The great thing about baseball is that you never stop growing as a player. Whether you play the best season of your career, or your worst, growth is guaranteed. The 2021 season has already had plenty of opportunities for growth for all major league teams. The Rangers, in particular, have seen this with their current batch of outfielders. As players tend to do, these guys have had both high and low points this year. With every great at-bat or missed catch comes a learning experience. Learning is growing, and that is one of the few things that the pandemic failed to shut down. Here is a look at the progress of the Texas Rangers outfield.
Career Corner Outfielder
The Rangers currently have five outfielders on their 40-man roster. The longest-tenured outfielder is Joey Gallo. Manager Chris Woodward usually has him penciled into the three-spot in the lineup, and playing either right or left field. He got off to a bit of a slow start this year in terms of home runs. He did, however, manage to get on base in the majority of the games that he has played in. Right now, he is batting .206 with seven home runs, 21 RBI, and 21 runs scored. He has also shown an above-average glove and throwing arm this season. His arm was on display on Thursday night at Minute Maid Park when he launched a 97.3 mph missile from right field to get Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick out at home in extra innings. Despite his great throw, the Rangers lost that game by a final score of 4-3.
Plenty of Potential
The Rangers have a good group to patrol the outfield. One man who has shown a lot of growth this year is Willie Calhoun. Calhoun has begun to show that he belongs in the major leagues. In 2021, he is batting .281 with four home runs, 10 RBI, and 11 runs scored through 85 at-bats. In the field, Calhoun has a career fielding percentage of .979. He has really proven to be a great asset to this Texas Rangers outfield.
Just Arrived
The Rangers knew that they needed another bat to compliment Gallo. So they went out and traded for power threat Khris Davis from the Oakland Athletics. They gave up shortstop Elvis Andrus to get him, much to the chagrin of the Lone Star faithful. Davis is fresh off a strained quad injury that kept him out until early May. He has played in 13 games so far this year. In that stretch, he is hitting .231 with no home runs, one RBI, and two runs scored. To be fair, it is a very small sample size, and there are more than 100 games left on the Rangers’ schedule. Anything can happen.
Never a Dull Moment
The remaining outfielders that the Rangers have at their disposal are David Dahl and Adolis Garcia. Both of them have done well for the Rangers this year, especially Garcia. In 114 at-bats, Garcia boasts a batting average of .298 with ten home runs, 27 RBI, and 18 runs scored. He has quickly become a fan favorite in Arlington. Dahl has also been a nice surprise. He is hitting .216 on the year with three homers, ten RBI, and 13 runs scored. He doesn’t have quite the power that Garcia has, but he is reliable with his glove and a good presence in the clubhouse. All in all, there are plenty of positive things to say about the growth of this Texas Rangers outfield.
“Main Photo”
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Joey Gallo, Chas McCormick, Willie Calhoun, Khris Davis, Elvis Andrus, David Dahl, Adolis Garcia
