Lineup:
1. Ian Kinsler, C- ; needs to stop trying to hit HR's evertime up. Take a pitch now and then and hit a ground ball for a change. Has made great strides in the field though and that keeps him from failing.
2. Michael Young, A- ; Steady as a rock. Will always hit near .310 and give you 200 hits when healthy. Transition to 3b has been great. Lack of average with runners on keeps him from A+
3. Josh Hamilton, D ; has been complete failure so far this season. I know, he's been injured for 1/2 of the first half, but even when healthy has not produce. He is the catalyst for this team and he has been far below expected.
4. Nelson Cruz, A- ; very streaky hitter who can flat out tag the ball. But goes in to mini-slumps against teams that scout him well. Expect a MAJOR drop-off in the 2nd half when most teams finally scout him correctly. Great arm in the field, but not a superb outfielder.
5. Hank Blalock, B- ; lots of power, and heck...he's healthy! His on-base percentage is awful (like most of this team). His defense at first base so far is average.
6. Marlon Byrd, A- ; Marlon is maxing out what Marlon can do. He's not a superstar but he's been consistent. An above average flyball chaser with an underaverage arm. But he's been consistent.
7. Chris Davis, F ; complete failure at the major league level. His superb defensive skills keep him from getting G.
8. Jarrod Saltalamaccia, B ; for a very young kid, he's done a remarkable job behind the plate. His bat will continue to develop, but for now for what he is...it's not that bad.
9. Elvis Andrus, A ; okay, so he's great defensively, he's held his own with the bat. For what we thought we'd get from him...I'd say an A is very worthy.
Starting Five:
1. Kevin Millwood, A ; Started very strong and has continued to be very strong in the early stages of the heat. He's been the ace Texas has always wanted him to be.
2. Vicente Padilla, C+ ; he's a nutcase. One great start, one weird one, followed by a mediocre one, followed by a masterpiece. Who is this guy? He has all the stuff to be very very good, but not sure he cares.
3. Brandon McCarthy, D ; he has stuff, but is as fragile as Aunt Wilma. He continues to make the Danks trade look like a complete failure.
4. Matt Harrison, C- ; can't be consistent. Walks way too many for a guy who can't strikeout fragile Aunt Wilma. Can throw groundballs but his injury has kept his progress from showing.
5. Scott Feldman A+ ; Came in as the 6th starter, but has been nearly as good as Millwood if not better. His sinking cutter makes him a groundout machine. If he can maintain his effectiveness, the Rangers have a GREAT back end of the rotation guy.
Bullpen:
Frank Francisco, A- ; has been largely dominant when healthy. But that keeps him from getting an A+.
C.J. Wilson, C- ; I want to fail him so bad because he makes me want to pull my hair out. His Mitch Williams-esque flair for the dramatic and quirky attitude makes me wish we could trade him to the Cubs for Rafael Palmeiro just as Grieve did with Mitch Williams. Oh well, we're stuck with him and this bullpen will live and die with this guy.
Eddie Guardado, F ; At his age, he's the best left-handed bullpen advisor in the league, but unfortunately he's still being paid to get outs and he's awful at that.
Darren O'Day, A+ ; where's the evidence to give him anything but a perfect grade?
Derrick Holland, B- ; His stats are no where near proof of the talent he possesses. I would trust him in a heart beat before C.J. in the same situations. But he's still inexperienced and needs more time to get beat around a little bit. He'll be fine.
Jason Jennings, B+ ; has been surprisingly steady and effective now that he's healthy. The fact that his placement on the 40 man last year cost us Armando Gallaraga will forever keep him for getting an A.
The Rangers should come back to what we expect them to be in the 2nd 1/2. The pitching will falter and the hitting will get better. Kinsler and Hamilton have to lead this team to get them on track. Both are horribly impatient and need to take more pitches. This team has to walk more and hit better with runners in scoring position and stop relying on the mulit-HR game to get them by. But it's all about pitching and the Rangers are not there....yet. They have talented arms...but not ready for the ups and downs of the pennant race. They also have no money to go and get help. This is what it is...and I'm afraid it's just not enough. Rangers finish 7.5 games out of first behind the Angels and barely ahead of the Mariniers. I hope I'm wrong.
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