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The 2021 ZiPS projections for the Texas Rangers came out yesterday, and somehow I missed it.
Although in actually looking at them...uh...
ZiPS thinks the 2021 Rangers will be terrible. Which isn’t a surprise, really. Joey Gallo is the only position player who projects to be above 2.0 — and he does so just barely, at 2.3 fWAR. ZiPS does really like Sam Huff, though — he’s projected at 1.9 fWAR, along with Nick Solak and the newly acquired Nate Lowe. Leody Taveras is next among position players, at 1.5 fWAR, and everything else is pretty ugly.
ZiPS has Isiah Kiner-Falefa barely above replacement level in 2021, though that is with him projected to be 8 runs below average defensively. If you think he’s a somewhat above-average defensive shortstop, he’s in the 1.5-2.0 range.
On the pitching side, the only pitcher projected to be above 2.0 is Corey Kluber who, you may recall, is not a Ranger anymore, but is a free agent. Kohei Arihara is at 1.8, Kyle Gibson and Dane Dunning are barely above 1.0, and the next highly ranked pitcher on the list is Tyler Phillips, so...
Anyway, the ZiPS projections are ugly. Go look at them. Or don’t. It is up to you.