Series Preview: Texas Rangers (35-55) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (45-42)
Time for the second half to get underway, as the Jays play host to the lowly Texas Rangers, the current team of employment for the likes of Kyle Gibson, Joey Gallo, and Ian Kennedy, all of whom Jays fans and front office alike may be shooting covetous glances at.
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HOUSEKEEPING
In case you missed it: I wrote a bit about the draft and some other stuff, including the All-Star Game and the Vlad-related happenings at the All-Star Game, and that can be found here. The Best Bird material that you all crave can also be found there.
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Friday, July 16 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST): Jordan Lyles vs. Robbie Ray
Lyles: 18 games (17 starts), 96 ⅓ innings, 4.86 ERA/4.91 FIP/4.91 xFIP, 18.2 K%, 7.2 BB%, 283 BA Against/.274 xBA Against, 41.4 HardHit%
Ray: 17 games, 100 ⅔ innings, 3.13 ERA/3.94 FIP/3.15 xFIP, 32.0 K%, 6.2 BB%, .216 BA Against/.223 xBA Against, 48 HardHit%
Saturday, July 17 (3 p.m. EST/1 p.m. MST): Kolby Allard vs. Hyun Jin Ryu
Allard: 18 games (eight starts) 63 ⅓ innings, 3.69 ERA/4.16 FIP/4.03 xFIP, 23.6 K%, 5.0 BB%, .224 BA Against/.232 xBA Against, 35.9 HardHit%
Ryu: 17 starts, 98 ⅔ innings, 3.56 ERA/4.07 FIP/3.93 xFIP, 20.1 K%, 5.7 BB%, .243 BA Against/.256 xBA Against, 41.3 HardHit%
Sunday, July 18 (1 p.m. EST/11 a.m. MST): Mike Foltynewicz vs. Steven Matz
Foltynewicz: 18 starts, 100 ⅓ innings, 5.11 ERA/5.60 FIP/4.96 xFIP, 17.3 K%, 5.0 BB%, .267 BA Against/.263 xBA Against, 43.5 HardHit%
Matz: 15 starts, 76 ⅓ innings, 4.72 ERA/4.08 FIP/3.73 xFIP, 24.6 K%, 6.3 BB%, .273 BA Against/.249 xBA Against, 40.3 HardHit%
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 39-51
Run differential: -59 (369 Runs, 428 Runs Allowed)
Season Series vs. Blue Jays: 2-1
Record since the last series vs. Blue Jays: 32-52
Last 10 games: 4-6
As expected, the Texas Rangers are a bad baseball team. Not as bad as some of the other teams currently inducing their fans to gouge out their eyes, though. I wouldn’t say the Rangers really do anything terribly except in a historical sense. Their offence and bullpen have been okay at best, mediocre at worst, and their starting pitching, while really bad, bottom 10 in MLB for sure, hasn’t been the trash fire that say, Baltimore’s is.
Now that’s maybe going to change in the coming weeks, as Texas will likely be selling off parts in the coming weeks, with this series against the Jays being an exhibition to prospective buyers, including Toronto itself. The only major piece not set to face the Blue Jays being starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, who’s been one of the best in the American League last year. Dane Dunning and Kolby Allard have been solid behind him, while Jordan Lyles has been expectedly not great, and Mike Foltynewicz has been straight-up bad. The Rangers’ offseason forays into East Asia haven’t panned out this year, with the injured Kohei Arihara and the now-demoted Hyeon-jong Yang scuffling in their first seasons in North America.
The rotation, already the Rangers’ weakest point, is going to take a big hit when Gibson and potentially others are traded. So too will their offence, whenever Joey Gallo, their best hitter, gets shipped out. Gallo will leave the lineup in the capable hands of Rookie of the Year candidate Adolis García and Rays cast-off Nate Lowe, but the rest of the offence doesn’t inspire much confidence. Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s a solid shortstop, but that’s solely because of his terrific glove as opposed to his rather poor bat. Ditto rookie catcher Jonah Heim. Nate Solak and Leody Taveras have disappointed, while David Dahl and Brock Holt have been shambles at the plate.
The bullpen has actually been okay, but is also likely to take a hit once Ian Kennedy gets shipped out. Josh King, Spencer Patton, Brett Martin, and Josh Sborz have all mostly been the definition of good, not great, while Joely Rodríguez has been a great find, his inflated ERA notwithstanding.
Best Players Thus Far:
Kyle Gibson, Starting Pitcher, 2.29 ERA/3.88 xFIP, 21.7 K%, 7.6 BB%
Joey Gallo, Right Field, .239/.402/.522, 153 wRC+
Adolis García, Center Field, .270/.312/.527, 127 wRC+
Ian Kennedy, Relief Pitcher, 2.67 ERA/3.85 xFIP, 27.1 K%, 5.9 BB%
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Shortstop, .258/.295/.363, 81 wRC+
Key Under-Performers:
David Dahl, Left Field, .221/.253/.343, 62 wRC+
Mike Foltynewicz, Starting Pitcher, 5.11 ERA/4.96 xFIP, 17.3 K%, 5.0 BB%
Brock Holt, Third Base, .213/.295/.310, 71 wRC+