Team-by-team outlooks
The Rangers bring in a handful of new faces to join a squad that was one game away from a .500 record a season ago. Only three AL teams outscored Texas in 2006, but for a team notorious for giving up a ton of homers, they were only ranked 13th in home runs in the majors.
Also, don't count on many steals from this squad. Only the Braves and Red Sox had fewer successful steals then Texas' 53 last year.
As far as their pitching staff goes, they traded their top pitching prospect John Danks away for Brandon McCarthy. The latter has been groomed on a World Series staff for the past two seasons and is ready for a breakout season. He'll work as their third starter behind leftovers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla.
Eric Gagne was signed to close games out in Arlington, which means that their primary closer from a year ago, Akinori Otsuka, will move back to the setup role he had mastered in San Diego in 2005. If Gagne can stay healthy, this bullpen can be a huge help for the Rangers' staff.
Sammy Sosa signed a minor league contract with Texas this winter, but the odds of him making the team as the right fielder or designated hitter are slim considering he hit only .221 in his last year in Baltimore (2005).
Gerald Laird finally gets his chance as the Rangers' No. 1 catcher. He takes over for departed free agent Rod Barajas and Texas should feel a boost both offensively as well as behind the plate. Laird has been beset by injuries over the past few years, specifically in 2004, when he tore a ligament in his left thumb. He had beaten out Barajas for the job that spring, but was unable to play. Once he finally stuck in the majors (in 2006), he was still sharing time. His stellar defensive presence is evidenced by the fact that the Rangers' staff ERA was 4.39 (down from 4.60) with him behind the plate. According to MLB.com, that was the eighth-lowest catcher's ERA in the AL for a catcher with over 500 innings.
Bruce Chen was 0-7 with a 6.93 ERA in 40 games with Baltimore last season. But he went 5-0 with a 0.72 ERA in the Puerto Rican Winter League, so the Rangers signed him to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training. The Rangers hope they can coax the 2005 version out of Chen -- he went 13-10 with a 3.83 ERA for Baltimore. "That is quite a turnaround," pitching coach Mark Connor told MLB.com. "I want to talk to him a little bit and get some of his thoughts on what went wrong and what we can do to fix it." Chen will compete with Jamey Wright, Josh Rupe, Kameron Loe, John Koronka and Edinson Volquez for that fifth starter's spot.
Spring position battles
Fourth and fifth SPs -- John Koronka, Bruce Chen, Jamey Wright, Josh Rupe, Edinson Volquez vs. Thomas Diamond
From a Fantasy vantage point, all of these pitchers are gambles even in AL-only formats.
Designated hitter -- Frank Catalanotto, Jason Botts vs. Sammy Sosa
Catalanotto is the safe bet, Botts is the player with the most upside and Sosa is the longshot. The first two will likely get drafted in the reserve drafts of many mixed leagues, whereas Sosa has been out of baseball for over a year and AL-only leaguers are the only ones that should be willing to gamble.
| Texas Rangers Outlook | |||||
| Projected lineup | Pos. | Projected Rotation | |||
| 1 | Kenny Lofton | CF | 1 | Kevin Millwood | RH |
| 2 | Michael Young | SS | 2 | Vicente Padilla | LH |
| 3 | Mark Teixeira | 1B | 3 | Brandon McCarthy | RH |
| 4 | Hank Blalock | 3B | 4 | Robinson Tejeda | LH |
| 5 | Brad Wilkerson | LF | 5 | John Koronka | LH |
| 6 | Frank Catalanotto | DH | Alt | Bruce Chen | LH |
| 7 | Ian Kinsler | 2B | |||
| 8 | Nelson Cruz | RF | Top bullpen arms | ||
| 9 | Gerald Laird | C | CL | Eric Gagne | RH |
| Top bench options | SU | Akinori Otsuka | RH | ||
| R | Jason Botts | 1B/OF | RP | Wes Littleton | RH |
| R | Sammy Sosa | DH | RP | Ron Mahay | LH |
| Rookies/Prospects | Age | Pos. | 2006 high | Destination | |
| 1 | Jason Botts | 26 | DH | Majors | Majors |
| Big power man has wide-open opportunity in still great hitter's park | |||||
| 2 | Edinson Volquez | 23 | RH SP | Majors | Majors |
| Only worth a spot this high if he reaches potential and makes rotation | |||||
| 3 | Thomas Diamond | 23 | RH SP | Double-A | Triple-A |
| Lost some high-end luster, but should develop into solid starter | |||||
| 4 | Joaquin Arias | 22 | SS | Majors | Triple-A |
| Plus speed but blocked by two studly Fantasy stars at SS/2B | |||||
| 5 | Eric Hurley | 21 | RH SP | Double-A | Double-A |
| Their top-rated prospect now according to Baseball America | |||||
| Best of the rest: RHP Wes Littleton, 24; OF John Mayberry Jr., 23; RHP Josh Rupe, 24; RHP Nick Masset, 24; C Taylor Teagarden, 23; 1B Chris Davis, 21; RHP Francisco Cruceta, 25. | |||||
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