What Jake Burger’s Rangers Home Run May Have Told Us About What’s Ahead

Jake Burger’s first season with the Texas Rangers was forgettable. The first game of his second season was unbelievable.

Burger was one of two Rangers players with two or more hits in Thursday’s 5-3 opening day loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. But he also produced the biggest swing of the game for Texas, a two-run home run in the ninth inning that briefly gave the Rangers some life in a game that saw them with just four hits and a walk in the first eight innings.

Burger had two of those hits before the ninth inning, as he finished with a 3-for-4 game with two RBI and a run scored. He also struck out once.

Texas needs Burger to bounce back from an uneven, injury plagued 2025, especially given where he’s batting in the order.

Jake Burger’s Potential Impact

First dinger of the year goes to @Burgatron13 💪 pic.twitter.com/QbkxgbPMUw
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 26, 2026

Burger hit in the clean-up spot on Thursday, and it sounds like that will be his spot. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker would like to write the same four names in his lineup card in the first four spots — right fielder Brandon Nimmo, left fielder Wyatt Langford, shortstop Corey Seager and Burger. To do that, he needs consistency from Burger in a spot in the order where the Rangers have struggled the past couple of years.

That place in the order belonged to Adolis García for the past three seasons and as his chase rate increased, his production declined. It’s why Texas non-tendered García in the offseason. He landed with Philadelphia and was in the Phillies’ lineup on opening day.

If Burger hits like he did in 2023 and 2024, moving him into the clean-up spot will be a wise move. With the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins in 2023 he slashed .250/.309/.518 with 34 home runs and 80 RBI. In 2024 with Miami, he slashed .250/.301/.460 with 29 home runs and 76 RBI.

Those were the kind of numbers the Rangers envisioned when they traded for Burger before the 2025 season to replace Nathaniel Lowe, who was traded to the Washington Nationals for pitcher Robert Garcia. Burger didn’t deliver for a couple of reasons.

First, his swing was off to start the season, and he was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock for a week to work through some mechanics. Second, he was banged up for much of the season, missing time with a left oblique strain, a left quadriceps injury and a left wrist sprain. The sprain led to offseason surgery.

It all led to the worst season of his career, as he slashed .236/.269/.419 with 16 home runs and 53 RBI. Along with the offseason surgery, Burger slimmed down and strengthened his core with Pilates to try and get more flexibility.

If Thursday’s game is an indication, Burger may be the clean-up hitter the Rangers’ offense needs.