Power Rankings Position for Texas Rangers
For the first time this season, the Texas Rangers didn’t rise.
They didn’t go down either.
The Rangers held steady in the latest ESPN.com MLB Power Rankings. The final edition for May had Texas at No. 4 for the second consecutive week.
The American League West leaders had climbed every week in each previous rankings release. Texas (31-18) went into Friday holding a three-game lead on the Houston Astros.
The Rangers, the highest-scoring team in baseball, were commended for their bats. Per ESPN.com:
While the champion Astros are rolling, the Rangers are still hanging on at the top of the American League West. A weekend sweep of the Rockies helped, as Texas and Houston took top offensive honors for the last week (ending on Tuesday). Five players compiled an OPS over 1.000 during that time frame, led by Josh Jung, who produced a 1.447 mark. Corey Seager has also driven in 10 runs in seven games since he returned.
Despite the woes in the bullpen, the Rangers starting rotation was praised. As is the belief that the club is for “real.” First baseman Nathaniel Lowe recently said as much, adding that the division “is ours to lose.”
Meanwhile, the starting staff has made up for the loss of Jacob deGrom, as Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Dane Dunning and Jon Gray all spun good outings. It might be late enough in the season to say the Rangers are for real.
The rankings for rest of the AL West: Astros (6), Los Angeles Angels (14), Seattle Mariners (15) and Oakland Athletics (30).
The Rangers open a three-game series Friday night (6:05 p.m. CT) at the Baltimore Orioles. Jon Gray (4-1, 3.02) is scheduled to start for Texas, with Grayson Rodriguez (2-1, 6.21) going for Baltimore. The Orioles took two of three when the teams met in Arlington in early April.
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