2017 Texas Rangers pitching stats

The frustrating thing about the first part of the season is that the pitching has generally been okay. The team’s ERA+ is above average, and the rotation — which was a cause for concern -- has done its job.

Its the bullpen that has been a problem, with Sam Dyson, in particular, being the biggest culprit. The good news is that I don’t think the bullpen should be a big problem going forward — Keone Kela had a bad outing yesterday, and so he has a 4.91 ERA now, but he had six scoreless outings before that, and he should be fine. Tony Barnette and Jeremy Jeffress have had slow starts to the year, but they seem like they should be serviceable. Matt Bush has been terrific, Alex Claudio is doing Alex Claudio things, and Jose Leclerc has been a revelation.

The real question is whether the bullpen righting itself will ultimately matter, or if it will be moot because the offensive struggles, regression from the rotation and the big hole the Rangers have dug for themselves mean they’re out of the race come July anyway.