The Texas Rangers are less than a month away from reporting for spring training. I know the Cowboys are in the playoffs and knocked off Tom Brady earlier this week.
While the NFL is exciting, I can’t wait for baseball to start. The sounds and smells, the expectation for the season.
The 2023 season has the potential to be something special for this ballclub. They have pitching. They have bats.
Activity on the free agent market was once again there. Fans should be stoked for the possibility of the 2023 season.
Listed below are 5 things to look forward to as Spring Training gets closer and closer to arriving.
1. The Starting Rotation
The Rangers have 3 new starters and two returning starters plus one. Jacob DeGrom is arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Martin Perez was one of the best in baseball in 2022. Jon Gray was solid when healthy.
Then there is Andrew Heaney and Nathan Evoldi. Both have been solid starters in their careers and have a chance to make the Rangers something special.
There is also Jake Odorizzi, Dane Dunning, Cole Ragans and Glenn Otto. The Rangers are pretty solid at the starting rotation.
2. The Infield
Infield is a strength for this club. The infield should be set for the foreseeable future for this franchise.
Josh Jung at third. Corey Seager at short stop.
Marcus Semien at second. Nathaniel Lowe at first.
Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver and Sam Huff behind the dish.
They are pretty good offensively as well and could improve with the banning of the shift. They could put up some amazing numbers in 2023.
3. Bruce Bochy
The Rangers have hired a three-time World Series Champion. Someone who knows how to win and how to manage players.
He is old school, and I like old school. Bochy uses analytics but also uses his gut. You have to be able to utilize both to manage successfully in the majors.
Leadership makes a difference, and I believe that his leadership is what this team has needed for a while now.
4. Mike Maddux
I’ve talked about this on several occasions on the podcast and on the site. The best pitching years that the Rangers franchise has ever had all came with Mike Maddux as the pitching coach.
He has his Vulcan death grip. He has his way of dealing with pitchers.
Maddux expects more out of his starters and bullpen players. He will get the most out of the pitchers the Rangers have, and they have some good ones.
From the starters mentioned earlier in the article to guys like Brock Burke and Jose LeClerc and Jonathan Hernandez, I look for better production from this team.
5. Rangers Coverage
There are not so many blogs, media sites, podcasts and social media accounts covering the Rangers. It is a great time to be a Rangers fan. From the pro’s who do it for a living to guys like me that have covered the team passively for over 15 years, the coverage has never been better.
You have the opportunity to read, listen to, and interact with so much Rangers coverage.
It’s amazing, as when I started there was almost nothing out there besides a few newspapers.
Last I checked there are no less than 5 Texas Rangers podcast out there (there are more) and I don’t know how many blogs there are. The coverage is great.
People who specialize in the minors, the majors, the draft, the pitching, the fielding. You can get it all.
We are glad you read DSN and listen to our podcast. We are growing and with the help of sponsors we hope to bring you the best spring training coverage in the web.
Enjoy the anticipation of Spring Training being less than 30 days away. Rangers baseball is coming!
