SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged Wednesday morning that the top four he’s used in — outfielder Brandon Nimmo, shortstop Corey Seager, outfielder Wyatt Langford and first baseman Jake Burger — is “probably” the quartet that’ll top the order once the regular season begins.
It’s not difficult to understand why, and if Wednesday’s 12-3 win vs. the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium is proof, it’s potentially quite potent.
Seager (101 mph double) and Burger (110 mph double) combined for the team’s first run in the first inning. Langford, three innings later, tore it open with a three-run home run into left field for his fifth of the spring. Seager’s .814 OPS is the lowest of the lineup’s top four hitters behind Burger (.928), Nimmo (1.206) and Langford (1.584).
That will play.
Rangers
Here are three other observations from Wednesday’s game.
High heat in the desert: Rangers right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker, in his last Cactus League start, allowed one run on three hits and two walks in four innings vs. the Royals. He struck out six batters, and his slider generated nine whiffs, but he threw just 40 of his 70 pitches for strikes. That led to an average of 17.5 pitches per inning.
“I think [the slider] is in a good spot,” Rocker said on the Rangers Sports Network broadcast after he exited the game. “I’d like to keep it there, tighten the pitches around it up, more strikes, more efficient innings.”
Wednesday’s game was, notably, the hardest Rocker has thrown all spring. His fastball averaged 97.1 mph — which is more than a mile per hour after than it ran last season — and cracked 98 mph on six different occaisons. That only happened 11 times in the regular season last year. He sprayed his four-seam fastball a bit but pounded his sinker in the zone and picked up four first-pitch strikes with it.
Rocker and left-hander Jacob Latz remain in competition for the fifth rotation spot with now less than a week until opening day.
Picked up where he left off: Third baseman Josh Jung, in his second game back since an adductor strain sidelined him for most of camp, hit a 417-foot home run off of Royals right-hander Michael Wacha for his first of the spring. It was his second extra base hit in as many games after he tripled Monday vs. the Chicago White Sox and his second of three hits Wednesday vs. the Royals.
The 28-year-old swung a hot bat before his injury and is 4 for 5 with the pair of extra base hits since his return. Schumaker said last weekend that the runway Jung has left to prepare for opening day “should be enough.”
He’s made that look accurate since.
Jung and Langford hit the team’s first two home runs of the night. Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, a mid-spring signee, hit the third. The former NL MVP’s first home run as a Ranger was a 375-foot three-run home run in the seventh inning. He’s slashed .533/.667/.933 in six games and made the most of his brief opportunity to earn a roster spot.
Bullpen candidate checks a box: The Rangers were able to see right-handed pitcher Carter Baumler throw in a “dirty” innings Wednesday night. The Rule 5 draftee entered with one runner on and one out in the seventh innings and pitched a scoreless frame. He struck designated hitter Luca Tresh out on three pitches, advanced runner Peyton Wilson to second base on a disengagement violation and got first baseman Abraham Toro to ground out and end the frame.
Baumler, who is in competition for a roster spot, has yet to allow a run in six spring appearances. He’s struck out seven batters, walked two and showed that his curveball (which racked up a whiff and a called strike Wednesday) is a real weapon if commanded.
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