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Welcome back to our 2020 team-by-team previews. Today we will be checking on one of the most underrated offenses from year to year in the Texas Rangers.
You can find all of our 2020 fantasy baseball MLB team previews here.
Starting Lineup
| # | NAME | POS |
| 1 | Shin-Soo Choo | DH |
| 2 | Elvis Andrus | SS |
| 3 | Willie Calhoun | LF |
| 4 | Joey Gallo | RF |
| 5 | Todd Frazier | 3B |
| 6 | Danny Santana | CF |
| 7 | Rougned Odor | 2B |
| 8 | Ronald Guzman | 1B |
| 9 | Robinson Chirinos | C |
- Better in OBP formats: Joey Gallo, Willie Calhoun, Shin-Soo Choo
- Worse in OBP formats: Rougned Odor, Danny Santana, Elvis Andrus
- Better than his ADP: Willie Calhoun (178), Shin-Soo Choo (221)
- Worse than his ADP: Danny Santana (134)
- Bench bat(s) worth rostering: Nick Solak,
- Player(s) most likely to lose a starting spot: Todd Frazier, Rougned Odor
Quick notes: The clock starts now for Rougned Odor, who is just 26, but who has a track record of streaky play with mediocre results. Nick Solak should have an everyday job within the first month of the season — be it at second base or third base. The Rangers went hard after Nick Castellanos and they ended up with … Todd Frazier. It’s not fantasy-related, but this team defense is pretty bad.
Pitching Rotation
| # | NAME | R/L |
| 1 | Corey Kluber | R |
| 2 | Mike Minor | L |
| 3 | Lance Lynn | R |
| 4 | Kyle Gibson | R |
| 5 | Jordan Lyles | R |
- Better than his ADP: Corey Kluber (93), Kyle Gibson (341)
- Worse than his ADP: Lance Lynn (126), Mike Minor (160)
- Starter least likely to stick in the rotation: Jordan Lyles
- Non-starter most likely to enter the rotation: Kolby Allard, Joe Palumbo
Quick notes: Corey Kluber is a notoriously slow starter, and he never had a chance to see if the could turn it around last year. Bet on the track record. Speaking on track record, keep that in mind with Mike Minor and Lance Lynn, both of whom had career years last season. Lynn’s seems more real than Minor’s season. Kolby Allard and Joe Palumbo are interesting watchlist guys.
Bullpen
- Projected closer: Jose Leclerc (Job Security: LOW)
- Top backup: Nick Goody
- Premier holds option: Rafael Montero
- Sneaky holds option: None
Quick notes: The Rangers abandoned ship on Jose Leclerc in 2019, so there’s not really a lot of confidence that they won’t do the same again this year if he struggles. Nick Goody is a sleeper to keep an eye on in best-ball drafts.
Prospects
- Relevant in 2020: Nick Solak
- Worth a look for 2021 and beyond: Leody Tavares, Josh Jung, Sherten Apostel, Bayron Lora, Hans Crouse
- Don’t believe the hype: Bubba Thompson (he seemed polished when drafted in 2017, but he hasn’t been able to figure it out in the lower levels)
Other Helpful Fantasy Info
- Park Factor: Unknown (new ballpark).
- Green Light Rating: High.
- Likeliest 2020 roster moves: Taking until the trade deadline to evaluate where they are in the standings. Grab pitching depth for rotation and bullpen. Trade Odor.
- Bold Fantasy Prediction: Nick Solak posts a .275/25/10 line.
- Bland Fantasy Prediction: No Rangers reliever has more than 10 saves on the season.
Check out all of our 2020 Fantasy Baseball MLB Team Previews.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.