(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Last season, the Texas Rangers finished with 68 wins.
It was a disappointing tally given the fact they had spent $500 million on two players (Corey Seager and Marcus Semien) during free agency.
It turns out they needed some impact pitchers and their prospects and player development staff to come through, because in 2023, we have seen the Rangers’ much-awaited breakthrough.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Rangers have…68 wins, as MLB’s official Twitter feed reminds us.
With their 8th win a row, the @Rangers remain unbeaten in August and have now matched their 2022 win total!
(MLB x @Applebees) pic.twitter.com/mDvH0Lyljr
— MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2023
There is a big difference compared to last year, though: they are currently 68-46 and owners of first place in the AL West with a three-game cushion.
In 2022, they finished 68-94 and far, far away from the postseason spots.
A new era has clearly started in Texas.
Their lineup is among the most potent in baseball, with Seager, Semien, Josh Jung (recently injured, but we can’t overlook his enormous contributions), Nathaniel Lowe, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia, Leody Taveras, Ezequiel Duran, and others.
Their pitching is still top-notch even after losing Jacob deGrom to Tommy John surgery: they have Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, Nathan Eovaldi, and recently traded for Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery.
The Rangers could be a huge threat for the American League powerhouses in the postseason.
In fact, we can go ahead and scratch that: the Rangers are already one of the AL powerhouses.
They have earned that treatment because of their talent and consistency.
Whereas other teams with hot starts (such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Arizona Diamondbacks and, to a lesser extent, the Tampa Bay Rays) have declined as of late, Texas is still there, leading one of the toughest divisions in baseball.
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