Texas Rangers Finding Success in Different Manner This Season Compared To Last

The Texas Rangers are in a similar spot this season as last, but their start feels more sustainable.

Apr 17, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (5) celebrates his solo home run with third baseman Josh Jung (6) against the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning at Globe Life Field. Seager’s home run was his 100th as a Texas Ranger. / Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

Coming into the 2025 MLB regular season, there were a lot of people who thought the Texas Rangers could be the cream of the crop in the American League.

Their lineup had been bolstered in the offseason by the additions of first baseman Jake Burger and designated hitter Joc Pederson. They would provide some legitimate power, giving the Rangers arguably the best 1-through-9 in baseball.

A bullpen revamp also occurred with Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin all hitting free agency. 

Chris Martin, Luke Jackson, Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong and Jacob Webb were all signed in free agency in response. The team also acquired Robert Garcia in a trade with the Washington Nationals.

Their starting rotation looked strong as well, with some incredible depth. Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Cody Bradford, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter were all in the mix during spring training.

On paper, this looked like one of the strongest rosters in the MLB.

Of course, games are played on the field not on paper or the computer and some things haven’t gone according to plan.

Injuries have hit the roster again with Gray, Bradford and Leiter all hitting the injured list. Emerging young star outfielder Wyatt Langford was also sidelined for just under two weeks.

That hasn’t slowed the team down, with Texas currently residing in first place of the American League West with a 13-9 record.

Their success out of the gate has them ranked No. 9 in the MLB power rankings done this week over at The Athletic (subscription required).

The theme of this edition was comparing year-over-year results, seeing how much teams have improved, or worsened, from this time last year.

The Rangers remain in the same spot of the ranking as they did in 2024. But, things unraveled for them after that.

Their pitching staff was largely to blame with injuries and underwhelming performances doing them in. Some advanced stats hinted that regression was coming, but the start this year feels more sustainable because of the dominance on the mound.

“Would you like to venture a guess which rotation leads the AL this year in ERA (2.85), FIP (3.34), fewest hits allowed (86), fewest home runs allowed (11, tied with Seattle), earned runs allowed (37) and opponent’s batting average (.201), while leading the entire sport in walks-per-nine (2.24) and WHIP (0.96)?...

For now, that translates to exactly the same ranking they had last year. But maybe that makes sense — they’re in the exact same position in the standings they were last year, too,” wrote Levi Weaver of The Athletic.

Mahle and Leiter likely aren’t going to sustain ERAs of 0.68 and 0.90 for the entire season with eye-popping ERA+ numbers of 576 and 442, respectively.

But the entire staff has shown flashes of brilliance, and the new bullpen has been excellent.

Why this start feels different from 2024 despite some of the similarities is that the offense hasn’t gotten close to its peak.

When things get on track at the plate, combined with the stellar pitching, Texas will look like the contender many predicted them to be.

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