Texas Rangers' Offensive Inconsistency Holding Team Back From Reaching Potential

If the Texas Rangers want to live up to their potential, they need to start producing at the plate.

Apr 15, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (left) and Texas Rangers right fielder Adolis Garcia (right) celebrates a run scored by Seager against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have had to battle a lot of adversity early in the 2025 MLB regular season, dealing with injuries to key contributors and players not performing up to expectations.

That has led to the team dropping in the most recent edition of the MLB power rankings shared by The Athletic (subscription required), which were put together by Tim Britton, Johnny Flores Jr. and Andy McCullough.

The Rangers fell from No. 5 down to No. 11, losing five out of their last six games played entering the week. That dropped their record to 9-7 on the year, but somewhat miraculously, they remained atop the American League West.

Despite the brutal stretch, a 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in their first game this week got them to 10 wins, giving them a half-game lead in the division.

Since they have faced so many obstacles early in the year, the glass-half-full view of this start is that the team is legitimately good. 

If they are winning despite so many things not going in their way, imagine the kind of success they will have once players return from the injured list and others get on track.

Right now, the biggest problem they are facing is a team-wide slump that could be having a major drain on the clubhouse.

Coming into the season, many people would have picked Texas as having the deepest lineup in baseball. They were loaded 1-through-9, especially after acquiring Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins to play first base and Joc Pederson to handle the left-handed hitting side of the designated hitter platoon.

Both of them have struggled mightily, combining for a -1.2 WAR. Burger has a .151/.182/.302 slash line across 55 plate appearances with two doubles and two home runs. Pederson has a .070/.184/.093 slash line with one double and zero home runs.

They are far from the only hitters who are scuffling.

Marcus Semien has produced a .117/.182/.183 slash line, creating legitimate worries that Father Time has caught up to him after his numbers took a concerning dip in 2024.

Through 17 games, the 15 positional players who have stepped on the field for Texas have a combined 0.5 WAR. It is hard to envision the team struggling as a whole to this extent all season, as things have to turn around soon.

Incredible starting pitching has been the backbone of their success to this point, but if they want to remain legitimate World Series contenders, they need to start scoring runs.

Their 3.24 runs per game are the third least in baseball right now. They are 0-6 when allowing above the league average of 4.32 runs per game, with all of their success only occurring when they receive elite pitching performances.

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