Texas Rangers Winning Season Thanks To MINOR Improvements

The Texas Rangers baseball team came into the 2008 season hoping to quickly forget about the many problems and hard lessons learned over the 2007 season.

At times in 2007, new manager Ron Washington seemed out-coached.  The pitching staff's designated aces Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla had down years due to DL time, struggles with their command, and lack of run support.  The injury bug seemed to hit the whole team.

The season seemed to end before it got started, with the one highlight being Sammy Sosa's 600th home run. But the biggest news story for the team was the departure of switch-hitting, power first baseman Mark Teixiera and trading away Kenny Lofton and Eric Gagne.

The 2008 season started off almost the same as 2007, with struggles from the bullpen, lack of timely hitting, and a 7-16 record, which was the worst in the Majors.

But this season, something different happened. The starting pitchers are going deeper into starts, the bullpen is pitching better at times, the outfield seems to be covered by four fielders, and the hitting is, arguably, the best in all of baseball.

Was it an offseason free agency signing, was it a new approach from the manager, was it a new team president, or was it something else?

True, the offseason signings of players like Milton Bradley and Eddie Guardado have paid off well for the team. But remember Ben Broussard, Chris Shelton, Kaz Fukumori, and Jason Jennings? Not so good.

True, Ron Washington has his first season as the main guy under his belt and as his close friend, and bench coach Art Howe would tell him, your always wrong in this position, unless you win. Then the players were right, not you. 

Washington, in 2008, seems to be much more comfortable as the manager and at times out-coaching his opposition.

True, bringing back one of the most beloved Texas Rangers, Nolan Ryan, was a bold move made by owner Tom Hicks.  And even though it is only his first year as the manager, things have changed and will continue to change. As fans, we can only hope for the best.

All of these things have factored into a better season in 2008 than 2007. However, the biggest difference I can see has got to be the day-in and day-out production from the rookies and players that started the season in the minor leagues.

At the beginning of the season, the Rangers roster included rookies David Murphy, Dustin Nippert, and A.J. Murray. 

Today the young players that have been brought up from the minors include Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Brandon Boggs, German Duran, Chris Davis, Max Ramirez, Travis Metcalf, Scott Feldman, Luis Mendoza, Eric Hurley, Doug Mathis, Matt Harrison, Warner Madrigal, and now most recently Joselo Diaz.

That means the Rangers have 16 players that at some time this season have seen the field, 13 that started their years off at Triple-A Oklahoma City or Double-A Frisco, and none that have played full seasons in Major League Baseball.

Though at times most, if not all, of these players have looked like young 20-year-olds playing with a bunch of men, what more do you expect from a youngster making their Major League debuts? They will need time to develop, but early reports show some great signs.

I'm going to look at a few of the players and show that without their current production, then their is no way that this Rangers team is currently 49-45 and only 6.5 games out of first place in the AL West and a team that is looking for their 50th win before the All-Star break since the late-90s.

David Murphy, OF—26 years old

Murphy is a current candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year and winner of the April AL Rookie of the Month.  He has played in 89 games, batting .272 with 94 hits, has 13 home runs, and 23 doubles. He is in the top five in the AL with 60 RBI, has scored 49 runs, and is slugging .462.  He is a constant in the outfield, not making spectacular plays, but making the plays he needs to be making.

Brandon Boggs, OF—25 years old

Brandon was promoted to the Rangers on April 29th. He tied the franchise record for consecutive hits to start a career, hitting in his first four plate appearances. 

Currently he has played in 52 games, batting .251 with 42 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He has scored 16 times and knocked in 27 runs and three outfield assists, including two in the past couple games.

Luis Mendoza, SP/RP—24 years old

Starting the season with an 0-2 record and 9.31 ERA in April, Mendoza was sent back to Triple-A to work on his stuff and command.  Since returning for three relief appearance in June and three starts in July, he has lowered his ERA to 4.34 and improved his record to 3-3. 

On Friday, July 11, Mendoza had the best outing of his career, getting the win over the White Sox in six innings of work, allowing one run on three hits and striking out eight. 

Mendoza's future with the team as a starter or long reliever is still undetermined, but the remainder of this season and the offseason will give the club a better look at how he will help in the future.

Doug Mathis, SP—24 years old

Mathis made his Major League debut on May 12 and his starting debut on May 20. He is currently on the 15-day DL, but the club looks to return him to the rotation when he recovers from his injuries.  Mathis is 2-1 with a 6.85 ERA in four starts with wins over Seattle in relief and as a starter over the Tampa Bay Rays.

German Duran, 3B—23 years old

German made his Major League debut on April 17, due to the injuries to Hank Blalock and Triple-A 3B Travis Metcalf.  Duran has played in 41 games while splitting time at third with Ramon Vazquez and he is currently hitting .224 with 22 hits.  He has four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, and 15 runs scored on the season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C—23 years old

Since the release of backup catcher Adam Melhuse, Jarrod was promoted to the Rangers.  Salty has played in 41 games this season and is currently hitting .211 on 30 hits.  He has five doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, and 16 runs scored. 

During the offseason, it was still wondered if Salty would make the move the first base or stay a catcher. This season only supports the club's desire to keep him catching.

Max Ramirez, C—23 years old

Acquired by the Rangers last season in the trade of Kenny Lofton to the Cleveland Indians, Ramirez has spent the season at Double-A Frisco but was promoted to the Rangers on June 22 with injuries to Rangers catcher Gerald Laird and Triple-A catcher Taylor Teagarden. 

Since his promotion, Max has played in 10 games and is batting .206 on seven hits, two of which have left the yard.  He has six RBI and scored four times. He has already shown Rangers players and fans that he can take a hit. 

When Laird returns from his injury Ramirez will likely head back to the minors to catch or play first everyday.

Eric Hurley, SP—22 years old

Highly touted pitching prospect Eric Hurley got his Major League debut on June 12 this season in Kansas City. He went six innings and allowed four runs (all on two home runs).  In his four Major League starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA, including a win over the Philadelphia Phillies. 

His future this season with the staff is uncertain, but Eric has been a huge plus for the team, stepping in for injuried pitchers.  His future this season looks very bright, and the team hopes that he will contiue to pitch as he has at the Major League level.

Matt Harrison, SP—22 years old

Harrison made his Major League debut this past Tuesday, July 8 against the Angels when he faced AL wins leader Joe Saunders. 

Matt pitched seven innings, allowing only two runs on five hits to earn a win over the Angels.  Harrison pitched to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, two of the major pieces acquired by the Rangers in the trade for Teixiera last July.  Harrison has pitched in both Double-A and Triple-A this season, including a no-hitter in Double-A earlier this year. 

His future with the Rangers this season is uncertain, but he will be seen more this year and hopefully soon in the future as a starter for the Rangers.

Chris Davis, 1B/3B - 22 years old

Since his promotion on June 26, Chris Davis has homered six times, including four of his first four starts as a Ranger.  Davis is currently only hitting .235 with 12 hits and three doubles, but he is slugging .647. 

He has 12 RBI and has scored nine times in just over two weeks.  Brought up through the system as a third baseman, Davis has made the quick transition to first with the Rangers lack of production at first base this season from Broussard, Shelton, Jason Botts, and Frank Catalanotto. 

When, and if, Blalock returns to the Rangers lineup, it is unsure what the team will do with the newly discovered, power-hitting Davis.  However, Wash has already said that his position is safe, whether that be his position in the Majors, his lineup position, or his position ar first base, is all still to be seen.