Series Thread: Rangers Host Oakland A's For Three Games April 9-11

[saddles]

After what turned out to be a disappointing series against the Astros, the Rangers need to get back on track against the A's. We need to win at least 2 games and a sweep should be attainable. The Rangers send out Eovaldi, Bradford and Gray to face Oakland this week.

The stats below are from Baseball Savant.

Hitters​

Name	Pos.	BBE	LA°	EV	Hard Hit%	xwOBA	xBA	xSLG	K%	BB%	Sprint
Adolis García	RF	27	24.1	92.2	48.1	.349	.215	.503	33.3	4.4	26.9	Vs.
Josh Smith	SS	17	12.8	91.0	47.1	.484	.390	.603	8.3	16.7	26.6	Vs.
Leody Taveras	CF	25	12.8	90.0	32.0	.315	.265	.333	12.1	12.1	29.2	Vs.
Wyatt Langford	LF	34	15.2	89.7	38.2	.275	.225	.384	21.3	6.4	29.3	Vs.
Andrew Knizner *	C	6	23.3	89.6	33.3	.128	.135	.170	25.0	0.0	--	Vs.
Corey Seager	SS	34	13.6	88.2	35.3	.351	.314	.411	9.3	11.6	24.3	Vs.
Marcus Semien	2B	36	15.9	87.8	33.3	.418	.337	.503	8.3	16.7	28.1	Vs.
Jonah Heim	C	26	17.4	87.7	30.8	.231	.240	.294	23.5	0.0	24.2	Vs.
Travis Jankowski *	CF	5	23.4	87.6	40.0	.307	.137	.329	22.2	22.2	--	Vs.
Evan Carter	LF	26	9.7	86.8	34.6	.400	.297	.382	7.7	23.1	29.6	Vs.
Ezequiel Duran *	3B	8	-3.7	84.3	37.5	.186	.137	.204	35.7	7.1	28.9	Vs.
Jared Walsh	1B	24	22.2	84.3	29.2	.390	.316	.513	28.2	10.3	26.5	Vs.
Davis Wendzel	SS		--	--	--				--	--	--	Vs.

 

[saddles]

From Baseball Savant​

​

Plate Discipline​

Name	Zone%	ZoneSw%	Chase%	Edge%	1stPitchSw%	Swing%	Whiff%
Adolis García	48.2	72.8	37.9	42.9	57.8	54.8	35.9
Josh Smith	51.2	69.0	7.5	42.7	29.2	39.0	3.1
Leody Taveras	48.1	70.6	27.3	47.2	36.4	48.1	19.6
Wyatt Langford	49.7	58.2	20.7	45.9	19.1	39.3	18.1
Andrew Knizner	41.4	66.7	58.8	51.7	50.0	62.1	38.9
Corey Seager	51.8	75.3	32.4	52.5	54.8	54.6	16.9
Marcus Semien	46.0	75.4	19.8	42.0	39.6	45.3	14.7
Jonah Heim	49.2	70.7	40.0	44.1	41.2	55.1	20.0
Travis Jankowski	48.4	53.3	12.5	32.3	33.3	32.3	20.0
Evan Carter	43.9	54.2	18.5	44.5	23.1	34.4	19.6
Ezequiel Duran	49.0	75.0	48.0	40.8	57.1	61.2	33.3
Jared Walsh	49.1	65.9	22.4	45.5	30.8	43.7	35.6

 

[saddles]

Statcast Batted Ball Profile​

Name	Weak%	Topped%	Under%	Flare/Burner%	Solid%	Barrel%
Adolis García	0.0	22.2	33.3	18.5	3.7	22.2
Josh Smith	5.9	23.5	17.6	35.3	11.8	5.9
Wyatt Langford	2.9	26.5	29.4	20.6	11.8	8.8
Marcus Semien	2.8	27.8	27.8	33.3	2.8	5.6
Travis Jankowski	0.0	20.0	40.0	0.0	20.0	20.0
Jared Walsh	12.5	16.7	16.7	45.8	0.0	8.3
Davis Wendzel	--	--	--	--	--	--
Leody Taveras	4.0	24.0	36.0	32.0	4.0	0.0
Andrew Knizner	0.0	33.3	50.0	16.7	0.0	0.0
Corey Seager	2.9	32.4	29.4	26.5	8.8	0.0
Jonah Heim	0.0	26.9	30.8	34.6	7.7	0.0
Evan Carter	3.8	34.6	23.1	26.9	11.5	0.0
Ezequiel Duran	0.0	62.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	0.0

