This season has taken a downward turn for the Texas Rangers. The talent isn’t the best.
Chris Woodward is basically working with 1 hand tied behind his back.
One thing we can do as Ranger fans looks at the positives, so here are the halfway awards for the Rangers as of now.
MVP // Adolis Garcia
Photo: —Now, this could have gone either to Joey Gallo or Kyle Gibson, but Garcia has been nothing but money for the Rangers this season. With 22 home runs and a team-leading 62 RBI, Garcia earned his first career All-Star selection as a rookie.
He only has 17 walks on the season compared to the walking machine known as Joey Gallo, who has 74. But with 168 total bases, Garcia finds ways to get on base and make the plays needed on defense. Garcia deserves this award so far.
Best Pitcher // Kyle Gibson
This is a no-brainer as Kyle Gibson has been the Rangers’ best pitcher this season so far. Everyone knows the trade rumors surrounding the veteran pitcher, but it’s only because he’s been so good this season. Gibson has a 2.86 ERA which is the best of this rotation.
His past 3 starts haven’t been a reflection of his performance this season, allowing 22 runs total to the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros in 3 separate starts. Before those games, he held a 1.98 ERA and a 6-0 record. Gibson will be gone before the trade deadline, but he’s been the best for the Rangers this season.
Biggest Disappointment // Khris Davis
Everyone knows the trade of Elvis Andrus to the Oakland Athletics was a tear-jerker, but most fans were excited for the pieces that came in return for the veteran shortstop. Davis has been a Ranger-killer through his career in Oakland, but that never transitioned to Arlington with the trade.
Davis is hitting just .157/.262/.333 at the plate and has just 2 HR on the season. He only played in 22 games so far, but that was also due to an injury. He strained his left quad beating out a bunt back in March, but since then, he hasn’t made much of an impact with the team since being designated for assignment back in June.
Biggest Surprise // Joey Gallo
Now before you say, “we all know what Gallo can do,” hear me out. Joey has now walked 74 times on the season, 1 shy of a career-high in 2017. That was his first full year in the majors with Texas. He’s clearly going to blow past that career-high as he’s developed into a better hitter all around.
Gallo is always in the spotlight with the Rangers, whether it’s trade rumors or blasting 450 ft home runs. Will Joey get traded? Will he get extended? No one knows, but either way, he has become a better player for Texas.
Rookie Of The Year // Adolis Garcia
See above next to MVP. The man is more than a rookie for this team at this point. This award is Garcia’s, even if he doesn’t play a single game the rest of the season.
Let’s see if he can take the cake for the American League now.
The Rangers are not good, but even in a down season, there needs to be a positive outlook sometimes.
The 2nd half of the season is underway, but there are more surprises to come in Arlington.
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