Batting Order: The Texas Rangers may have the best batting order in the American League, even after losing several studs (2B Ian Kinsler, 2001 Ivan Rodriguez, LF Juan Gonzalez) due to an already crowded salary cap. While the lack a traditional lead-off man, their bats are among the most powerful in baseball. Pitchers cannot not afford to give up a chart to Pudge in the 2 hole through Beltre in the 7th. A-Rod, Palmeiro, and Hamilton are the biggest sluggers, featuring the potential to hit 15 to 20 HRs in a 48 game season. Expect league-leading numbers from this offense.
Rotation: A shockingly stellar bunch considering how much cap space was spent on the offense. Darvish and Wilson are the best 1-2 punch in the division, giving Texas two aces that can beat vaunted Angels and A's pitchers. Lewis and Helling are risky, as they allow HRs off their charts, but they're worth the risk, especially considering that they're tier 3 and 4 pitchers making tier 4 and 5 pitcher salaries. While not a deep rotation, the big 2 and the great slugging should be enough to keep Texas in the hunt.
Bullpen: Nathan and Ross are going to get a lot of work in tight ball games, as their fellow relievers are horrendous. The plan is for Zimmerman and Tateyama to only work in blow-outs, but we'll see if fate rewards Texas for gambling so heavily on their offensive firepower.
Overall: The Rangers are loaded offensively, a big boon considering how many low control pitchers they'll face in this division. Although the backend of the rotation and bullpen are huge problems that may be addressed (at the expense of next year's salary cap), expect this version of the Rangers to score a lot of runs and win enough games to be a playoff contender.
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