Wednesday, July 16

The Rangers head into the All-Star break sending just one player -- ace Jacob deGrom -- to Atlanta for this year’s Midsummer Classic. 

That about tracks with how this season has gone so far: elite pitching with an offense that hasn’t seemed to be able to figure out any type of cohesiveness. So we’re opening the inbox as we head into the break, looking forward to what is sure to be an interesting second half of Rangers baseball. 

Statistics and your opinion including, do you think we will make the playoffs? Wild Card most likely right now. (I believe we can) -- @LordOTPlains

Do you think the Rangers will make the postseason? -- @YorhaMin

I think the Rangers have an uphill climb. The schedule in the second half isn’t easy and FanGraphs currently lists Texas as having a 17.0 percent chance of getting into the postseason, well behind both the Astros and Mariners.  

That doesn’t exactly paint an optimistic picture.

But -- and it’s been said many, many, many times -- if the Rangers could just put together a league average offense, they can compete with the best in baseball. I’m not going to definitely say I think they’ll make the postseason. But I think it’s more likely than many outside the organization would give them credit for. 

Are the guys playing cards in the clubhouse this year? And who do you think is untouchable for trades? -- @RobinBlueWater

There is card playing this year, as always. There have also been a lot of dominoes this season, which I haven’t seen before with this group. 

I think the big three -- Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and deGrom -- are definitely untouchable. I would probably put Nathan Eovaldi in that category, as well as the young outfielders Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford. I’m sure the Rangers would listen on anybody else. I know that’s now a compelling answer, but that’s where it feels like they’re at. 

Do the Rangers favor high school or college players in the Draft? -- @JasonMathisLive

The Rangers have trended towards college players in recent years, especially in the first round. They have selected college players in the Draft for the past five years: Josh Jung out of Texas Tech in 2019, Justin Foscue from Mississippi State in ‘20, Jack Leiter out of Vanderbilt in ‘21, Kumar Rocker from Vandy in ‘22, Langford from Florida in ‘23 and Malcolm Moore out of Stanford in ‘24.

It’s worth noting, though, that the first-round this season features a plethora of high school bats, including six prep shortstops projected in the top 15. The crop of college bats is dramatically lighter than usual. 

“Yes, one of the strengths of this Draft is probably the high school middle infielders,” director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg said. “There's a lot of them. We have a lot of opinions on these guys, and we sort of worked through a lot of them. I’m not saying we're taking a high school shortstop, but it's one of the strengths of this Draft, for sure.”

What are the plans with the rotation and bullpen with Gray and Sborz returning soon? -- @YorhaMin

Jon Gray, who took a comebacker off his forearm and fractured it during Spring Training, made his first rehab start  with Triple-A Round Rock on July 9. Josh Sborz, rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, shouldn’t be too far behind. 

Sborz is easy. He’ll simply slot into the bullpen, while sending somebody like Dane Dunning -- who has options -- back to Round Rock. Gray could make things difficult in the rotation, but more than likely one of the Vandy Boys in Leiter or Rocker goes down to refine some things when Gray returns. 

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