![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sox1fan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/josh-hamilton.jpg\")
<\/a>\nRangers LF Josh Hamilton<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Texas Rangers<\/strong> (2010 record: 90-72)<\/em><\/p>\n The Texas Rangers won their first American League pennant, but eventually lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Their drive to the Fall Classic was spurred by an MVP season from LF Josh Hamilton<\/a><\/strong>, a Rookie-of-the-Year campaign from closer Neftali Feliz<\/a><\/strong>, and all-star efforts from five players.<\/p>\n The defending American League champions lost southpaw Cliff Lee<\/a><\/strong> through free agency this winter. It seems to me that Lee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loss, in combination with the loss of several quality prospects they traded to Seattle in exchange for him, will be difficult to overcome in the short term.<\/p>\n The Rangers needed another starting pitcher after his departure, and while Brandon Webb<\/a><\/strong> may prove to be a nice addition, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more likely to be this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version of Rich Harden<\/a><\/strong>. I expected the front office to jump on Carl Pavano<\/a><\/strong> once Lee bid them adieu, and I suspect they may regret not jumping in on him.<\/p>\n Notable additions:<\/em> 3B Adrian Beltre<\/a><\/strong>, OF Endy Chavez<\/a><\/strong>, LHP Arthur Rhodes<\/a><\/strong>, C Yorvit Torrealba<\/a><\/strong> and RHP Brandon Webb<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Notable subtractions:<\/em> DH Vladimir Guerrero<\/a><\/strong>, LHP Cliff Lee<\/a><\/strong>, C Bengie Molina<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The offense:<\/strong><\/p>\n Catcher:<\/em> Mike Napoli<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Infield:<\/em> Mitch Moreland<\/a><\/strong> (1B), Ian Kinsler<\/a><\/strong> (2B), Elvis Andrus<\/a><\/strong> (SS) and Adrian Beltre<\/a><\/strong> (3B)<\/p>\n Outfield:<\/em> Josh Hamilton<\/a><\/strong> (LF), Julio Borbon<\/a><\/strong> (CF) and Nelson Cruz<\/a><\/strong> (RF)<\/p>\n Designated Hitter:<\/em> Michael Young<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The offense will be formidable if it can remain healthy. Nearly all of the key contributors have had trouble remaining on the playing field throughout an entire season.<\/p>\n The attack will again be led by a pair of oft-injured corner outfielders \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Josh Hamilton<\/a><\/strong>, the reigning AL MVP, and Nelson Cruz<\/a><\/strong>, who would almost-certainly be an MVP candidate in if he remained healthy for an entire season. Hamilton has alternated healthy and injury-plagued seasons, but when healthy has produced outstanding numbers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as evidenced by last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s OPS+ of 175. Cruz has yet to accumulate 500 ABs in any single season. Last year, he was limited to 108 games by a hamstring injury. His .318 batting average was driven by a 35% hit rate \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that should correct down to about 30% with a corresponding dip in his average (to the .260-.270 range).<\/p>\n 3B Adrian Beltre<\/a><\/strong> produced an outstanding effort during his lone season in Boston, earning him a six-year, $96 million deal with the Rangers. He has hit .265 or better, with 25+ HR and 75+ RBI, in 4 of his last 5 seasons. He has outstanding career numbers at Rangers Ballpark \u00e2\u20ac\u201c posting a .306 BA and .521 slugging percentage in 51 career games.<\/p>\n DH Michael Young<\/a><\/strong> has been pin-balled from second base to shortstop to third base during his Rangers career, and with the acquisition of Adrian Beltre<\/a><\/strong> he has now been removed from the field all together. He made it known he is not happy with this latest development and the team has attempted to trade him (and his $16 million per year salary). Whether he spends the year in Arlington or elsewhere, he is a consistent contributor on offense, having amassed a .300 career average, 158 HR and 811 RBI.<\/p>\n Elvis Andrus<\/a><\/strong> will not provide much in the way of power or production atop the Rangers lineup (his 6 HR in 2009 were most likely an outlier), but the young shortstop has exhibited excellent plate discipline during his first two seasons in the big leagues. He will likely hit somewhere around league-average (.270), but his walk rate (10%) should enable him to post consistently-solid OBPs. He has excellent speed and base-stealing instincts (65 SB in 2009-10), and should score somewhere in the vicinity of 100 runs with Young, Hamilton, Cruz and Beltre hitting behind him.<\/p>\n 2B Ian Kinsler<\/a><\/strong> made two trips to the disabled list last year. He struggled to hit home runs at the pace his team had become accustomed, but otherwise compiled strong statistics\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he posted a .286\/.378\/.412 line on the season.<\/p>\n Mike Napoli<\/a><\/strong> comes to town from division rival Los Angeles, by way of Toronto. The front office hopes he will stabilize a catching situation that has been in flux for the last couple of years. He has 20+ home run power, but has had trouble making contact (just a 71% contact rate over the last four seasons) and struck out a career-high 137 times last year. He has hit less than .250 in three of his five seasons in the big leagues.<\/p>\n When Justin Smoak<\/a><\/strong> was shipped off to Seattle in the Cliff Lee<\/a><\/strong> deal, the Rangers turned to rookie Mitch Moreland<\/a><\/strong> at first base. They liked what they saw of him in the regular season, when he hit .255, with 9 HR, in just 145 AB. They subsequently included him on the post-season roster\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he rose to the challenge, hitting .348 with 7 RBI in 15 games.<\/p>\n Julio Borbon<\/a><\/strong> got off to a slow start last season, but improved as the year progressed. The fleet-footed center fielder was asked to incorporate the bunt into his offensive game and he responded with 17 bunt singles. This year, I suspect he will be asked to steal more bases, as he has the speed to steal 50+ bases.