The Texas Rangers have a decent amount of work to do this winter to get their offense back up to the level it needs to be at. With a few moves having already taken place, it is clear that they are going to shuffle the roster quite a bit this offseason.
With that said, they do have one thing going for them, and that is their starting pitching unit. With Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi headlining the group, and multiple other quality names rounding out the rotation, they have a core to build from there, no doubt. The question will be, how will they produce in 2026?
Jacob deGrom is the most intriguing piece to discuss, as he went four seasons with some hit-or-miss production due to injuries, but in 2025, he returned to his elite form, hitting the 30-start mark. With a 2.97 ERA and 0.921 WHIP, he was one of the most critical components to the Rangers’ success in 2025, despite the missed postseason chance.
With that, they will be looking for him to find similar production in 2026, and with FanGraphs recently putting out their steamer projections for next season, they believe he will continue to dominate.
How Does FanGraphs Predict Jacob deGrom to Do in 2026?
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According to the updated FanGraphs projections for the 2026 season, there will be some promising arms in that Texas starting rotation, and none will outperform veteran ace Jacob deGrom.
Their predictive metrics have deGrom posting a 12-10 record, with a 3.48 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 10.42 K/9, 2.05 BB/9, 1.20 HR/9, and a .288 BABIP in 184.2 innings of work.
This all adds up to a whopping 4.3 fWAR, showcasing that they still have high expectations for the veteran based on their metric models, and that is also clear by the improved strikeout rate.
It will be interesting to see if deGrom can live up to the sky-high expectations he now has, coming off an extremely impressive 2025 season in which he fully returned to his early career form.
Certified ACE 😤
Jacob deGrom’s 2.57 ERA leads all active pitchers (min. 1,000 IP)! pic.twitter.com/AgVttzHz6h
— MLB (@MLB) December 3, 2025
The ultimate goal will be to remain healthy and put together a quality season, which these stats indicate he should be able to do to some degree. While some of his stats certainly fall in this prediction, there are also some improvements that showcase his longevity as a player.
With less fatigue due to the injuries in the middle of his career, he should be able to go quite a while into his mid-30s as a starter while putting up good numbers.
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