
| Rangers agree to terms with seven players | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Texas Rangers have agreed to terms with pitcher Tommy Hunter on a one-year contract. Surprise, AZ (Sports Network) – The Texas Rangers have agreed to terms with pitcher Tommy Hunter on a one-year contract. The team has also agreed with pitchers Matt Harrison, Fabio Castillo and Wilmer Font, catcher Taylor Teagarden, infielder Chris Davis and first baseman Mitch Moreland on one-year deals. Hunter went 13-4 with a 3.73 earned run average over a career-high 22 starts and one relief outing last season with the Rangers. He opened the season on the disabled list with a left oblique strain and was also sidelined by a hip flexor injury during the 2010 campaign. The 24-year-old right-hander was 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA in three playoff turns. Harrison went 3-2 with a 4.71 ERA last season in six starts and 31 appearances in relief. Moreland hit .255 with nine home runs and 25 runs batted in over 47 regular season games last year, his first in the big leagues. He batted .348 with a long ball and seven RBI in 46 post-season at-bats. Davis struggled to a .192 average with a homer and four RBI while Teagarden hit four home runs and drove in six, while hitting .155, in 28 games last year. © 2011 The Sports Network If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top. Posted in rangers-news | Comments Off
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| 2011 Fantasy outlooks: Texas Rangers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listen to our latest Fantasy Baseball Podcast! After finishing right behind the Los Angeles Angels for two straight seasons, the Texas Rangers finally got the better of their AL West rivals in 2010. In fact, they surged past all AL teams on their way to their first-ever World Series berth. Unfortunately, the Giants were there to cool them off in five games. The Rangers are technically the team to beat in the AL after winning their first league pennant, but many would consider the Boston Red Sox the favorite on the Junior Circuit heading into 2011 after they loaded up in the offseason. Regardless, the expectations are certainly elevated deep in the heart of Texas. Gone is midseason acquisition Cliff Lee, All-Star Vladimir Guerrero and reliable setup man Frank Francisco. Arriving are Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Brandon Webb, who could be a key for Texas after missing nearly two full seasons because of a right shoulder injury. Keeping reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton healthy is going to be crucial for the Rangers. The good news is that Beltre is just another bat to protect Hamilton. Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and the disgruntled Michael Young, who is unhappy about a move to designated hitter with Beltre’s arrival, are a great supporting cast. They are also quality Fantasy options. The rotation could be the key to Texas repeating as AL West champs. Despite losing Lee, the Rangers return three pitchers — C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter — that won 10-plus games for the club last year. The rotation could also receive a real boost if closer Neftali Feliz makes a seamless transition to a starter this spring. Otherwise, Texas will keep his 40-save presence at the back end of the bullpen. The Rangers spent a good deal of the early 2000s trying to get out of the AL West cellar. They finally popped the champagne last year, and despite losing All-Stars like Lee and Guerrero, the Rangers aren’t ready to take the bubbly off the ice just yet. Late-round flier … Tommy Hunter, SP Hunter is turning into quite a little winning machine for the Rangers. He has a .647 winning percentage in less than 50 starts with the Rangers, this coming after he posted a .571 winning percentage in the minors. Hunter could be just scratching the surface with his potential. It’s unlikely he is going to be an elite strikeout pitcher, but his ERA, WHIP and hits per nine innings has dwindled each year he has been in the majors. He also doesn’t walk a ton of batters and knows how to pitch in the hitter-friendly Ballpark at Arlington. Hunter has a .765 winning percentage, 3.70 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 24 home outings (23 starts). Hunter went 13-4 last season after starting the year 8-0. He hasn’t even reached 30-plus starts in a season yet, but if he keeps on his current path, he could easily be a threat for 15 wins. With little investment needed, Hunter could be a great return for Fantasy owners. Bust … Adrian Beltre, 3B Look, do I feel Beltre will perform as a No. 1 Fantasy third baseman? Yes. However, he will not repeat as the third-best Fantasy scoring third baseman like he was last year and I don’t think he is going to put up the same numbers he did with Boston. Beltre is going to a hitter-friendly ballpark and will likely bat behind one of the best hitters in baseball — Hamilton. However, it is worth pointing out that Beltre got paid this offseason and his best numbers have come in contract years. Case in point, Beltre totaled a career-high 48 homers, 121 RBI and .334 average in 2004 — his first free-agent year. His second free-agent year — 2009 — doesn’t really count because he was injured. However, last year he had a career-high 49 doubles while posting his second-best numbers in homers (28), RBI (102) and batting average (.321). Beltre slumped to .255, 19 homers and 87 RBI in 2005 after his career year. It wouldn’t surprise me if Beltre’s numbers take a dip in all major categories this season. Breakout … Mitch Moreland, 1B You see Moreland’s .255 batting average in 47 regular-season games and you probably don’t think much of him. But take a closer at some of his other numbers. He had a .364 on-base percentage and a .833 OPS. In 15 playoff games, Moreland hit .348, while posting a .400 on-base percentage and .900 OPS. This coming after Moreland had a .313 average, .383 on-base percentage and .892 OPS in the minors. He is also a solid gap hitter and run producer. Not every elite prospect hits consistently when they first arrive in the majors. But Moreland’s postseason run has to be a huge confidence booster. Also working in his favor is that he doesn’t have to be the savior since Texas’ lineup is loaded, so he will probably see some good pitches to hit. He also plays in one of the majors’ top offensive parks.
Stay in touch with the most passionate Fantasy staff in the business by following us via Twitter . You can e-mail us your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com . Be sure to put Team outlooks in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. What are your opinions. Posted in rangers-news | Comments Off
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| Rangers are OK with not having started Cliff Lee in Game 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General Manager Jon Daniels says he is glad the team did not use the left-hander on short rest, choosing instead to go with Tommy Hunter, who lasted only four innings in a 4-0 loss to San Francisco. With the Texas Rangers one loss away from losing the World Series, their general manager said Monday he had no regrets about not asking ace Cliff Lee to start on short rest. Not a lot else going on in the MLB world today. Posted in rangers-news | Comments Off
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| Hunter's postseason struggles continue | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rangers starter Tommy Hunter watched the foul balls fly and his pitch count soar. "It's one of those things where if they foul the balls off, I just laugh," Hunter said. "That's what I did." Leave your comments on the news below. Posted in rangers-news | Comments Off
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| Saving Lee for Game 5 the wise move | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rangers manager Ron Washington will inevitably catch his share of criticism for sticking with Tommy Hunter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Giants, rather than turning to Cliff Lee on short rest. Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news. Posted in rangers-news | Comments Off
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| Hunter eager for chance to pick up Rangers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tommy Hunter struggled in ALDS and ALCS starts, but the right-hander has a chance to pick up the Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night. If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top. Posted in rangers-news | Comments Off
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