<\/p>\n The pitching staff:<\/strong><\/p>\n Rotation:<\/em> LHP CJ Wilson, RHP Colby Lewis<\/a><\/strong>, RHP Tommy Hunter<\/a><\/strong><\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0RHP Derek Holland<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>and RHP Brandon Webb<\/p>\n Closer:<\/em> RHP Neftali Feliz<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n CJ Wilson\u00c2\u00a0moved from the closer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s role into the rotation and had great success. The southpaw went 15-8, with a 3.35 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, last year while striking out 170 hitters in 204 IP. With the departure of Cliff Lee, he is the unquestioned ace of the staff.<\/p>\n Righty Colby Lewis returned to the US last year after spending two year in Japan (he went 26-17, 2.82, in two seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball). When all was said and done, he may have been the biggest surprise in the major leagues in 2010 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c going 12-13, with a 3.72 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 201 IP. It was the most strikeouts recorded by a Rangers pitcher since Nolan Ryan had 203 K in 1991.<\/p>\n Tommy Hunter went 13-4, 3.73, as a starter last year \u00e2\u20ac\u201c largely based on luck (27% hit rate and 75% strand rate) and getting more than six runs per game in offensive support. I have questions as to whether he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll develop into a consistent winner in the big leagues. His gb-fb ratio sits at 50-50, which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the formula for success in Rangers Ballpark. He issues a fair number of walks and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t miss enough bats to get out of difficulty when it presents itself.<\/p>\n There seems to be some debate about whether Matt Harrison or Derek Holland should be in the rotation, but it seems obvious to me that Holland should be the choice here. Harrison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s numbers are pedestrian, and his walk-rate is trending in the wrong direction. He had excellent peripherals early last year, and while he showed rust after returning from knee and shoulder woes, his early-season performance showed\u00c2\u00a0considerably more\u00c2\u00a0potential than Harrison has shown of late.<\/p>\n The last slot in the rotation\u00c2\u00a0should go to former Arizona<\/a> ace Brandon Webb when and if he gets healthy\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 or maybe I should say, IF he gets healthy. The big righty has tremendous stuff, but he has made just one start over the last two years due to shoulder troubles.<\/p>\n The Rangers toyed with the idea of moving Feliz into the starting rotation this year, and while they have moved him back to the closer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s role the front office has said he will join the rotation next season. While he initially resisted the switch to the rotation,\u00c2\u00a0he later\u00c2\u00a0embraced\u00c2\u00a0the idea of his\u00c2\u00a0new role in the rotation. For now, he will return to the bullpen as a\u00c2\u00a0dominant closer, with a fastball that\u00c2\u00a0regularly sits at 96-98 mph \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with the ability to hit 100-mph. He has a good curveball that\u00c2\u00a0will cause knees to buckle on occasion, but it will flatten out and become hittable if he does not stay on top of it, or if he lowers his arm angle. His changeup is a work in progress. Opposing batters get the ball in the air nearly half of the time when they make contact against him\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and Rangers Ballpark is not a place where you want to give up a lot of fly balls.<\/p>\n Prediction for 2011:<\/strong>1st place (92-70)<\/em><\/p>\n The Rangers should be good enough to repeat as division champs, but the road may be more difficult. For all of the talk about Cliff Lee<\/a><\/strong>, the Rangers accomplished what they did in 2010 without him, and when he arrived he was just 4-6, 3.98, in 15 starts \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hardly the stuff of a Cy Young winner.<\/p>\n The offense will once again be very strong, if the lineup can stay relatively healthy. Ultimately, the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success in 2011 will be predicated on the pitching staff \u00e2\u20ac\u201c whether Feliz makes a smooth transition into the rotation, whether Webb can get (and stay) healthy, whether Lewis can repeat last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s surprising performance, whether Hunter and Holland can develop into\u00c2\u00a0consistent performers, and whether the bullpen can repeat last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success (when their 3.38 ERA was good enough for second in the league).<\/p>\n If the answer to many or most of these questions is in the negative, then it is entirely possible the Athletics will overtake the Rangers for the division crown.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n Top Five Prospects:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Tanner Scheppers<\/a><\/strong>, RHP Scheppers entered the 2008 college season as a highly-touted prospect at Fresno State, projected to go in the top ten in the June draft, but a shoulder injury ended his season prematurely and he dropped down to the second round. He did not sign and eventually played in the independent American Association\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he was then chosen in the supplemental phase of the first-round in 2009 and signed with the Rangers for $1.25 million.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nRangers top prospect, Tanner Scheppers<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\n2. Martin Perez<\/a><\/strong>, LHP
\n3. Jurickson Profar<\/a><\/strong>, SS
\n4. Michael Kirkman<\/a><\/strong>, LHP
\n5. Engel Beltre<\/a><\/strong>, OF<\/p>\n