Four Sizable Overreactions for Texas Rangers After Excellent Start

The Texas Rangers are off to a strong start, but are there things to overreact about as they return home to host Tampa Bay?

Mar 31, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien (2) throws to first to get Cincinnati Reds third baseman Santiago Espinal (not pictured) out in the eighth inning at Great American Ball Park. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have gotten off to a good start in the 2025 season with a 5-2 record, despite some underwhelming results at the plate.

Their positional players have combined to produce a -0.1 WAR with a slash line of .192/.256/.327 through seven games and 235 plate appearances. That isn’t going to cut it, but they survived the first week because of elite pitching performances.

For how poorly they have hit, the pitching staff is on the opposite end of the spectrum, already racking up 1.6 WAR. Both groups are somewhere in the middle, but fans have to be happy seeing their record so far.

Given the extremes, some major overreactions have been shared over the first week of the season. Here are four of the biggest ones.

Marcus Semien Is Over The Hill, Showing His Age

Coming off back-to-back All-Star campaigns, the veteran second baseman is off to an incredibly lackluster start in 2025. In his age-34 season, is he beginning to show signs of aging and starting to slow down?

His power numbers dropped in 2024 and he had his lowest OPS+, 100 even, since 2018 in a 162-game campaign when he had a 95. He is 3-for-26 to begin the year without an extra-base hit, which is a concern out of the gate.

It is certainly something worth keeping an eye on, as his average exit velocity and hard-hit percentages last year were both below the league average as well.

Luke Jackson Has Locked Down Closer’s Role

Coming into the season, arguably the biggest unknown for the Rangers was their bullpen pecking order. They lacked an experienced closer and look to have turned to Luke Jackson to start the season.

He is 3-for-4 when it comes to converting saves, but his hold on the job looks shaky. Jackson has an 8.10 ERA across four outings and 3.1 innings of work with a just as ugly 6.73 FIP.

He is one of three relief pitchers on the staff who have a negative WAR to this point. Keep an eye on Chris Martin and Robert Garcia as potential options if Jackson’s good luck streak begins to run out.

Rangers Have Rookie of Year, Cy Young Winners Sharing Rotation

Pitching has been the name of the game so far for Texas and two of their starting pitchers have taken center stage: veteran Nathan Eovaldi and rookie Jack Leiter.

Eovaldi fired an incredible complete-game shutout against the Boston Red Sox and has thrown 15 innings on the season, allowing only two earned runs with 17 strikeouts. He has yet to walk a batter, either.

Leiter struggled mightily during his MLB debut in 2024, struggling with command while walking 17 in 35.2 innings and allowing seven home runs. That resulted in an ugly 8.83 ERA, but he has been dominant out of the gate this year.

Through two starts, he has allowed one run in 10 innings, striking out 10 compared to only one walk. He has yet to allow a long ball, stepping up with Jon Gray and Cody Bradford being on the injured list.

Big Offseason Acquisitions Are Duds

Texas made two big additions to their lineup this offseason, acquiring Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins in a trade and signing Joc Pederson in free agency.

They were expected to infuse power into a lineup that was below average in that department in 2024. After combining for 52 home runs last year, the two have gotten off to a slow start in 2025.

Burger is 3-for-24 with one home run and one double. Pederson is 3-for-19 with one double. This can hopefully be chalked up to a slow start with a new club, as both have the track record to heat up and pile up home runs rapidly.