With the All Star break officially underway, many of the Texas Rangers will get the opportunity to rest up after a long first half of the season. With the exception of Joe Nathan, Yu Darvish and Nelson Cruz, the entire Texas Rangers organization will use this four day break to recharge and get ready for the long haul ahead.
For some Rangers the break could not have come at a better time, as cold streaks can often be cured by taking some time off of the diamond. On the other hand, there are other players who came into the break hot who probably wish the time off could have happened at another time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at who the hottest and coldest players for the Rangers are heading into the second half of the season.
Hottest
Adrian Beltre
July Stats: .440/.491/.920, 7 HR and 13 RBI
Adrian Beltre hasn’t just been the hottest player on the Rangers, but may also have been the hottest player in the month of July in all of baseball. Over his last 10 games before the All-Star break, Beltre had five multi-hit games, but none were better than his performance on July 9 against Baltimore.
In an 8-4 win over the Orioles, Beltre reached base five times, going 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBI. Currently, Beltre ranks in the top seven in the American League in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. If Beltre can continue to rake like he did at the beginning of the month, the Rangers will be in a good position to keep up with the Athletics in the second half of the season.
Nelson Cruz
July Stats: .309/.345/.473, 2 HR and 8 RBI
In the midst of a contract year, Nelson Cruz is making a strong case to be paid like one of the best outfielders in the game. For the season, Cruz is batting .277 with 22 homers and 69 RBI and has helped offset the departures of Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and Mike Napoli.
In the month of July, Cruz was batting .309 with two homers and eight RBI, and he had three multi-hit games leading up the the All-Star break. Don’t expect the break to cool down Cruz either; as mentioned above, he has a contract to play for next season. Expect Cruz to carry his momentum into a big second half for the Rangers.
Coldest
Mitch Moreland
July Stats: .250/.295/.375, 1 HR and 5 RBI
Though Moreland‘s numbers don’t look awful in the month of July, his splits that include the month of June are much worse. Moreland has gone 19-for-95 since the start of June, and only has two home runs after hitting 11 in his first two months. Sure, an injury to Moreland may have something to do with it, but his slugging percentage was nearly .300 points lower in June than it was in the month of May.
Rangers fans will be hoping that Moreland‘s injury has more to do with his slumping than him falling back into bad habits. Moreland was one of the feel good stories for the Rangers at the beginning of the season, and he is a very important part of the lineup. Texas will need Moreland to perform better in the second half, and it would not be a surprise if they find someone else if he can’t.
Jurickson Profar
July Stats: .161/.278/.226, 0 HR and 2 RBI
Some of this can be contributed to the fact that Profar is in the midst of being transitioned to the outfield, and some of it can be contributed to his inconsistent playing time. But the fact of the matter is that Profar struggled mightily through July and was the coldest hitter on the Rangers coming into the All-Star break.
This break may end up doing a world of good for Profar, as the time off could help him get some extra swings to get back into a groove. Profar came out firing when he first got called up in May for the Rangers, and he could wind up being the key for the Rangers in the second half.
Justin Grimm
July Stats: 11.1 IP, 0-2, 11.91 ERA, 6 K and .426 BAA
Grimm’s struggles as the season went on became so bad that he was recently moved to the bullpen after leaving his last start with forearm soreness.
After a brilliant first month in which the rookie went 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA, Grimm has been getting lit up by opposing hitters, and has yet to have a month in which his batting average against wasn’t lower than .309. To make matters worse, Grimm’s walk rate has skyrocketed as well. After walking just four batters in 17 innings in April, Grimm has walked 24 batters in his last 76 innings.
Similar to Profar, the break may be what Grimm needed, as he may have been wearing down in the Texas heat. Unfortunately for Grimm, his time in the rotation may have come to an end. With the return of Martin Perez to the rotation and Alexi Ogando on the mend as well, Grimm may see clean-up duty from here on out.
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