The Rangers have been one of the biggest surprises about the 2019 MLB season. The offensive production is better than what people than people thought and what has really stood out is the front end of the pitching rotation.
You could argue that Gallo, Pence, Choo, Minor, and Lynn have been the five best players on the team this year. While the Rangers may just be a team fighting for a Wild Card spot, it is a huge surprise they are in this position. That is because of these five guys. Here is why they should all be All-Stars.
Joey Gallo
Let’s start with a player who actually up for the All-Star game right now. Gallo has been MVP like, let alone All-Star worthy. Gallo is top five in slugging and OPS in the American League going into the series against Detroit. Add a career-best .276 average with 17 bombs and 41 RBIs, and Gallo is easily having the best season of his career. Oh, and add one sac fly.
Playing all of his game in the outfield this year, Gallo has been really solid defensively as well. He only has committed two errors and has six assists (which is tied for fifth most in Major League Baseball).
Gallo is currently in ninth place in AL outfield All-Star voting. Send him to Cleveland by voting HERE.
Hunter Pence
Hunter Pence is the other Ranger up to be on the American League roster when the game is played in Cleveland on July 9. Pence has revitalized his career, having one of his best Major League seasons at the age of 36.
From last year, Pence’s average is up about 70 points, his OBP is almost up 100 points, and his slugging is at an all-time high of .608. The Rangers rank sixth in team RBIs this year and Pence is the team leader in that category.
Compare his numbers to vote leader JD Martinez, and Pence has better numbers in every major batting category but OBP and home runs(he has one less). Pence deserves to not only be at the All-Star game but to start for the American League. You can vote for him HERE.
Shin Soo Choo
Since the beginning of the year, Choo has been one of the best leadoff hitters in all of baseball. His overall stats do not have anything on what he is doing to start the game. Choo has led off in 64 games this year. His slash line of .445/.531/.745 is ridiculous. Getting on base half of the time in the first inning for the likes of Elvis, Mazara, Delino, and Pence is why the Rangers lead Major League Baseball in average first-inning runs.
Representing the club at last year’s All-Star game, Choo no doubt deserves a chance to do it again this year. Putting him into a certain position is hard though. He can’t be classified as a designated hitter, as the Rangers already have a player up for DH. He could be an outfielder, but he has played just as much outfield as he has been the designated hitter.
Maybe the appropriate thing to do is to have him be the leadoff hitter for the AL and be done after that. They have a 50 percent chance of him getting on base, so why not?
Mike Minor
Everyone knew that Mike Minor was going to be the best pitcher for the Rangers this year, but nobody expected him to be this good. Like Pence, Minor is on the north side of 30, but still having one of his best years.
Minor currently has his best career ERA at 2.52, which is even better than his 2.55 ERA when he was considered a reliever for the Royals. He leads baseball in pitcher WAR at 5.2, has the fourth best ERA, and has thrown the seventh most innings. He is one of the game’s best pitchers right now.
Minor has been key to the Rangers success as they have won his last four starts, and nine of the sixteen. Reality is, if the Rangers had another average Joe out there pitching instead of Minor, they could be below .500 and in selling mode.
Lance Lynn from May 10 on
Much like Minor, Lynn has been a really good surprise for the Rangers this season. Lance Lynn deserves to be an All-Star, if and only if, the season started on May 10. His ERA since May 10 is 3.35 and had a streak of eight quality starts going before allowing five ER against the White Sox.
The resurgence of Lance Lynn has been quite an interesting one. He was on the Twins and Yankees, where he threw the least amount of innings in his career, where his ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 were at an all-time high. When the Rangers signed him to a three-year contract, people did not think much of it. Now, he is a solid number two in the rotation that deserves to be recognized by representing the club at the All-Star game. But only if the season started on May 10.
While they may not be close to being the best team in the AL, they have been one of the most surprising. There is no doubt that these five players are playing the best they ever have. They deserve some recognition by being voted into the All-Star game.
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