New York Yankees: 5 Predictions for Their 3-Game Series with the Texas Rangers

The Yankees open up a three-game set against the Rangers on Monday night, in what may prove to be an ALCS preview.

The Rangers, fresh off another trip to the World Series, have started the season very strong. Their offense is firing on all cylinders, and that has led to an opening record of 13-3.

The Yankees, on the other hand, have had a few struggles thus far. They have won four of five, but they are still tied atop the AL East with the Blue Jays at 9-6.

This series figures to be a "show me" series for the Yankees, as they will need to prove to themselves and the baseball world that they can contend with the perennial powerhouse of the American League.

Even though it's still April, the series will likely have a playoff atmosphere. This should make for interesting baseball and a great series to watch.

Here are my five predictions for the series.

CC Sabathia Will Get Back on Track

CC Sabathia may be 1-0 so far this season, but he has not pitched well enough to own a winning record. 

His ERA sits at a portly 5.59, and he's allowed 20 hits and six walks in 19.2 innings. He does have 22 strikeouts, though, which suggests that his stuff is there.

He draws a tough assignment on Monday night against the Rangers' potent lineup, but I predict that Sabathia will pitch a great game.

It's nearly impossible to hold the Rangers scoreless, but the Yankees would be more than pleased if they could get a quality start out of their ace.

Through seven innings of work, Sabathia will allow three runs while striking out eight.

Those three runs won't be a result of long rallies, though. Home runs from Nelson Cruz and Michael Young result in all of the Rangers' scoring.

Derek Holland will be on the bump for Texas, so the Yankees may have a tough time scoring runs. Because of that, Sabathia may not earn a victory.

That won't matter, as manager Joe Girardi will be happy to know that his ace is back on track.

Robinson Cano Will Launch 2 Home Runs

Robinson Cano has gotten off to a slow start this season.

So far, he's put together a line of just .242/.329/.403 with one home run and three RBI. He does have seven doubles, though, which shows that he's been the driving the ball pretty well.

In the warm Texas air, Cano will find his power stroke and pop two home runs.

One will come on Monday night against Holland, who Cano has very good career numbers against.

In 15 at-bats against the left-hander, Cano has five hits and five RBI with one home run.

Cano will definitely start to turn it around sooner rather than later, and this series against Texas will likely be the start of a lengthy hot streak for him.

Derek Jeter Will Continue to Hit

Derek Jeter has been red-hot this season, proving to everybody in the baseball world that he's not finished yet.

He hit just six home runs all of last season, and he's already launched four in in just 15 games.

Nobody has questioned Girardi's decision to hit Jeter first, as the captain has been producing at a rate that not many people expected.

Jeter will record 11 at-bats in this series. He'll be walked four times and will have four hits. Two of those hits will go for doubles.

It may be early on in the season, but this series against Texas is a big one.

Jeter realizes that, and we all know how well he produces when it matters.

Russell Martin Will Continue to Struggle to Get Hits

Russell Martin's season has not been a complete failure thus far, as he's posted a nice on-base percentage of .385.

That being said, he's been unlucky with the bat. He's hitting just .179 through 14 games (39 at-bats).

He's definitely helping the team by getting on base (he's scored seven runs), but just imagine how productive he'd be if he was dropping in a few extra base hits here or there.

Martin has no hits against any of the Rangers' scheduled pitchers (Holland, Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz), and of the pitchers he's likely to face this series, he only has hits against Alexi Ogando and Koji Uehara.

Unfortunately, Martin will struggle again with the stick this series. He'll sprinkle in a hit or two, but it won't be enough to make a difference in his low batting average.

It Will Be a Battle of the Bullpens

Last season, the lone fault of the Rangers was the fact that they had a suspect bullpen.

This season, Joe Nathan will add depth as the closer and Ogando is back after a brief hiatus in the starting rotation.

Game one (Sabathia vs. Holland) will likely be somewhat of a pitcher's duel, but the offenses of both teams will come to life in the next two games.

This will lead to the starters being on the hook more often than not, and it will also lead to a lot of pitching changes.

It's likely that the series will be decided by the bullpens, and whichever group pitches the best will see their team take a victory in the series.