On The Horizon: Cubs vs. Rangers series preview
Things are lower than ultimate for the Texas Rangers at the moment. The group is three video games below .500, and Wyatt Langford and Josh Smith are each on the injured listing, and sure, if you happen to test the BR web page, each gamers have gotten off to dangerous begins, however Langford, specifically, profiles as one of many Rangers high gamers, so his absence hurts the lineup.
On the opposite hand, the Rangers have performed both probably the most tough schedule up to now this season, or the second most tough schedule, relying on the place you look, and are simply two video games behind the Northern California Athletics within the American League West, so, you recognize, issues may very well be worse.
The Rangers could have the Vandy Boys — Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter — beginning the primary two video games of the series. Each has been up-and-down this season, trying nice at occasions and looking out terrible at different occasions, usually in the identical recreation.
Rocker is a sinker/slider man who has a changeup that’s nonetheless a piece in progress, and who generates a ton of floor balls. His slider is his finest pitch, and when he is on, he throws it for strikes sufficient to maintain hitters from sitting on his sinker. When he isn’t on, he struggles to throw strikes and hitters will tee off on his sinker. Rocker is horrible at holding on runners, and the Rangers catchers aren’t nice at throwing out baserunners, so the Cubs will nearly definitely look to run on him. Base stealers are 5 for five in opposition to him this season, and 17 for 17 in opposition to him in his main league profession.
Leiter, however, depends on a high-speed, high-spin fastball that generates swings-and-misses. He launched a kick-change final 12 months that he is used rather more this 12 months — his second most regularly thrown pitch — and, unusually, he throws it regularly to righthanded hitters in addition to lefties. It generally is a devastating pitch, however he struggles to command it — if you happen to take a look at the warmth map for the changeup, you will note that the pitch can find yourself anyplace from above the batter’s head to hitting the bottom 4 toes in entrance of the plate. When Leiter is on, he racks up Ks and will get a variety of pop ups and lazy fly balls. When he isn’t on, his pitch rely will get uncontrolled early on, and he provides up a variety of loud contact within the air.
Jacob deGrom is slated to pitch the finale. You might need heard of him earlier than. He’s fairly good. He’s now not “best pitcher in baseball” Jacob deGrom, however he’s nonetheless “legitimate No. 1 starter” Jacob deGrom. The largest subject with deGrom is that he is rather more homer-prone since getting back from Tommy John surgical procedure — he is allowed simply 13 runs this 12 months, however 6 residence runs, and allowed 26 homers final 12 months.
The bullpen is a set of no-names, however you have got carried out fairly nicely up to now this season. Manager Skip Schumaker has tended to go along with Jakob Junis and Jacob Latz as his main choices late in video games with a lead.
The offense has been erratic. Corey Seager is off to a sluggish (for him) begin, though he is nonetheless received a 114 OPS+. Brandon Nimmo and Josh Jung are off to nice begins offensively, although Nimmo is nursing a hamstring subject that has restricted him of late — he is missed a few video games over the previous week, and DH’d when he has performed. With Smith and Langford out, the Rangers have had to make use of Andrew McCutchen — on the roster as a platoon DH — within the outfield some, and put Joc Pederson in proper subject in opposition to the Yankees on Thursday, one thing we hope we are going to by no means should see once more.
Globe Life Park performed very hitter-friendly in 2023, when the Rangers received the World Series, however for the reason that begin of the 2025 has performed as an excessive pitchers park as a result of ball not carrying nicely in any respect. A ball off the bat that looks like it ought to land 10 rows again will find yourself caught on the warning observe. Don’t be stunned if we now have a low-scoring series.
