ARLINGTON, Texas — December 3, 2022. That was when the first feelings of hope would enter the consciousness of the Rangers’ fandom after years of hard labor with the team under construction. On that day, it was announced that Jacob deGrom had signed a five-year, $185 million contract to be the ace of the Texas Rangers.
The deal came with its risks, and by virtue, its detractors, but the biggest thing the deal came with was the signal that the Rangers were no longer comfortable settling for the bargain bin baseball player. They were going for the big fish, and since the other fish in the pond weren’t ready to go out on their own, Chris Young and company went out and bought the big fish in the other ponds, bringing aboard Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney to round out a rotation that included Jon Gray and Martin Perez.
The feel good vibes carried through Spring Training and into the start of the season. There were some things that happened in the first half that were all too predictable, but there were quite a few others that nobody could have seen coming.
Despite a lackluster end to the first half of the season, there were plenty of bright spots and they deserve to be recognized with the Rangers holding down first place in the American League West.
First Half Cy Young – Nathan Eovaldi
Eovaldi, on top of throwing two complete games, completely stepped up as the ace of the Rangers’ staff when Jacob deGrom went down. His efforts resulted in him being named to his second All-Star game and earning the AL Pitcher of the Month of May award.
Eovaldi compiled a 10-3 record with a 2.83 ERA and has already crossed the 100-inning mark at 117 ⅔ innings and the 100-strikeout mark at 109. The 33-year old is experiencing one of the best seasons of his career.
Honorable Mentions: Dane Dunning, Jon Gray
First Half Gold Glove – Josh Jung
Defense was not one of rookie Josh Jung’s strong points during his debut few weeks in September last season. The Texas Tech alum, however, made it a point in Spring Training to improve his glove work. He improved his footwork and concentrated on making sure his defense was “boring” – meaning that he wanted it to be a given that there was an out when the ball was hit to him.
So far, it’s worked and he’s put in some of the best defensive work the Rangers have seen at third base in a few years, which has no doubt contributed to his first All-Star appearance, the first for a rookie at third base in nearly a century.
Honorable Mentions: Jonah Heim, Marcus Semien
First Half Silver Slugger – Marcus Semien
On a team that led the league in run production for the majority of the first half and put up video game numbers with runners in scoring position through the first two months of the season, it can be hard to find one stand out hitter. In fact, I looked at several of Texas’ best batters before settling on the most consistent hitter that the Rangers have had all year.
Despite sputtering in the last couple of weeks of the season, Semien leads the team in hits, doubles, runs scored and games played. He earned his second All-Star nomination with his play – but Texas will most certainly need him to pick up the pace again coming out of the break.
Honorable Mentions: Corey Seager, Ezequiel Duran, Leody Taveras, Jonah Heim
First Half MVP – Jonah Heim
This award could have gone to Eovaldi or Dunning for their outstanding work in stepping up when the odds were against the rotation or any number of the All-Stars the Rangers dotted along the AL lineup in Seattle on Tuesday.
It could have gone to Ezequiel Duran for seamlessly filling in when Seager was shelved for a month back in April. It almost went to Seager himself for his herculean effort upon his return which allowed him to earn the All-Star start.
In the end, because the starting pitching did so well in nearly every game and because, offensively, he was one of, if not the, best catcher in all of baseball, this award goes to first time All-Star Jonah Heim.
Defensively, Heim ranked first in the American League in framing, threw out 27.5% of would-be base-stealers, well above the average of 20.5%, and had a catcher ERA of 3.49, good for third in all of baseball. He led all catchers in doubles and batting average, ranked second in slugging and leads all catchers in WAR.
I like to define an MVP as someone without whom the team would not be in the place they are now. For his overall contribution to the Rangers tremendous first half run, Jonah Heim is the First Half MVP.
Honorable Mentions: Corey Seager, Ezequiel Duran, Dane Dunning
Who do you think has been the MVP of the Rangers so far in 2023? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
