The Texas Rangers’ offense has disappointed through the first 34 games that they have played. They look much like the offense did last year when they underperformed and the stats back up the eye test. Their batting average at .241 ranking 21 in the league, last year their batting average was .234 good for 26 in the league. This is despite the fact that Josh Jung is tearing the cover off the ball with a slash line of .325/.381/.916 with four home runs and 19 RBIs.
He is coming off an insane April where his slash line was .388/.457/.675 and he did his best to keep the team a float. Jung along with Brandon Nimmo, who the Rangers acquired in November, have been the two hitters who have had success while the rest of the lineup struggles. These are the guys that need to step up and help them.
Corey Seager
Corey Seager is supposed to be the star of this team and be leading them. However, he has been off to a slow start this year with just a .213 batting average. He has been hitting for power though as he has launched six long balls and collected 19 RBIs.
The thing that has been most worrying are the strikeouts. He has already struck out 37 times in the 33 games, that is compared to the 87 times that he struck out in 102 games last year. Seager has been known to have a bit of a strikeout issue, but not to this extent and he is not walking at the rate that he usually does.
Fans have been expecting Seager to get out of his slump, but he just continues to struggle. Luckily for Rangers fans, Seager has a long track record of being a really good player so he won’t hit like this all year. I’m not sure if the same can be said for the other players.
Corey Seager launches a 3-run homer at Dodger Stadium! pic.twitter.com/MncTcjcXtG
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2026
Josh Smith
Josh Smith has not looked like the player who won the Silver Slugger in 2024 and put up three WAR in 2025. Like most of the team he has struggled with a slash line of .217/.324/.563 with no home runs and six RBIs. He was looked at it as the guy at second base after they traded Marcus Semien for Nimmo.
He has not lived up to those expectations. He has not been hitting the ball hard as he ranks both 30 percentile in barrel rate, hard hit rate, and average exit velocity. That is an indictor to why he has struggled so much offensively. The defensive end hasn’t been much better as he has been a bad defender at -2 outs above average.
Josh Smith badly needed a day like this, albeit in a deficit at the moment. Two base knocks on the evening for the Rangers 2B as he raises his batting average above the Mendoza line.
Smitty gonna need a few more of these performances to keep his spot on the active roster once… pic.twitter.com/ddZkkmE6mF
— Right on Rangers (@RightOnRangers) May 3, 2026
Smith will be getting a bit of a break, as the Rangers placed him on the IL Monday with a “right glute strain”.
Jake Burger
Burger has failed to be the cleanup hitters that they envisioned when they traded for him in 2024. He was looking like it at the beginning of the season with .409 batting average with two homers and six RBIs in March. In the last 30 games, he hasn’t even been able to crack the Mendoza line with a .179 batting average.
Jake Burger goes yard for the 6th time this season to put the Rangers on the board!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/h0YL3VLxMT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 3, 2026
This under-performance has lead to him being moved all over the batting lineup. He has not been hitting cleanup lately and has found himself in the five or the six spot. His strikeouts have gone up with 20 strikeouts compared to just three walks in the last 15 games. He dealt with this with the Rangers last year and continued to struggle, this time he needs to improve.
The Rangers are going to need their lineup and these guys to step up if they want to get back on track and make a push for the playoffs. They don’t need the lineup to pull the pitching down again.
(Top Image Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images)
