The Texas Rangers have had a curious road to the American League Championship Series.
They dominated out of the gate, but went just 50-52 from June 7 on. They spent 139 days atop their division, but couldn’t seal an AL West title. The Rangers acquired two of the most legendary pitchers of their era — Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom – in the last 12 months but began their playoff run with both of them on the shelf.
Despite this peculiar season, Texas began its postseason run by rattling off six consecutive wins to eliminate the two teams in the AL that posted the best record and gained an early ALCS edge. Now they’re three victories away from having an opportunity to fight for the first World Series title in franchise history.
While 2023 has included plenty of pendulum swings for the Rangers, there has been one constant around this team: these guys can hit.
During the regular season, the Rangers ranked third in the major leagues in runs scored (881), tied for third in home runs (233) and fourth in wRC+ (114). When the playoffs began the club didn’t slow down in the slightest, scoring 11 runs in two games against the Tampa Bay Rays and 21 in three battles with the Baltimore Orioles.
It’d be hard to characterize their 2-0 win over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS as an offensive explosion — but they survived a tussle with Justin Verlander and did just enough to earn a victory.
The team has enjoyed some solid pitching performances along the way, like the one they got from Jordan Montgomery on Sunday, but it’s clearly a bat-first outfit — and a good one at that. What should be concerning to other American League clubs is the lineup that has terrorized the playoffs so far is that it isn’t going anywhere.
Taking a look at the Rangers’ most common lineup — the one it used in Game 2 and 3 against the Baltimore Orioles and Game 1 against the Astros — it looks like a group that is likely to thrive in Texas for some time.
Corey Seager (29) — Seager is an elite left-handed bat signed through 2031 with a wRC+ over 145 in three of the last four years. It’s not an exaggeration to call him one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball.
Marcus Semien (33)— There has been some year-to-year volatility with Semien’s production but his wRC+ has been better than 120 in three of the last five seasons — and one of his down years was the shortened 2020 campaign.
Semien is a durable and productive power threat under contract through 2028.
Mitch Garver (32) — Garver is the one guy who isn’t sure to be around for the long haul as the slugger is set to hit free agency after the playoffs conclude.
Adolis García (30) — The outfielder is coming off a season where he set a career-high in home runs and turned his plate discipline from a weakness to a strength.
García has been an all-star in two of the last three seasons, and he has three more arbitration years remaining.
Evan Carter (21) — This top prospect looks like he could be an impact player at the MLB level.
He hit .306/.413/.645 in a 75 plate appearance cameo during the regular season and has mashed during the playoffs (257 wRC+). Presuming he stays up, he should be until team control through at least 2029.
Jonah Heim (28) — One of just seven catchers with an above-average wRC+ over 700 or more plate appearances since the beginning of the 2022 season. Ranks fifth among catchers in home runs (32) and sixth in WAR (7.1) during that time and under team control through 2026.
Nathaniel Lowe (28) — Lowe mashes right-handed pitching (exactly 130 wRC+ in each of the last two seasons) and remains under team control through 2026.
Josh Jung (25) — Jung is a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate with serious power and defensive ability who can’t become a free agent until after the 2029 season.
The third baseman has been dominant in these playoffs hitting .391/.400/.739.
Leody Tavares (25) — The speedy defensive specialist has a respectable career wRC+ of 95, and is under team control through 2027.
There is some nitpicking you could do with this group. Semien’s age is a concern. Tavares is no offensive star, though he’s not bad at the dish for a ninth hitter.
We’ll need to see a bit more of Grant and Jung before we know how they project to perform over a multi-year span in the majors, but the early returns are undeniable. Plus, 21-year-old prospect Wyatt Langford already reached triple-A after being drafted this summer, so he could join this core before long.
The lineup that was arguably the American League’s best during the regular season — that has carved up the best the AL East had to offer in the playoffs, and isn’t done yet — is almost all locked in for at least three more years. A few of them could get better and only Semien seems at risk of imminent age-related decline.
It’s easy to see the 90-72 Rangers making a run in these playoffs and assume that they’re nothing more than an anomaly. This postseason has been full of unexpected outcomes, and Texas doesn’t have an impressive regular season — or a postseason history like their ALCS opponent — to lend them legitimacy.
Their lineup is the real deal, though, and it could be a problem for the rest of the AL for years to come.
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