 

[saddles]

More from Baseball Savant:

"Expected Outcome stats help to remove defense and ballpark from the equation to express the skill shown at the moment of batted ball contact. By looking at the exit velocity and launch angle of each batted ball, a Hit Probability is assigned based on the outcomes of comparable historic balls in play. By accumulating the expected outcomes of each batted ball with actual strikeouts, walks and hit by pitches, Expected Batting Average (xBA), Expected Slugging (xSLG), and (most importantly) Expected Weighted On-Base Average (xwOBA) tell the story of a player's season based on quality of and amount of contact, not outcomes.
* Qualifiers: 2.1 PA per team game for batters, 1.25 PA per team game for pitchers."

	Batting Avg	Slugging	Quality of Contact + K + BB
	Year	BA	xBA	Diff	SLG	xSLG	Diff	wOBA	xwOBA	Diff
MLB Average	2024	.241	.248	-0.007	.387	.403	-0.016	.317	.322	-0.005

	Batting Avg	Slugging	Quality of Contact + K + BB
Rk.	Player	Team	PA	Pos	BIP	BA	xBA	Diff	SLG	xSLG	Diff	wOBA	xwOBA	Diff
1	Smith, Josh		24	3B	17	.316	.390	-0.074	.421	.603	-0.182	.406	.484	-0.078
2	Semien, Marcus		48	2B	36	.275	.337	-0.062	.375	.503	-0.128	.357	.418	-0.061
3	Carter, Evan		39	LF	26	.172	.297	-0.125	.276	.382	-0.106	.327	.400	-0.073
4	Walsh, Jared		39	1B	24	.314	.316	-0.002	.457	.513	-0.056	.377	.390	-0.013
5	Seager, Corey		43	SS	34	.368	.314	0.054	.474	.411	0.063	.405	.351	0.054
6	García, Adolis		45	RF	27	.268	.215	0.053	.585	.503	0.082	.382	.349	0.033
7	Taveras, Leody		33	CF	25	.250	.265	-0.015	.393	.333	0.060	.332	.315	0.017
8	Langford, Wyatt		47	DH	34	.256	.225	0.031	.326	.384	-0.058	.271	.275	-0.004
9	Heim, Jonah		34	C	26	.235	.240	-0.005	.294	.294	0.000	.235	.231	0.004

 

[saddles]

	Batting Avg	Slugging	Quality of Contact + K + BB	ERA
Rk.	Player	Team	PA	BIP	BA	xBA	Diff	SLG	xSLG	Diff	wOBA	xwOBA	Diff	ERA	xERA	Diff
1	Bradford, Cody		44	33	.116	.172	-0.056	.186	.321	-0.135	.145	.222	-0.077	2.13	1.93	0.20
2	Ureña, José		26	16	.087	.191	-0.104	.087	.227	-0.140	.152	.242	-0.090	0.00	2.28	-2.28
3	Latz, Jacob		18	12	.200	.159	0.041	.200	.197	0.003	.270	.251	0.019	0.00	2.45	-2.45
4	Robertson, David		22	14	.158	.218	-0.060	.158	.263	-0.105	.196	.256	-0.060	0.00	2.55	-2.55
5	Eovaldi, Nathan		46	32	.190	.212	-0.022	.310	.271	0.039	.244	.263	-0.019	1.39	2.69	-1.30
6	Heaney, Andrew		39	25	.235	.199	0.036	.324	.348	-0.024	.308	.295	0.013	7.56	3.42	4.14
7	Rodríguez, Yerry		21	14	.222	.222	0.000	.556	.402	0.154	.369	.307	0.062	5.79	3.72	2.07
8	Burke, Brock		13	9	.500	.315	0.185	.750	.418	0.332	.558	.344	0.214	3.86	4.80	-0.94
9	Dunning, Dane		53	30	.159	.280	-0.121	.386	.515	-0.129	.314	.400	-0.086	4.15	6.87	-2.72
10	Leclerc, José		23	15	.294	.302	-0.008	.353	.447	-0.094	.399	.428	-0.029	13.50	8.17	5.33
11	Gray, Jon		40	29	.353	.369	-0.016	.529	.601	-0.072	.435	.459	-0.024	6.14	9.87	-3.73

