Quote:
Originally Posted by LonghornDub
I managed to catch some of Harrison on my Extra Innings "free preview" up here, as well as Holland and Ogando on the Mariners broadcast. I was impressed by all three, but particular 3 and 5. I already liked Ogando, though.
I have a fairly simplistic question for you more serious baseball nuts And before I ask this, let me recognize that baseball is a very peculiar animal and we can't at all assume the Rangers will even make the playoffs.
But assuming they do, how do you guys feel about their chances without a true ace on the staff? I was thinking back through the decade to try and recall if any of the recent WS champions had a #1 guy who was at Wilson's level or lower, and TBH it's hard for me to remember how well some of these #1 guys (Carpenter, etc.) were pitching in their championship postseasons.
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Here's the thing about the Rangers.. They do have a couple of guys that can be legit #2's on a very good team. Wilson and Lewis have stuff good enough for that and they have a bit of a track record as a starter (all of one year). What they need is for some of these younger/less experienced guys to step up consistently and get to the #3 type starter level. If you've got a group of 4 guys that are legit top 3 starters, then you've got a shot. They need Wilson and Lewis to be at least at the level that they were at last year, and they need some guys to step up.
The Rangers have alot of young guys with stuff good enough to be top 3 rotation pitchers. Ogando certainly does. Holland is often viewed as a guy that can top out as a #2. Many have looked at Harrison as a guy that can top out as a #3. Personally, I think his stuff could move that up to a #2 if all worked out. Obviously, you don't know what to expect out of Webb. Personally, I don't expect much, but we know that his top side before his injury was a #1. With Hunter..well, I think he tops out as a #3-4 with him being a #4-5 guy much more likely. I also think he'll have some trouble getting his rotation spot back.
Ideally, you'd like for guys to step up from within. And yeah, they have that ability. Perhaps they don't have alot of ace type pitchers in the majors right now, but there may be one on the way here in a year or two.