ARLINGTON, TEXAS — The rain has stopped, the sun is shining, and the clouds are moving out. That must mean only one thing, baseball is back in Texas! The Texas Rangers get the honor of hosting the reigning World Champions, and intrastate rivals Houston Astros. There is no love lost between these franchises, as just last year Astro’s President Reid Ryan called the Rangers organization “classless and selfish”.
Really though, the main story is on the diamond. After a rather weird and quiet off-season, one that saw the Rangers revamp their pitching staff, but not make a huge splash, it is clear the focus was to continue to count on the young core to keep developing. Can Delino Deshields continue to be a catalyst at the top of the lineup and wreak havoc on the base pads? Can Joey Gallo continue to work counts and hit the ball a long, long way? Can Nomar Mazara continue to have good at bats and start getting a bit more loft on the ball? Can Rougned Odor make adjustments, get on base more often, yet keep his aggressiveness at the plate? Will either Drew Robinson or Ryan Rua cement themselves as major-league regulars?
That young contingent of players is fortunate to have some veterans in the clubhouse that they can try to emulate. Adrian Beltre will try to continue to defy father time, Elvis Andrus will look to build on the breakout year he had last year, and Cole Hamels will look to be the lone ace now that Yu Darvish has departed.
Cole Hamels has a daunting challenge in front of him as the Astros’ lineup might be the toughest in all of baseball. With the likes of Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Carlos Correa, Hamels will definitely have his work cut out for him. It does not get any easier on the other side of the ball, as the Rangers take on former MVP and Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander.
The 2018 season gets underway at 2:40PM at Globe Life Park in Arlington, baseball is back and the Texas Rangers are ready, are you?