 

[saddles]

The Rangers were 4th in MLB's power rankings and 7th in the Athletic's power rankings. The Athletic's came out a day or two later so they took into account the last 2 losses.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[DT LUNA]

Not the best line up IMO.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

Here is a report on Davis Wendzel from Scott Lucas.

Wendzel has spent most of his pro career on the left side of the infield with a small majority of games at short, slightly less time at third, and a handful of games at second. Unlike Justin Foscue, most of his errors are with the glove. While his fielding isn't elite, it isn't going to limit whatever becomes of his MLB career.

If you want your hitters to sell out for power, Wendzel is your man. He led the Pacific Coast League in homers last year with 30 homers and has collected three more in just nine games in 2024. Nobody on the Express gets the ball airborne as often. Wendzel's walk/HBP rate is exceptional, comparable to Foscue. He posted a 108 OPS+ last year, league-average in getting on base and above in slugging.

The downside of so many skyward shots are a bunch of easily catchable flies. Last year, 22% of his balls in play were in excess of 45 degrees. Of 71 in play, he had one single and one windblown-on-a-hot-night homer. Combined with an above-average K rate, 44% of his at-bats last year concluded with a strikeout or pop. Thus, a .236 batting average. (Note: I don't differentiate between infield flies and deeper high flies. Anything 46+ degrees is nearly always an out.)

Wendzel has a huge and problematic platoon split. During 2022-2024 in AAA, he's batted .333/.435/.681 against lefties but only .189/.297/.369 against righties. He still hits for power and draws free passes against righties, but he strikes out much more often and succeeds far less often on balls in play. Related to the platoon split is difficulty against breaking stuff compared to fastballs. He's hardly alone in that regard, but his whiff rate and production against sliders and curves declines precipitously.

These are the factors underlying his impressive top-line numbers that have kept him out of MLB to date. That and having Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, and Josh Jung as regulars. He was going to make the Majors at some point but would need a break. Unfortunately, the break was an oblique injury to Justin Foscue, but in any case, congratulations to Wendzel.

 

[Kelleyman]

Well we can’t play our A lineup every day
Nate has been on his game so I like our odds

Still to me the mani thing is to win every series
So the split was disappointing but some guys still not in groove like Seager

 

[DT LUNA]

Is game on TV?

 

[saddles]

 

[gregrey972]

Is game on TV?

Ballys

 

[saddles]

Is game on TV?

It is supposed to be on Bally Sports Southwest.

 

[DT LUNA]

It is supposed to be on Bally Sports Southwest.

I have had Bally forever and now screen says to contact Direct to add. Will do asap. Thanks.

 

[saddles]

"Smith — thanks in part to that swing change and in part to a refined approach — has slashed .357/.471/.500 in 17 at bats this season with four RBIs, three runs scored, three walks and a pair of doubles. His Baseball Savant page is drenched in red; his expected batting average and chase percentage are both in the 99th percentile leaguewide, and his sweet spot percentage (96th percentile), expected slugging (94th percentile) and walk percentage (91st percentile) each rank highly."

"
“It feels good, obviously it’s only three or four games, so just got to keep working,” Smith said. “I’m trying to be perfect in the cage, like in practice, just so when I get in the game I don’t have to think too much about it and I can just go and play.”

On the swing change: he’s adjusted his setup and tried to stay “stacked” with his head over the center of his body throughout his load, and his batting stance isn’t as wide as it was last year. Smith trained at Globe Life Field in the offseason and reinvented his stance with assistant hitting coach Seth Conner."

"His approach at the plate, too, has changed. He’s become less power-happy — something manager Bruce Bochy had noticed in Smith’s swing last year — and it’s resulted in fewer flyouts and more balanced hacks."

"

 

[saddles]

We can sure hit unto some bases loaded double plays.