While Lynn Continues to Dazzle, the Rangers' Starting Five Has Been a Huge Disappointment

The strength of the 2020 Texas Rangers was built on a starting rotation that had lofty expectations. However, injuries and inexplicable issues have humbled the group.

Any talk in January, February, or March regarding the Texas Rangers' chances for success—all before COVID-19 derailed everyone's way of life—centered around the starting rotation. Lance Lynn and Mike Minor were coming off seasons where they earned votes in the American League Cy Young race. The Rangers added two quality arms for the back of the rotation in Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles. Their grand finale was trading for two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

We were all forced to wait nearly five months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down Spring Training camps throughout baseball. Anticipation continued to build throughout the shutdown of what this rotation may look like once play finally got underway. The suspense came to an all-time high when the top three of Lynn, Minor, and Kluber were having stellar camps after workouts resumed.

Fast forward to the 23rd game of the season. Lance Lynn is taking the ball for a 10-12 Rangers team. He has the lowest ERA in baseball. He's one of the frontrunners for the AL Cy Young award. Rangers fans should feel good every time he takes the mound.

The rest of that starting five?

Oy...here we go.

The Rangers lost Corey Kluber after only one inning of work. He suffered a Grade 2 strain in his shoulder and was subsequently shut down four weeks. The most the Rangers could possibly get out of Kluber in 2020 is a quick rehab that allows him to pitch in relief while he potentially builds back up to starting form if the Rangers secure a playoff spot. That's the best-case scenario.

Mike Minor has not been anything close to what we're accustomed to seeing based on the previous two seasons in a Rangers uniform. In 2018-2019, Minor went 26-18 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. In 2020, he's 0-4 with a 6.94 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. In 2019, Minor led all of other pitchers in baseball with a 7.8 bWAR. His bWAR thus far in 2020 is -0.5.

"(I've) got to be better," Minor said after Tuesday's loss to San Diego. "There is nothing I can do. I can't sit here and pout. I feel like I am right there. I feel like some of the pitches aren't there. Not as consistent as I would like, [but] good enough to not give up six runs every time. I feel like I need to go deeper in the ballgame. I just have to be better."

Two of Minor's best pitches are not showing the same way they did in his fantastic 2019 season. Minor's fastball velocity is down nearly two miles-per-hour from last year Opposing batters only hit .252 against his fastball in 2019, but are hitting .300 against it this year.

Minor's changeup, which is his best out pitch, has nearly an inch less of horizontal movement than last season. Opposing batters only hit .178 against his changeup in 2019. In 2020, Minor is getting a higher whiff rate on his changeup this year. However, hitters are still having more success against it. The batting average against it is up 36 points and hitters are slugging .321 against it this year as opposed to .265 last year.

"It definitely feels different," Minor said. "It’s not moving the way I want it to. It doesn’t feel the same out of my hand and that’s something I’m working on. I have thrown some good one and gotten some strikeouts on them. It’s not where it needs to be."

In case you were wondering if the restriction against pitchers licking or blowing on their fingers had anything to do with it, Minor quickly shot down any notion that the health and safety protocols are affecting the pitch.

“No, I can feel it out of my hand as soon as I throw it," Minor said. "It’s not coming off my fingers the way I’d like. It doesn’t have the action I would like. I’ve thought about changing the grip again. I’m trying to make the adjustments. But It worked last year. It worked in previous years. So, why is it not moving the same or coming out the same? I just gotta look at it, I guess.”

Jordan Lyles has been much closer to what fans saw in Pittsburgh rather than the Milwaukee version the Rangers were expecting. Lyles is 1-2 with a 7.52 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP in four starts with the Rangers and has been tagged hard in the second inning of his two most recent starts.

Unlike Minor, Lyles doesn't have a more concrete answer to the problems he's having.

"If I could (pinpoint the issue), then these wouldn't keep occurring," Lyles said after Monday's 14-4 beat down by San Diego. "Overall, I need to do a better job preventing that crooked number."

Thankfully, for the Rangers' sake, Kyle Gibson has pitched pretty close to expectations. His 3.74 ERA is a solid number for a No. 4 starter. Two of his four outings have been quality starts, including an impressive 6 1/3 innings in Colorado on Saturday night.

There are a lot of reasons the Rangers are a sub-.500 team at 10-12. The offense has yet to truly awaken, the defense has been wildly inconsistent, and there are still some critical issues in the bullpen. 

However, the Rangers' original starting five has not been what they expected. As great as Lance Lynn has been, which could make him a very valuable trade asset if the Rangers decide to sell at the August 31 trade deadline, the starting five has not been what the Rangers needed to have a shot to compete. Blame it on injuries, lofty or perhaps unrealistic expectations, or just blame it on 2020. Might as well at this point.

"That's exactly what you have to expect in an MLB season," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "In a 60-game season, maybe it puts a little more stress on it. But these guys are still here. Jordan and Mike are going to be in the rotation. We're going to expect them to pitch well down the stretch for us."

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