{"id":185287,"date":"2025-07-18T11:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/185287\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T11:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:35:12","slug":"five-key-rangers-that-need-to-step-up-for-texas-second-half-playoff-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/185287\/","title":{"rendered":"Five key Rangers that need to step up for Texas\u2019 second-half playoff push"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers<\/a> spent the first half of the regular season in search of answers. <\/p>\n

They tweaked their lineup in each and every direction. They fired a hitting coach and hired a hitting coach<\/a>. They demoted players and promoted players. They pushed themselves into uncomfortable positions in search of comfort. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s on the players now as the second half starts Friday vs. the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field. Here are five players whom the Rangers, who begin the post-All-Star break segment of the year with a 48-49 record and a significant deficit in the division, need to perform in the second half. <\/p>\n

OF Wyatt Langford<\/p>\n

Rangers<\/p>\n

Be the smartest Rangers fan. Get the latest news.<\/p>\n

\"TexasTexas Rangers Wyatt Langford cheers scoring a double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Arlington . (Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The Rangers had hoped that Langford, 23, could take a second-year leap in his sophomore season in the major leagues and anchor the lineup. <\/p>\n

His improvement has been marginal at best. Langford\u2019s .756 OPS is only a few ticks better than the .740 OPS he posted during his rookie season and his 111 wRC+ \u2014 an all-encompassing metric which measures a player\u2019s offensive production \u2014 is the exact same. His strikeout rate has increased by 6% year-to-year and he\u2019s reached base at a smaller clip. <\/p>\n

His age and previous peaks (see: American League Player of the Month last September<\/a> and a 1.052 OPS in the month of April) should quell any long term concerns with Langford\u2019s production. But, if the Rangers are to reach their previously expected heights this year, Langford will need to more resemble the player he was in the second half of last season instead of the player he was in the first half of this one. <\/p>\n

Related:Rangers second-half primer: How steep is Texas\u2019 climb back into the playoffs?<\/a>3B Josh Jung\"TexasTexas Rangers third base Josh Jung watches as he gets grounds out to Kansas City Royals second baseman Jonathan India during the first inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Arlington . (Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The caveat here, of course, is that it\u2019s unclear when Jung will return to the big league team. He was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock after a dreadful month-plus of baseball<\/a> and has only played in five minor league games since. <\/p>\n

The Rangers have given no indication as to when he may return and on Thursday, after first baseman Jake Burger was placed on the injured list, the club chose to promote veteran big leager Rowdy Tellez instead of him<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Jung\u2019s heights are well-documented. He was an All-Star starter and a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman two years ago but has battled injuries and his own lack of performance since. The Rangers were a significantly better offense with Jung in the lineup from 2023-24 and he can lengthen the lineup by a significant margin when he is at his best. <\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t been this season. If he responds well to the minor league assignment and can work out the kinks in his swing decisions, though, his reimplementation could be a boon. <\/p>\n

Related:How Josh Jung\u2019s return to Round Rock could get the Rangers\u2019 third baseman out of his funk<\/a>RHPs Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter\"TexasTexas Rangers pitchers Kumar Rocker (left) and Jack Leiter (right).(SportsDay Staff)<\/p>\n

The Rangers have a formidable one-two punch in right-handers Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi<\/a> and left-hander Patrick Corbin has been a legitimately reliable back-end-of-the-rotation piece. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s less certainty after that with right-hander Tyler Mahle (shoulder) sidelined through mid-August at the earliest<\/a> and right-hander Jon Gray (wrist) still on the mend<\/a>. That\u2019s why Rocker and Leiter \u2014 their first-round selections in the 2022 and 2021 MLB draft, respectively \u2014 could be so crucial. <\/p>\n

Both have shown equal parts quality and questions. Rocker, 25, was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in early June<\/a> to address questions that surrounded his major league readiness. He\u2019s allowed two or fewer runs in four of his five starts since he returned, though, and has appeared to turn a legitimate corner as it pertains to his focus on the mound. <\/p>\n

Leiter, also 25, has a 4.37 ERA in 16 starts this season. He\u2019s struggled find a putaway pitch and needs to eliminate long atbats if he wants to give himself a chance to pitch deeper into games. <\/p>\n

The Rangers may need it. <\/p>\n

Related:Evan Grant\u2019s 10 thoughts on the Texas Rangers: Trade deadline ideas and a murky future<\/a>SS Corey Seager\"TexasTexas Rangers’ Corey Seager hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif.(Jayne Kamin-Oncea \/ AP)<\/p>\n

Look, it\u2019s neither flashy nor unexpected, but to borrow a phrase from manager Bruce Bochy, the Rangers go as Seager goes. <\/p>\n

His unseasonably slow start (in which he yielded a .733 OPS through June 15)<\/a> has since warmed into his expected level of performance. His 1.029 OPS since June 16 is the 11th-best in baseball and his seven home runs in that span are the most any Ranger has hit. His .845 OPS, despite his early struggles, is now the best on the team. <\/p>\n

Now he has to keep that up for the season\u2019s final two-and-a-half months. It\u2019s no exxageration to say that the Rangers will not fire on all possible cylinders if Seager cannot maintain his All-Star caliber play. <\/p>\n

Related:Texas Rangers\u2019 Corey Seager has season back on track after torrid stretch at plate<\/a>DH Joc Pederson\"TexasTexas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson watches the flight of a three-run home run during the seventh inning of an exhibition baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field on Monday, March 24, 2025.(Smiley N. Pool \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The Rangers signed Pederson to a two-year contract in hopes that he could provide the caliber of slug and fastball aptitude that they sorely missed last season. <\/p>\n

Yeah, well, about that. <\/p>\n

Pederson was one of baseball\u2019s worst qualified hitters (.131\/.269\/.238 slash line in 46 games) before his hand was fractured by a pitch against the Chicago White Sox on May 24<\/a>. He was a black hole at designated hitter and contributed to the dismal start that the Rangers offense was on through June. <\/p>\n

His season isn\u2019t over yet, though, and his story isn\u2019t as a result of that. Pederson is expected to to take batting practice within the next week or two<\/a>, which may signal that a rehab assignment isn\u2019t far off should he continue to check every physical box. <\/p>\n

If Pederson returns healthy \u2014 and if he can produce at any rate close to his career .802 OPS \u2014 then he may be the closest thing that the Rangers can find in a trade deadline reinforcement for their lineup. It\u2019d make the two-year, $37 million contract he signed<\/a> look significantly more tolerable if he can contribute to a stretch run too. <\/p>\n

Texas Rangers send Dane Dunning to Atlanta in trade that could prove prudent at deadline<\/a>Jon Gray will return to the Texas Rangers soon, but in what role on the pitching staff?<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Texas Rangers spent the first half of the regular season in search of answers. They tweaked their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2393],"tags":[5,384,721,403,13,395,360,4,394,149,185,1567,69,3240,385],"class_list":{"0":"post-185287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas-rangers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-corey-seager","10":"tag-jack-leiter","11":"tag-jacob-degrom","12":"tag-joc-pederson","13":"tag-josh-jung","14":"tag-kumar-rocker","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-nathan-eovaldi","17":"tag-rangers","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-texas","20":"tag-texas-rangers","21":"tag-texasrangers","22":"tag-wyatt-langford"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114874032082321922","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}