The term “World Series hangover” is both overused and underutilized in Major League Baseball. We seem to notice it when the defending champions are struggling, but we disregard it when that team performs admirably the next season. This year, however, it clearly applies.
The Texas Rangers, who recently won their first World Series, are now 24-27, having lost 10 of their last 12 games. They’re under.500 for the first time in Bruce Bochy’s brief tenure as manager, the offence is nowhere near its season-high levels, and the pitching staff has been decimated by injury, losing another key arm in Jon Grey Thursday night. If they weren’t wearing brand-new diamond-encrusted rings, we’d consider this a mediocre baseball club.
So, when disgruntled Rangers fans turn on the television to watch these losses pile up, who are the players causing their hair to turn grey? These aren’t only the most disappointing players for the 2024 Rangers; they’re also the ones for whom fans have little hope for the future. Perhaps these are the players who are not “deep in the heart(s) of Texas.”
Nathaniel Lowe, first baseman
Nathaniel Lowe was a machine in 2022, even if the baseball public was unaware of it due to the team’s poor performance. He had an.851 OPS and 27 home runs, and he beat out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the American League Silver Slugger award at first base. At the time, he was only 26 years old, and it appeared like his career was on track for greatness, but that does not appear to be the case.
After being chosen a 2023 All-Star alongside six of his teammates, Lowe underperformed in both the second half and the postseason last year. This season, he’s yet to reclaim his prime form. Despite his.735 OPS, which is higher than league average due to the general offensive climate, he is neither a power threat nor an RBI creator. And, unlike Corey Seager, who everyone expected to break out of his slump eventually, he has yet to experience extended hot or cold spells.
It appears that this is just who Lowe is now, which puts the Rangers in a terrible situation. He’s not a poor MLB hitter, but the foundation of this lineup’s success is based on him being a reliable middle-of-the-order bat. And Rangers fans won’t be happy seeing his name on the lineup card for long if this is the best he can do.
Andrew Heaney, SP.
Andrew Heaney’s career has been up and down, with periods of supremacy as well as tremendous difficulties. At times, he appears to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, and at others, he pitches so terribly that he is chased out of town. In 2024, the troubles haven’t been as severe, but he’s obviously been the Rangers’ worst starting.
After giving up nine hits in just 3.1 innings in the Rangers’ loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, Heaney fell to 0-6 on the season, the most losses of any MLB starter without a win thus far. His 4.69 ERA would be 12th-worst if he had enough innings to qualify, and he hasn’t missed a start, so the lack of innings has been extremely hard on the Rangers’ bullpen.
With so many injuries to the Rangers’ starting lineup, both preseason and postseason, it would have been a huge boost for Texas to have Heaney produce consistently. In a way, he has been consistent, but not in the way that anyone would have expected. He simply needs to find a way to get further into games and convert his high strikeout numbers into more outs.
Rangers fans were caught off guard by Jose Leclerc’s injury, compounding their disappointment. After Jose Leclerc stabilized the Texas bullpen in the 2023 postseason, it was reasonable to expect him to continue to serve as the team’s closer in 2024. Instead, he’s been downright dreadful, and the bullpen is no longer stable.
Leclerc has a 6.41 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, and -0.7 bWAR in just 19.2 innings, making him one of baseball’s worst relievers. He had never been a team’s closer in the regular season before, so in retrospect, he may not have been expected to take on that job. But he’s struggled in every circumstance he’s been put in, and as a result, the Rangers’ bullpen is one of the worst in the league. That almost kept them out of the playoffs last year, so it had best be corrected soon.
Evan Carter / Wyatt Langford
The Rangers weren’t just meant to run the same offence they did last season. They were expected to be energized by a youthful surge, with two rookies quickly becoming stars for one of the league’s finest teams. Unfortunately, neither Evan Carter nor Wyatt Langford have lived up to their preseason hype.
Carter shone as a fresh September callup in the playoffs, and nothing seemed to stop him. It’s been alarming to see him go through a lengthy slump at the plate, bringing his season average down to.197. Meanwhile, Langford is on the disabled list, but he wasn’t hitting at all before to his injury. He was touted as a great all-around hitter, but he has yet to hit a home run in a regular season game.
Obviously, this article does not condemn either of these rookies’ future career prospects with the Rangers. They were two of MLB’s top six preseason prospects for a reason, and like with any young athlete, there must be a grace period when dealing with setbacks. However, the Rangers were not-so-secretly aiming for both of these two to be so big-league ready that any struggles would be insignificant. They haven’t lived up to the roles assigned to them, and it’s not unreasonable to believe that one or both of them will need to be demoted to AAA at some time in order to fully recover.
Leave a Reply