Rangers Hitting Report: Hits, Misses, Concern Index 22 Games Into Season

The Texas Rangers have been a much different offense at home than on the road, albeit the samples sizes are much different.

Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers attempted to re-make their lineup in two different ways this offseason.

First, any acquisitions had to bring the ability to get on base to the lineup. That explains brining in outfielder Brandon Nimmo and catcher Danny Jansen.  Second, the players that remain from last year had to get better at doing different things at the plate.

The results so far? Mixed, but due to one big factor. The Rangers have been a much different offensive team away from home (15 games) than at Globe Life Field (seven games). With nine straight home games coming up, the organization will have a much better sense of how the offense is working by May.

Rangers Hitting Through 22 Games

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager high fives Brandon Nimmo. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Here’s a look at how the Rangers have batted in four key areas through 22 games.

At Home: .203/.263/.308, two home runs, 10 RBI.

On Road: .251/.332/.421, 22 home runs 77 RBI

Against Right-Handers: .255/.333/.426, 21 home runs, 70 RBI

Against Left-Handers: .196/.264/.296, three home runs, 17 RBI

It’s not surprising the Rangers would struggle against left-handed pitching. Texas has taken three-quarters of its at-bats so far against right-handed pitching. But it is an issue the Rangers are trying to address. Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters on the road trip that they plan to start having a left-hander throw batting practice on a regular basis to help try to boost that slash.

The bigger issue is that batting average at home. Even with the huge disparity in games at home than on the road, a 48-point difference is disappointing. A difference of 19 home runs borders on making slug irrelevant at Globe Life Field. Adding nine games the home sample should give Texas more data to work with.

For now, the slash through 22 games is .240/.316/.393 with 24 home runs and 87 RBI. Texas is 14th in batting average in the Majors entering the homestand.

The Hits

Texas Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo. | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Top of the Order

The Rangers have generally employed Brandon Nimmo, Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Jake Burger in the top four spots. Nimmo leads the team with a .311 batting average. Burger and Seager lead the team with four home runs, while Nimmo has four. Langford started the season on a massive slump but is back to batting .241. Seager’s power belies a .200 batting average, a slump he’ll likely hit his way out of. The quartet isn’t clicking 100%, but it’s close.  

The No. 8 Spot

Given that Nimmo leads the team in batting average at .311, it’s no surprise the leadoff spot is the top hitting spot in the order What is surprising is that the No. 8 spot is No. 2 with a .286 batting average. It’s not generating much power. But with a .368 on-base percentage, that’s the sort of number a team wants to see as the lineup snakes back to the leadoff spot. A number of players have batted in this spot, so it’s a collective effort.

The Misses

Texas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The DH Spot

The Rangers have gone with a two-headed monster at DH with left-hander Joc Pederson and right-hander Andrew McCutchen. As a combo they haven’t generated much power. They’ve combined for two home runs and eight RBI.

Pederson started the season 0-of-16 before he hit his home run, and it seemed to have spurred him a bit. His batting average (.229) still isn’t where he or the Rangers want it, but he has a .345 on-base percentage as he’s tied for the fourth most walks on the team. The vibes were great for McCutchen opening weekend, but since then he’s slumped to a .207/.250/.379. It’s possible Ezequiel Duran might start getting some of McCutchen’s right-handed DH at-bats.

Josh Smith

The knock on Smith the last two seasons has been a slow finish to the season. This time he’s off to a terrible start at the plate. He’s slashed .185/.284/.200 with no home runs and five RBI. Two seasons ago he won a Silver Slugger as a utility player. Playing the same position each game should be helping Smith’s offense. At least that’s what players tell everyone.

Texas started the season by giving him at-bats against left-handed pitching. The right-handed hitting Duran may start siphoning those off after he’s gotten off to a solid start with a .289/.347/.422 slash

Concern Index: Medium

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

One must temper this with the understanding that the Rangers have never played 15 of their first 23 games away from home. But, given how anemic the offense was during the first homestand, that turned out to be a good thing. Now, the next nine games will be a real test of what this offense can be. The Rangers want to be a team that gets on base, create traffic and pass the baton to the next hitter.

How well the Rangers hit on this homestand will go a long way toward determining if medium is the right concern level entering May — or if it should be higher or lower.