Texas Rangers Ace Not Considered Top Starting Pitcher Because of One Reason

The Texas Rangers ace was left out of the top starting pitcher rankings.

Sep 27, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers are one of the teams looking to bounce back in a major way during the 2025 season.

After winning the World Series in 2023, they fell flat in their defense of the title, winning only 78 games and missing the playoffs completely in 2024.

Injuries were a major factor. And players who were healthy enough to play weren’t replicating the same level of production they had in previous years.

With some better injury luck in 2025, things are looking up for a Rangers squad that is loaded up and down the roster.

One of the players who many people will be keeping a close eye on during the season is starting pitcher Jacob deGrom.

An argument can be made that he is the most dominant pitcher of his era. A two-time Cy Young Award winner and four-time All-Star, he was overwhelming and embarrassing opponents with regularity during his New York Mets tenure.

The only downside to his dominance was his inability to stay on the mound.

Unfortunately, that has followed him to Texas.

deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal ahead of the 2023 campaign in free agency. The Rangers knew it was a risk since he made 38 combined starts in the three seasons leading up to him hitting the market.

In two years with Texas, he has made only nine starts, as he underwent Tommy John surgery after six appearances in 2023 and was able to return to the mound for three starts before the end of the 2024 campaign.

That lack of durability is the only thing that is keeping deGrom off the top 10 of the starting pitching rankings put together by Buster Olney of ESPN.

The Rangers star was amongst 11 honorable mentions.

If deGrom can stay healthy in 2025, he will almost assuredly have a number next to his name when Olney does the rankings heading into the 2026 season.

deGrom has shown no signs of slowing down despite the surgery, as his nine starts with Texas were as impressive as his performances with the Mets.

He has pitched 41 innings with a 2.41 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Many of his peripheral and advanced stats are right in line with what New York fans became accustomed to throughout his tenure there.

Should that continue, the Rangers are going to be an incredibly tough team to beat.

Getting 25 starts from deGrom would certainly put the team in a position to have a ton of success this year.