ARLINGTON, Texas — Last season, backed by an incredible first half, a league-topping run differential of +148, and an offense that led baseball in hitting, slugging, innings with crooked numbers, hitting with runners in scoring position, and games of scoring at least ten runs, the Texas Rangers pulled off an amazing rarity at the All-Star Game.
Among the fan-voted starters for the game, Texas had five players take the field at T-Mobile Park in Seattle for the Midsummer Classic. Shortstop Corey Seager, second baseman Marcus Semien, third baseman Josh Jung, catcher Jonah Heim and outfielder Adolis Garcia all began the game; and even Rangers’ de facto ace Nathan Eovaldi was the first pitcher out of the bullpen for the American League which meant five of the six players on the infield during the second inning were Rangers and six of the nine players total.
Just one year later, after the six All-Star Rangers team wound up winning the World Series, the All-Star Game is coming to the champ’s city, by pure coincidence. The Rangers, however, after a star-studded 2023 season, might be in danger of sending just one requisite player to go play in their own backyard.
At the moment, the only Ranger with a shot at starting the All-Star Game is Semien. Having made it to the second round of the fan vote, the two-time All-Star second baseman will have to wait until Wednesday evening to see if he will start for a second consecutive year.
Fans have until Wednesday at 11:00 AM CDT to cast votes. Currently trailing perennial Houston Astros candidate Jose Altuve, Semien needs help to give Texas just one starter at Globe Life Field later this month.
To state the obvious, at 38-46, the Rangers have underperformed. There’s no pretty way to say it, but the defending champs have played flat, uninspired baseball in the first half of their reign as World Series champions.
Injuries were expected to be an issue for the club but most of the injuries have been to the pitching staff, while much of the offensive prowess that made the team so dangerous last year has been quieted and humbled. As of writing, the Rangers’ run differential so far in the first half is a shocking -10, while the team played above .500 baseball for just the first month of the season. The results have seen the defending champions drop to third place in the American League’s weakest division.
So it should come as no surprise that fans aren’t itching to load the AL squad with Rangers like they did last season when Texas got off to a 40-20 start. Should Semien fail in his bid to earn a starting nod, it’s worth considering who else could earn a spot for Texas on the American League roster at the All-Star Game.
The incumbents
It might be hard to select a position player for the Rangers this summer, as the underwhelming performance as a whole from the team can be directly linked to an underperforming lineup from near top to bottom. Simply put, the All-Stars from last year have floundered in 2024, even those whose names could be mentioned among household superstars.
Jung looked like he could be on his way to a repeat All-Star appearance in his sophomore season, batting .412/.474/.941 in his first 17 at-bats. But he was hit by a pitch that took him out for the first half with a broken wrist.
World Series MVP Seager was hurt in spring training, rusty to begin the season, and as soon as he heated up, hit the IL with a hamstring strain. Overall, the 2023 league MVP runner-up has been pedestrian with a .260/.345/.451 line and 15 home runs – not a bad line, but not Corey Seager-esque. It also pales in comparison to the two leading vote-getters, Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles and Bobby Witt, Jr. of the Royals.
Catcher Jonah Heim has been one of the best catchers in the league, both offensively and defensively, over the last couple of seasons, but this year he’s flown far below the heights that he achieved, hitting below-average after his outstanding year in 2023.
Then there’s Adolis Garcia, the 2023 ALCS MVP. After dominating the postseason and nearly single-handedly helping Texas make it past the Astros last October, Garcia has slumped mightily. The Cuban with the powerful, difference-making bat and cannon arm was slugging above .500 and had 20 home runs at this point in the season when he started the All-Star game last year. This season, Garcia is barely a blip on anyone’s radar.
The candidates
There is one Ranger, however, who should receive consideration for a role, and that’s bench-player-turned-everyday starter Josh Smith. Since taking over everyday duties at third base for the injured Jung, Smith has outperformed every expectation of him in the field and at the plate.
Already well on his way to surpassing a career-high in games played, the 26th man on the roster on Opening Day has become Texas’ most consistent performer. As of writing, Smith is hitting .290/.384/.451 with a career-high seven homers and career-high 33 RBI. He’s put up a 3.4 WAR, which leads fellow teammate and All-Star candidate Semien by a full win. Smith may never be a household name, but there’s no denying that he’s been the most dependable player for the Rangers in the first half.
On the pitching side, the Rangers sent Eovaldi to the Midsummer Classic last season after he earned May Pitcher of the Month honors in the American League. By the end of the season, he was the league’s final winning pitcher as he claimed Game 5 of the World Series to give Texas their first-ever championship.
This year, however, Eovaldi has spent some time on the injured list after a lengthy 2023 season that saw him throw an additional 36 ⅔ innings while carrying the Rangers in October. With Texas seeing nearly their entire starting staff hit the shelf at various points this season, it’s been difficult for Eovaldi to carry the load again like he did last season.
If manager Bruce Bochy is going to go to bat for his guys, three pitchers might be worthy of the All-Star roster that will be helmed by Bochy. On the starting side, Jon Gray has been the Rangers’ best starter in the first half. A mark against him is that two of his last three starts have been his worst appearances of the season, but in the 12 games before this most recent stretch, Gray had been among the best in the league.
In those 12 games, 10 starts, Gray posted a 1.53 ERA with opponents hitting just .223 against him, all while allowing just two home runs during that stretch. Much in the way that Eovaldi stepped up when deGrom hit the IL last year, Gray has stepped up to lead the rotation with several starters hurt this season.
Texas also has two relievers that it could send to the All-Star Game – offseason free agent signees David Robertson and closer Kirby Yates. Robertson, who last made an All-Star appearance with the Yankees in 2011, has had something of a resurgence with the Rangers as their setup man.
So far, Robertson has a 3.34 ERA, which doesn’t necessarily stand out on paper, but he’s been a guy who gets outs for the team and bridges the gap to Yates. He’s also posting a career-high in strikeouts per nine innings at 13.9. Yates, meanwhile, has been as lockdown as the Rangers could have hoped for after bringing him in to help stabilize the team’s weakness from 2023.
Sporting an 0.95 ERA over 28 games, a WHIP that’s at his lowest since the last time Yates was selected as an All-Star in 2019 with the Padres, and a career-low hits per nine innings, Yates is probably the most deserving of the Ranger pitchers to head to the All-Star Game and if Semien isn’t elected a starter by the fans, and Bochy can’t sneak Smith onto the roster, Yates might be the most likely representative.
Indeed, a year after they were the All-Star darlings, the Rangers might be sending just one player to this year’s edition, set to be played in their own backyard as the stars from yesteryears have all come crashing back to earth.
Who do you think should make the All-Star team for Texas? Share your Midsummer Classic roster thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
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