The Ranger Report Podcast, which can be heard right here on Dallas Sports Nation, handed out some awards Monday on the show. Ben Dieter and guest host Kane McCutchen picked from several catagories:
Pitcher of the year, Offensive Player of the year, Rookie of the year and others. We like to try and do this each and every off-season.
Pitcher of the Year:
We went with our three pitching stars first. Kane and Ben had the same three stars: Martin Perez, Brock Burke and Matt Moore. All three of these gentlemen had a great year, but we decided that Martin was worthy of the pitcher of the year.
When the Rangers brought him over last off-season, no one expected that he would post a sub 3.00 ERA and lead the Rangers in wins. That is what oft-injured Jon Gray was for.
Perez blew away all expectations for him in the 2022 season and was one small bright spot during the year. The Rangers need to re-sign him asap.
Moore and Burke were consistent and solid out of the pen, both posting sub 2 ERA’s. But it had to be Martin.
Offensive Player of the Year:
Again, we had several candidates for this role. Adolis Garcia had a very good sophomore campaign, Jonah Heim had to step up after the injury to Mitch Garver, and he did.
Eli White was having a breakout season before the injury, and Leody Taveras was great once he arrived. But in the end, we decided that Nathaniel Lowe was the most deserving.
He is the first Ranger to hit over .300 since Elvis Andrus back in 2016. He took a huge step forward as far as power goes, and his defense got better, although it is still not there.
Offensively he was the biggest spark in the line up for the longest period of time. 2022 may have solidified him as the first baseman of the future going forward.
Rookie of the Year
The Rangers featured a large collection of Rookies in 2022. We had a lot to choose from here.
While not exactly a rookie, but still considered a rookie, the guys went with Brock Burke. He found a home in the bullpen in 2022 and he was nothing short of a given when he pitched.
When Burke came in, you knew he was going to do well. Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran never really were over the top impressive, Josh Jung just didn’t get enough time at the majors and neither did Cole Ragans. It was Burke.
Don’t forget to check out the Ranger Report Podcast every week right here on Dallas Sports Nation or anywhere you get you podcasts.
