Powerful Texas Rangers Lineup Ranked as Top 10 Unit in MLB by Expert

The Texas Rangers slugged their way to the World Series in 2023, and heading into 2025, they still boast one of the most fearsome offensive attacks in MLB.

Texas Rangers inflieder Corey Seager (5) high-fives teammates after his 2-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Stadium on Sunday, March 2, 2025. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the Texas Rangers stunned the baseball world in 2023 by winning the World Series, they did it on the back of a potent offensive attack that seemed to always come up with the big hit in the most crucial moments.

When they followed up in 2024 by failing to make the playoffs altogether, it was largely because many of the same core pieces that created the prior year's success fell well short of expectations.

Now, the Rangers are a trendy pick to bounce back and contend for another World Series title in 2025, and it is largely due to a renewed faith in the team's ability to put runs on the board.

That is exemplified by the vote of confidence that MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince gave the Texas lineup when he ranked them as the 10th best lineup in the league heading into the 2025 campaign.

"I’m giving the final spot to the Rangers," Castrovince wrote. "To include them on this list requires belief in positive regression to the mean. This was the best lineup in the American League in 2023 and then, last year, it was like ordering loaded brisket nachos at Globe Life Field and only getting plain tortilla chips... Projections, such as those at FanGraphs, insist the Rangers will bounce back this year. It’s hard to argue with them, though it should go without saying that Texas needs to keep Semien and Seager on the field."

The Rangers' projected lineup features entrenched veteran stars and middle infield duo Marcus Semien and Corey Seager at the top.

Young, promising outfielders Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter are joined at the position by slugging right fielder Adolis García, and newly acquired sluggers Joc Pederson and Jake Burger join catcher Jonah Heim and third baseman Josh Jung to round out the nine.

On paper, it is a lineup that should slug well above average and fare well enough at putting the ball in play, drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts.

If Semien and Garcia bounce back from disastrous seasons and Langford and Carter continue their upward trajectory while staying healthy, there is no reason that this lineup would not threaten the top five in the league and lead the Rangers back to the postseason.

Still, this is a volatile group that shares a lot of DNA with the unit that finished 22nd in all of MLB in wRC+ as a team just a year ago.

Texas has perhaps the widest range of outcomes of any lineup Castrovince included in his top 10, but his overall optimism is well-founded. There is too much talent on this team to struggle so mightily at the plate again in 2025.

Recommended Articles

feed