With about 10 percent of the season over, here are some bold predictions for the Texas Rangers based on how they have played so far.
Three Bold Predictions for the 2026 Texas Rangers
Three Starting Pitchers Finish Top 10 in Cy Young Voting
The strength of the team has been the starting pitching. The Rangers sit at fourth in all of baseball in ERA with a 3.30. While some of that work has come from their bullpen, which ranks second with a 2.43 ERA, their starters have still been great.
The Newcomer
New addition MacKenzie Gore is leading the way with a 2.76 ERA through three starts. He has been all the Rangers could have hoped for since they acquired him in an offseason trade, as he has struck out 25 in 16 1/3 innings. He has only walked five, showing off his impressive control, and the lefty has slotted in great for Texas.
The Ace
Jacob deGrom is still doing deGrom things. He recently shut down the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing one run in six innings while striking out nine hitters. The run came on the first pitch of the game when Shohei Ohtani took him deep.
However, the Dodgers couldn’t get anything else against him. He is right behind Gore with a 2.87 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings. He is still showing that he is one of the best pitchers in the game and is continuing to stay healthy with the Rangers.
Jacob deGrom, 3 Glove Side Slider K overlay.
Pretty sure he can dot glove side sliders in his sleep. pic.twitter.com/SnRJg0VwFV
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2026
The Wild Card
The last prediction to finish top 10 in Cy Young voting is a bit of a wild card, and it is Jack Leiter. While he does have a 4.91 ERA, it looks a lot worse than it actually is. He got roughed up by the Dodgers in his latest start, allowing five runs without getting through four innings, which drove up his ERA.
Other than that outing, he has only allowed three runs in 11 innings with 17 strikeouts. His stuff looks even better than it did last year, and it seems like he has the potential to be the best starter on this staff.
Nathan Eovaldi could be another dark horse to finish top 10 in Cy Young voting, especially after two strong starts where he allowed two runs in 13 innings. However, he has been hit hard when hitters are making contact with his pitches, and he is 36 years old.
Evan Carter Finishes with At Least 4 WAR
Evan Carter looks like he has reverted to form from his first season, when he helped Texas win the 2023 World Series. While he is still struggling against lefties, he is hitting well against righties, and he is providing excellent defense. He is one of the most valuable center fielders due to his defense. He has two outs above average.
It’s probably gone overlooked with a host of other early-season stuff ahead of it, but, Evan Carter has done a really nice job in center field. pic.twitter.com/a6vrTHln9c
— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) April 5, 2026
Carter has also tapped into his power a bit more as he hit two home runs in the latest series against the Dodgers. His advanced stats show that Carter is playing a lot closer to his 2023 version compared to the other years. He is the best in MLB when it comes to launch angle, as he is in the top percentile and is hitting the sweet spot over half the time.
Other things that stand out are his walk and chase rates, which are in the top 10 percent league-wide. His eye is as good as ever, and he is forcing pitchers to throw him good pitches to get him out. His hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and average exit velocities are all above average, which are great indicators of the way that he is playing.
He is already at 0.7 WAR, and with his great defense so far and the increased offensive production that looks to be coming, it would be no surprise for Carter to post a WAR of 4.0 or above.
Wyatt Langford Will Return to His Old Self
There were high expectations for Wyatt Langford coming into the season. He occasionally even entered MVP dark horse conversations. Unfortunately, it has not gone that way for the 2023 draft pick.
He is just slashing .170/.185/.340 with one home run and three RBI to start the season. It has been very disappointing for Langford, but his advanced stats show what is going wrong and that it is not as bad as it looks. Those show that it should be better than it is. His expected batting average is .236, which is 50 points higher than his actual batting average of .185. His squared up rate is his highest metric, showing that he is getting the best exit velocity possible with the bat speed and the pitch type.
Wyatt Langford’s first homer of the season is off of Tyler Glasnow! pic.twitter.com/T7w35Oa4JO
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 11, 2026
On the flip side, he is struggling with his sweet spot rate, which means that the launch angle at which he is hitting the ball is really bad, unlike Evan Carter. Despite all of this, he can still bounce back. His hard hit rate, bat speed, average exit velocities, and whiff rates are all above average. Those are indications that he is doing the right thing and just hasn’t been able to get the results that he wants. It is too early in the season to hang it up on Langford, though, and it’s only a matter of time until he looks like the player that he usually is.
The Last Word
These are some admittedly bold predictions that could still go the Texas Rangers’ way. If they do, then the Rangers will likely see themselves for the first time since their championship year in 2023.
Main Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
