign is about to get underway. Players are beginning to report to their respective camps, coaches and staff as well. There is a chance that the ’20 season will be the most unique of our lifetimes, and I believe it will be. Shortened season, players opting out, and expanded rosters are going to make for an exciting season from beginning to end. For the Texas Rangers to have a chance to be there at the end, they are going to need a few things to go right. We talked about it on our Podcast, but I thought I would expand on it here in my weekly article.
Here, in my opinion, are the top ten things that need to happen for the Rangers to be a success in 2020:
Number 10 – Production from the infield (Rougned Odor in particular). For the entirety of the 2019 season, Odor had a slash line of .205/.283/.439 with 178 strikeouts. He did hit 30 home runs, but his batting average was laughable. In 2018 his wins above replacement was 3.1, in 2019 it was 0.0. Odor’s runs above replacement went from 29 down to -1. Basically, he started slow, continued slow, and finished slow in 2019. He is not going to be given a long leash in 2020. I think that the team will not hesitate to pull the plug on Odor in 2020 if he is not productive. They have to if they want any chance at all of having a successful season. Ronald Guzman will also be on a very short leash as the first baseman. He needs to step in up as well.
Number 9 – Overall player health. Seasons have been derailed in the past by a plethora of injuries in season. In 2014, the Rangers finished 67-95 on the season. They were plagued with so many injuries it was almost unfathomable. While injuries are a part of the game of baseball, we don’t want them to tell the story of a season. Excessive injury will give the Texas Rangers no chance to compete in a sixty game season. With veterans like Shin-Soo Choo, Jeff Frazier, Elvis Andrus, Robinson Chirinos and others on the offensive side, they cannot afford to lose many of these guys to the injury bug. Experience wins games, and if Rangers begin dropping like flies, the Rangers chances of advancing to the post season will begin dropping as well.
Number 8 – A hot start. No team can afford to start 2-8 or 3-7 in a sixty game season. The Rangers are included in that. They need to win at least eight or nine of their first fifteen. It’s important that the club has a cushion right from the beginning of the season. Honestly, there isn’t enough time for the club to make up ground if the start slow. Consider that they majority (40) of their games are going to be against division opponents. See where I’m going? Think if the Angels start 7-3 while the Rangers start 3-7, you have 50 games to make that up. And in at least 20% of those games they will be playing the Angels. At worst, the Rangers need to be .500 against the other AL West clubs, at best they need to win every series with them. A hot start could go a long way to helping them advance to the post season.
Number 7 – Prospect/Rookie production. Guys are going to get days off. That is inevitable in any sport during any season. The reason that rosters are being expanded is to help with either injury, sickness or needed off days. Those minor league players the Rangers have put on the sixty man roster need to be ready to go and they need to be productive. The Rangers can’t lose every game that a prospect is starting. These guys need to use this opportunity to showcase to the coaches and to Rangers nation what they can do and why they deserve to stay in he bigs going forward. It will be pivotal to the success of 2020.
Number 6 – Establishing a routine. One thing we all know about baseball players is that they love routine. Starting pitchers always seem to have a game day routine. Position players have a walk up song and an at bat routine. Making sure that the players have a routine will be very important to the day to day for players. They need to feel that everything is as normal as it can be even with the circumstances that are going on in the World. That will make for a much more productive team in my opinion.
Number 5 – Bullpen cohesion/friendship. When a bullpen is loose and laid back, and they all trust each other, seasons seem to go much better. I believe this is a key to a well oiled bullpen. If you look back to the 2010 and the 2011 seasons, the bullpen guys hung out all the time. They looked relaxed and laid back in the pen during games. If guys are worried or don’t like one another out in the pen, that can cause major problems on the field when it is their time to shine. Super important that they are friends or at least rooting for on another.
Number 4 – COVID-19 needs to play nice. If a load of players begin coming down with the virus, the baseball season will be lost. Right now it seems to be teetering on the edge anyway. If we have more cases, than we will have less and less major league talent playing. I believe that it would become a snowball effect and the season would be shut down. Hopefully as a country we can beat this thing and help get the economy back in tip top shape. Canceling the baseball season after everyone reports will be expensive both in the short and in the long term.
Number 3 – Careful team management. Chris Woodward is going to have a tough assignment in 2020. He needs to use his players to the best of their abilities, all while keeping them rested and safe. A very tall order if you ask me. He is going to have to manage the team in a way that puts the best product on the field while keeping players safe and free from injury. Admittedly a tough assignment, but the manager that does it the best is going to go far into the post season.
Number 2 – Fun! When your players aren’t enjoying themselves, then they won’t play as good. They need to be enjoying the journey. Think back to the claw and antler days. The Rangers need something like that to bring together the community and the team. With the possibility of no fans in the stands, they really need to feel like they are having fun. I know it sounds crazy, but you all remember how fun the two World Series runs were. I would love it if they once again brought that feeling to the fans.
Number 1 – The starting five need to be great. This may be one of the top five rotations on paper that the Rangers have ever fielded. Lance Lynn, Corey Kluber, Mike Minor, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles can be a great rotation. Also, it could be one of the most disappointing rotations in club history. Opportunity is there, waiting to be fulfilled. It is up to those five guys to make something happen. I really hope that they find a way to play at the top of their game for the sixty games plus the post season. I don’t think there will be an in between in 2020. They will be great, or they will fail. They need to be great as a starting unit, and if they do, we may still be talking about the Rangers later than we have in several years.
