Home Opener!!!

So far so good. Our Rangers had an Opening Day on the road in the City of Bootherly Love (spelling intentional), stopped by beautiful Camden Yards, and came home with a nice 4-2 record. I believe we would all be happy to continue on that pace!

You can’t really form any definite conclusions after the first week of the season, but I am pretty sure that Nathan Eovaldi will not be the only Texas pitcher with a loss. Neither he nor Jacob deGrom looked very good in their starts, but the rebuilt bullpen has picked up the slack, and the other starters looked solid. Still don’t know who will be the closer when the dust settles - at this point long reliever Tyler Alexander leads in saves with 2. Prior to this year he had one save in his eight year career. Fun with numbers - he’s on a current pace to have 54 in 2026. It will be interesting to see how the relievers shape up this year. The Rangers have a long standing record of indecision in this role.

Small sample size, but I do have some observations. The offense seems to have a better approach this year. More patience at the plate, fewer out of zone swings, some situational hitting. These are favorable trends that need to continue. We can’t predict the pitching to be as outstanding as it was last year, but we can reasonably expect it to be very good. If Eovaldi and deGromm stay healthy, new acquisition MacKenzie Gore delivers, and Jack Leiter continues to improve that’s a very nice 1-4. Then you have the versatile Jacob Latz and the potential of Kumar Rocker. And we also have Cody Bradford who will soon be ready to contend after last year’s surgery. Quality depth.

With an improved offense, the Rangers could be contenders. How can that be achieved? It starts with Brandon Nimmo. He will set the tone from the lead off position. I like Langford and Seager at 2 and 3, but what happens after that?If Jake Burger can provide consistent power at cleanup it changes the dynamics. Then we need a full year from Josh Smith and Evan Carter who have shown flashes of brilliance, but not consistency. The catching tandem of Higashioka and Jansen will be adequate, and a step up from last year’s woeful production. That leaves two slots - Josh Jung and Joc Peterson. These two have to improve or changes will be made sooner rather than later. Jung looked so good in 2023, but has regressed since then. And Peterson will go down as the worst free agent signing in Ranger history unless he totally turns it around.

I would mention I really like the addition of Andrew McCutchen. He provides veteran leadership and is a proven clutch hitter, especially against left handed pitching. Add him to Zeke Duran and Sam Haggerty and you have quality impact role players.

So there’s my blueprint. Will it work? We’ll see. I LOVE Opening Day. The flyover, the Anthem, the player intros, the excitement in the air. I’ll be right in the middle of it!

That’s one man’s opinion - what’s yours?